Men's Basketball Media Day - Boeheim Quotes
Syracuse Men’s Basketball
2016-17 Media Day
Oct. 21, 2016
Head Coach Jim Boeheim
If you make it to the final four will it be a shock?
“Well I think it is very hard. When you talk about Final Fours and look over the last four years, the two best teams with the two best records in the country were Arizona and Virginia. They won the most games and the most championships of any teams in the country and they did not go to the Final Four. So when you start talking ‘you have to go to the Final Four,’ you’re really foolish. You need to get into the tournament… that is what you need to be worried about. We have had some really good teams that did not get to the Final Four. We have had a couple teams where things came together and we got there. It is a very difficult thing to do.”
How well have the players done for the first two weeks of practice?
“I think the first two weeks have been good. It is a very hard working group. We have never put five new guys in within one year that I can remember. We have five new guys that actually play a lot, which will happen this year. We will use nine or ten guys so I think we will be able to do some more things. When you have six or seven guys you cannot press too much. There are just certain things you cannot do, so we will be able to do some more things.
“I am not saying it is going to work, but we will be able to do some more things. It is going to take a while to fit all of those things together. When I spoke this summer I said that we have more depth – which is true. Also, we have more guys in every position-which we have not had in a long time. Now, whether that equates into having a better team is something completely different from what I was talking about this summer.”
Did you not say that this is one of the best teams you had?
“Could be. Could be, I always say that. I said that one year and we won about 18 games.”
Aside from dealing with the media, what is your greatest challenge with this team?
“The first one is not a challenge. I think every team has its challenges. Five new players is always a major issue getting those guys ready. I think that is really the challenge for this group. Regular season last year we were not very good but we really played well in the tournament. However, that does not take away from the fact that we need to be a lot better team this year. We have a lot of work to do and we are very happy with the talents and the guys we have. We are a long way away and still have a lot of work to do.”
What kind of impact will Andrew White III and John Gillon have?
“They have been playing well. They are more mature and a bit more experienced, but they have to learn this system. Sometimes they have some old habits that fit in someplace else that might not fit in here. It takes an adjustment period for them, just as it does for the freshmen. Again, the five new guys are working hard and they are doing everything we ask them to do. I would rate their effort and all of the players probably better than any group we have had in the past two weeks.”
What is it that you like about Tyus Battle?
“He is a very talented player. He has great size, quickness and athletic ability. He plays hard all of the time and he is a very good player. I think all of three of our freshmen are playing very well.”
What have the last 13 months done for Paschal’s (Chukwu) growth?
“He worked hard. Ryan (Cabiles) has done a great job with him in the weight room. His lower body strength is still an issue, but his upper body strength has gotten much better. He did not play offense in high school, he really only played defense. Last year, he really could not finish around the basket but this year he has gotten much better. He has been out of basketball for a year so it always takes some time to get adjusted to that. He has worked really hard and I think he is a much better player than he was a year ago, so we are very happy with what he’s doing.”
How has DaJuan improved since rehabbing last year?
“I think DaJuan’s improved. I think obviously last year, not playing the last two years is tough. I think he did really well given the circumstances last year and he’s playing better this year. He’s shooting a little better, I think he’s finishing a little better. I can’t say enough about him, he deserves everything he gets, he’s worked really, really hard for a long time. You can see the improvement. I think all of our returning players I see a significant improvement. Frank (Howard) and what he’s done, his physicality and what he’s done in the weight room, he’s worked really hard. Tyler Lydon has really gotten big and strong and improved. Tyler Roberson’s playing well. I think all of the guys here are playing at a much higher level than they did last year.”
How key will Tyler Lydon be to the success of your team this year?
“Well, he was key last year so he’s certainly not going to be any less this year. He’ll be very important, probably start the three, play some four, play some five sometimes. He’s one of the few players that I would ever try to let do that. He’s probably the only player that has ever done that well at three positions.”
Do you want your team to press a little more, be a little more cohesive and play with a bit more tempo this year?
“We have always liked to press here, it’s hard to push in college basketball because the teams are just built to protect pressure on shots, there’s just too many well coached teams that make it hard to press.”
How have you used the press?
“We always worked on it, it came in handy last year, a couple of game we wouldn’t have won without pressure. We think we’ll pressure more, but again when we get into the season, if it’s not there then we won’t use it. We work on it every year, almost every practice, and sometimes we just don’t use it at all, but it’s been very important to us. This team should able to press more, but it’s very hard to press well coached teams. Whenever you double it up somebody’s open and good teams find that guy, and you get hit that way.”
What’s it going to be like without having guys like Gbinije and Cooney on the floor with Tyler Lydon this year, likely going into a bigger role? What kind of adjustments is he going to have to go through?
“I don’t think so, just because he doesn’t have those guys it’s not the end of the light, he has Frank Howard, Tyler Roberson, DaJuan Coleman with him, so he doesn’t have to do everything. He’ll do a bit more probably, but he played 30 minutes a game last year, it’s not like he played 20 minutes. I like him, I hope he gets to play a whole lot of minutes this year we’ll see how it goes.”
What’s one or two elements you hope Andrew White can add to your team?
“Andrew is a good player, he was the lead rebounder last year, he’s a good player, a good all-around player, veteran guy.”
Do you want him (Andrew White) to be the same player he was at Nebraska or does he fit in differently here?
“We’re different. All that stuff will unfold, I could probably predict it but I’m not going to.”
Do the graduate transfers come in and fill a leadership role right away?
“Every team has different guys in terms of leadership, I think we have a good group of guys that listen and don’t necessarily say a lot. If DaJuan says something they all listen. I think the best teams have a lot of guys that lead, if they listen to me they won’t have to do too much.”
What do you think of John Gillon?
“I think John’s a good player, he moves the ball up the court, he can get the lane, he’s quick, physical, strong, I think he’s a really good player. He’s something we don’t have in term of that penetration. He’s a real good shooter and a real good player.”
What are your thoughts on pre-season rankings? Too high or too low?
“What are they? Seventeen? I voted us a lot better than that. I’ve said it 100 times, pre-season rankings are good if people think you might have a change but you have to show it on the court. You don’t get into the tournament because of your ranking at the beginning of the year.”
Was there a need or did you change your philosophy about transfers?
“With injuries and eight guys you’re down pretty quickly, so we knew we would have to get somebody. We were fortunate enough to get John (Gillon) early and Andrew (White) came available late and we needed another shooter and he was available. Transfers that we’ve taken have been very impactful to our program, we haven’t taken that many but the guys that we have taken are very impactful.”
“When you’re down numbers and you have a fifth year, you help your team. If Malachi (Richardson) would have stayed, we probably wouldn’t have taken any. It’s here to stay now, there’s been over 100 guys that have left. So if you need a guy you can’t get a freshman to help you, if you can get a guy that has started for two or three years that would bring something to enhance recruiting.”
What kind of intangibles do you think will help you move forward?
“You never know about a team until you get in the game. Everybody is good and happy now in the league. It isn’t until you have a couple of battles. Last year’s team scored but we got beat, we overcame every game, we played every game, we tried to win every game, we were never down much.”
“The good thing about last year’s team is that we were close all year, we weren’t getting beat by a lot so we played better. We played pretty well all year. We didn’t play much better in the tournament than we played all year. This team has a great group of characteristics, they work hard. There is always adversity in the game, it isn’t always smooth sailing.”
Will there be a large emphasis on the three ball this year like there was last year?
“We’ll shoot some three’s, I think last year that was the best way for us to score, I think we can do some other things this year. It’s a part of the game now, every player that can make them can shoot them.”
Will we see a big progression from Tyler Roberson offensively moving from his junior to senior year?
“Tyler is who he is, he isn’t going to change a lot. He works at it and I think he’s made some improvements. To make that jump, he has to be able to make that consistently.”
2016-17 Media Day
Oct. 21, 2016
Head Coach Jim Boeheim
If you make it to the final four will it be a shock?
“Well I think it is very hard. When you talk about Final Fours and look over the last four years, the two best teams with the two best records in the country were Arizona and Virginia. They won the most games and the most championships of any teams in the country and they did not go to the Final Four. So when you start talking ‘you have to go to the Final Four,’ you’re really foolish. You need to get into the tournament… that is what you need to be worried about. We have had some really good teams that did not get to the Final Four. We have had a couple teams where things came together and we got there. It is a very difficult thing to do.”
How well have the players done for the first two weeks of practice?
“I think the first two weeks have been good. It is a very hard working group. We have never put five new guys in within one year that I can remember. We have five new guys that actually play a lot, which will happen this year. We will use nine or ten guys so I think we will be able to do some more things. When you have six or seven guys you cannot press too much. There are just certain things you cannot do, so we will be able to do some more things.
“I am not saying it is going to work, but we will be able to do some more things. It is going to take a while to fit all of those things together. When I spoke this summer I said that we have more depth – which is true. Also, we have more guys in every position-which we have not had in a long time. Now, whether that equates into having a better team is something completely different from what I was talking about this summer.”
Did you not say that this is one of the best teams you had?
“Could be. Could be, I always say that. I said that one year and we won about 18 games.”
Aside from dealing with the media, what is your greatest challenge with this team?
“The first one is not a challenge. I think every team has its challenges. Five new players is always a major issue getting those guys ready. I think that is really the challenge for this group. Regular season last year we were not very good but we really played well in the tournament. However, that does not take away from the fact that we need to be a lot better team this year. We have a lot of work to do and we are very happy with the talents and the guys we have. We are a long way away and still have a lot of work to do.”
What kind of impact will Andrew White III and John Gillon have?
“They have been playing well. They are more mature and a bit more experienced, but they have to learn this system. Sometimes they have some old habits that fit in someplace else that might not fit in here. It takes an adjustment period for them, just as it does for the freshmen. Again, the five new guys are working hard and they are doing everything we ask them to do. I would rate their effort and all of the players probably better than any group we have had in the past two weeks.”
What is it that you like about Tyus Battle?
“He is a very talented player. He has great size, quickness and athletic ability. He plays hard all of the time and he is a very good player. I think all of three of our freshmen are playing very well.”
What have the last 13 months done for Paschal’s (Chukwu) growth?
“He worked hard. Ryan (Cabiles) has done a great job with him in the weight room. His lower body strength is still an issue, but his upper body strength has gotten much better. He did not play offense in high school, he really only played defense. Last year, he really could not finish around the basket but this year he has gotten much better. He has been out of basketball for a year so it always takes some time to get adjusted to that. He has worked really hard and I think he is a much better player than he was a year ago, so we are very happy with what he’s doing.”
How has DaJuan improved since rehabbing last year?
“I think DaJuan’s improved. I think obviously last year, not playing the last two years is tough. I think he did really well given the circumstances last year and he’s playing better this year. He’s shooting a little better, I think he’s finishing a little better. I can’t say enough about him, he deserves everything he gets, he’s worked really, really hard for a long time. You can see the improvement. I think all of our returning players I see a significant improvement. Frank (Howard) and what he’s done, his physicality and what he’s done in the weight room, he’s worked really hard. Tyler Lydon has really gotten big and strong and improved. Tyler Roberson’s playing well. I think all of the guys here are playing at a much higher level than they did last year.”
How key will Tyler Lydon be to the success of your team this year?
“Well, he was key last year so he’s certainly not going to be any less this year. He’ll be very important, probably start the three, play some four, play some five sometimes. He’s one of the few players that I would ever try to let do that. He’s probably the only player that has ever done that well at three positions.”
Do you want your team to press a little more, be a little more cohesive and play with a bit more tempo this year?
“We have always liked to press here, it’s hard to push in college basketball because the teams are just built to protect pressure on shots, there’s just too many well coached teams that make it hard to press.”
How have you used the press?
“We always worked on it, it came in handy last year, a couple of game we wouldn’t have won without pressure. We think we’ll pressure more, but again when we get into the season, if it’s not there then we won’t use it. We work on it every year, almost every practice, and sometimes we just don’t use it at all, but it’s been very important to us. This team should able to press more, but it’s very hard to press well coached teams. Whenever you double it up somebody’s open and good teams find that guy, and you get hit that way.”
What’s it going to be like without having guys like Gbinije and Cooney on the floor with Tyler Lydon this year, likely going into a bigger role? What kind of adjustments is he going to have to go through?
“I don’t think so, just because he doesn’t have those guys it’s not the end of the light, he has Frank Howard, Tyler Roberson, DaJuan Coleman with him, so he doesn’t have to do everything. He’ll do a bit more probably, but he played 30 minutes a game last year, it’s not like he played 20 minutes. I like him, I hope he gets to play a whole lot of minutes this year we’ll see how it goes.”
What’s one or two elements you hope Andrew White can add to your team?
“Andrew is a good player, he was the lead rebounder last year, he’s a good player, a good all-around player, veteran guy.”
Do you want him (Andrew White) to be the same player he was at Nebraska or does he fit in differently here?
“We’re different. All that stuff will unfold, I could probably predict it but I’m not going to.”
Do the graduate transfers come in and fill a leadership role right away?
“Every team has different guys in terms of leadership, I think we have a good group of guys that listen and don’t necessarily say a lot. If DaJuan says something they all listen. I think the best teams have a lot of guys that lead, if they listen to me they won’t have to do too much.”
What do you think of John Gillon?
“I think John’s a good player, he moves the ball up the court, he can get the lane, he’s quick, physical, strong, I think he’s a really good player. He’s something we don’t have in term of that penetration. He’s a real good shooter and a real good player.”
What are your thoughts on pre-season rankings? Too high or too low?
“What are they? Seventeen? I voted us a lot better than that. I’ve said it 100 times, pre-season rankings are good if people think you might have a change but you have to show it on the court. You don’t get into the tournament because of your ranking at the beginning of the year.”
Was there a need or did you change your philosophy about transfers?
“With injuries and eight guys you’re down pretty quickly, so we knew we would have to get somebody. We were fortunate enough to get John (Gillon) early and Andrew (White) came available late and we needed another shooter and he was available. Transfers that we’ve taken have been very impactful to our program, we haven’t taken that many but the guys that we have taken are very impactful.”
“When you’re down numbers and you have a fifth year, you help your team. If Malachi (Richardson) would have stayed, we probably wouldn’t have taken any. It’s here to stay now, there’s been over 100 guys that have left. So if you need a guy you can’t get a freshman to help you, if you can get a guy that has started for two or three years that would bring something to enhance recruiting.”
What kind of intangibles do you think will help you move forward?
“You never know about a team until you get in the game. Everybody is good and happy now in the league. It isn’t until you have a couple of battles. Last year’s team scored but we got beat, we overcame every game, we played every game, we tried to win every game, we were never down much.”
“The good thing about last year’s team is that we were close all year, we weren’t getting beat by a lot so we played better. We played pretty well all year. We didn’t play much better in the tournament than we played all year. This team has a great group of characteristics, they work hard. There is always adversity in the game, it isn’t always smooth sailing.”
Will there be a large emphasis on the three ball this year like there was last year?
“We’ll shoot some three’s, I think last year that was the best way for us to score, I think we can do some other things this year. It’s a part of the game now, every player that can make them can shoot them.”
Will we see a big progression from Tyler Roberson offensively moving from his junior to senior year?
“Tyler is who he is, he isn’t going to change a lot. He works at it and I think he’s made some improvements. To make that jump, he has to be able to make that consistently.”
