Student-Athlete Postgame Quotes - Colgate
Syracuse vs. Colgate
Friday, November 11, 2016
Carrier Dome | Syracuse, N.Y.
Postgame Quotes
Paschal Chukwu, So., C
How did it feel to get back on the court?
“It felt good to get my first game under my belt. I haven’t played in a while so I’m still getting used to the game-flow, but it went well.”
What have you taken from the exhibition games into tonight’s game?
“Speed of the game is definitely number one. But number two is learning how to apply all the things I’ve learned about the zone in the game. When you do it in practice and you make a mistake, Coach [Boeheim] can stop and correct you. You saw he took me out a couple of times tonight when I made mistakes, so I still have to get used to it and remember everything about the zone to limit my mistakes.”
What has Mike Hopkins done to teach you throughout the past year and get you to this point?
“I’ve taken away a lot. He’s worked on my offensive game, and my offensive game is a lot better than what I showed today. My foul shot is a lot better than what I showed today. I can put my eyes on this game and go back to work on my form. When I get taken out, Coach [Hopkins] tells me what I did wrong and I think that’s really helped me a lot.”
Frank Howard, So., G
You’ve changed the way you’re shooting. Are you shooting more in the fingertips now?
“Yes, I’ve started shooting more with my fingertips. I looked back and saw how I shot as a little kid. When you step in front of the basket and shoot 20 with one hand, 20 with two hands, you break it down and I’ve started to shoot more like I did in high school.”
When you have as many guys that can come in and contribute and score, how does that make it easier for you as the point guard?
“It spaces the floor. I can get in the lane, and when I get in the lane they can pick their poison. They can let me try to knock down, but we have wide-open three point shooters. That kind of spacing of the floor is what makes guys feel great, and that’s what great teams, like Golden State, have.”
John Gillon, Gr., G
Take us through what you were feeling. It seems to be working.
“I’m just taking every game with what the defense gives me. If you want to back off me, I can hit the shot. If you want to get too close, I can go right by you. If I go right by you, I have great bigs and great shooters around me, so I can dish it off and kick it out. It’s about using my thought process and basketball IQ.”
Tyus Battle, Fr., G
What can you say you saw from Tyler Roberson?
“He brings energy every time he steps on the floor. He goes after every rebound, and every put-back. He’s an energy guy and I love having him on the floor with me.”
What did you think of how the team did with the press in this game?
“I think we have to bring more energy and talk more. Once we bring more energy it will be tough to stop because we are really long on defense. We need to limit the transition shots for the other team, and I think if we do that we’ll be fine.”
Tyler Roberson, Sr., F
Did you know how close you were to your career high tonight?
“Yes, I knew how close I was. I thought I was going to get it, but I’m not worried about it. We’ve got a lot of games to go and I just really want to start playing well. I knew at half time I had 16 and if it happened it happened, if not then I knew we were going to win if we kept playing how we were playing, and that’s all I could ask for.”
What were you seeing out there early on in the game? You had some nice passes out there.
“I was just looking for open spots and the guards did a great job of getting me the ball and that’s all I know, and I just finished around the rim.”
With your height against Colgate was it a strategy to cut the ball inside, have guys inside and try to find you or DaJuan (Coleman) around the basket?
“We knew we had a height advantage coming in and we wanted to take advantage of that early on.”
Tyler Lydon, So., F
Have you always been able to separate your offensive effort versus your defensive effort?
“I’m not just trying to score the ball, I’m trying to impact the game in other ways, by rebounding or blocking a shot or diving on the floor getting a loose ball-whatever it might be. I just want to help the team win.”
What’s it like to start the season and have this game count?
“It’s great to be back in the Dome and playing in front of our fans, I think they’re the best fans in the country. It’s always a lot of fun to be out there.”
How do you think the team did today?
“I thought we played pretty well. We went in a drought at the end there with scoring the ball. Defensively, we still had errors we have to work on to get better. We just have to play a complete game and finish it out.”
Andrew White, Gr., G
With Roberson having such a big game driving to the basket, how important is it to you as a shooter when your team is penetrating to open up shooting opportunities?
“It starts at the top when you have point guards who can get it in there and create gaps. It makes it hard for the defense to choose who they’re going to react to. So by Tyler (Roberson) slashing in there, being around the rim, it made our attack well balanced. So I think throughout the course of that, it will help me and the perimeter players when you have somebody like him (Roberson) posing as a threat. Sometimes it will require double-team box outs to keep him off the rim.”
How would you rate your performance tonight?
“I’d give myself a C, C- tonight. It wasn’t as efficient as I would have liked to have been, but more importantly other guys caught on. I can get in a rhythm quickly and guys like Tyler (Roberson), DaJuan (Coleman), and Pascal (Chukwu), Tyus (Battle), the point guards-those guys definitely haven’t scored as much so I think to see them, and see that confidence grow, gave me confidence. I’ll get in rhythm I’ll be better from now on, but I’ve got some work to do myself.”
Friday, November 11, 2016
Carrier Dome | Syracuse, N.Y.
Postgame Quotes
Paschal Chukwu, So., C
How did it feel to get back on the court?
“It felt good to get my first game under my belt. I haven’t played in a while so I’m still getting used to the game-flow, but it went well.”
What have you taken from the exhibition games into tonight’s game?
“Speed of the game is definitely number one. But number two is learning how to apply all the things I’ve learned about the zone in the game. When you do it in practice and you make a mistake, Coach [Boeheim] can stop and correct you. You saw he took me out a couple of times tonight when I made mistakes, so I still have to get used to it and remember everything about the zone to limit my mistakes.”
What has Mike Hopkins done to teach you throughout the past year and get you to this point?
“I’ve taken away a lot. He’s worked on my offensive game, and my offensive game is a lot better than what I showed today. My foul shot is a lot better than what I showed today. I can put my eyes on this game and go back to work on my form. When I get taken out, Coach [Hopkins] tells me what I did wrong and I think that’s really helped me a lot.”
Frank Howard, So., G
You’ve changed the way you’re shooting. Are you shooting more in the fingertips now?
“Yes, I’ve started shooting more with my fingertips. I looked back and saw how I shot as a little kid. When you step in front of the basket and shoot 20 with one hand, 20 with two hands, you break it down and I’ve started to shoot more like I did in high school.”
When you have as many guys that can come in and contribute and score, how does that make it easier for you as the point guard?
“It spaces the floor. I can get in the lane, and when I get in the lane they can pick their poison. They can let me try to knock down, but we have wide-open three point shooters. That kind of spacing of the floor is what makes guys feel great, and that’s what great teams, like Golden State, have.”
John Gillon, Gr., G
Take us through what you were feeling. It seems to be working.
“I’m just taking every game with what the defense gives me. If you want to back off me, I can hit the shot. If you want to get too close, I can go right by you. If I go right by you, I have great bigs and great shooters around me, so I can dish it off and kick it out. It’s about using my thought process and basketball IQ.”
Tyus Battle, Fr., G
What can you say you saw from Tyler Roberson?
“He brings energy every time he steps on the floor. He goes after every rebound, and every put-back. He’s an energy guy and I love having him on the floor with me.”
What did you think of how the team did with the press in this game?
“I think we have to bring more energy and talk more. Once we bring more energy it will be tough to stop because we are really long on defense. We need to limit the transition shots for the other team, and I think if we do that we’ll be fine.”
Tyler Roberson, Sr., F
Did you know how close you were to your career high tonight?
“Yes, I knew how close I was. I thought I was going to get it, but I’m not worried about it. We’ve got a lot of games to go and I just really want to start playing well. I knew at half time I had 16 and if it happened it happened, if not then I knew we were going to win if we kept playing how we were playing, and that’s all I could ask for.”
What were you seeing out there early on in the game? You had some nice passes out there.
“I was just looking for open spots and the guards did a great job of getting me the ball and that’s all I know, and I just finished around the rim.”
With your height against Colgate was it a strategy to cut the ball inside, have guys inside and try to find you or DaJuan (Coleman) around the basket?
“We knew we had a height advantage coming in and we wanted to take advantage of that early on.”
Tyler Lydon, So., F
Have you always been able to separate your offensive effort versus your defensive effort?
“I’m not just trying to score the ball, I’m trying to impact the game in other ways, by rebounding or blocking a shot or diving on the floor getting a loose ball-whatever it might be. I just want to help the team win.”
What’s it like to start the season and have this game count?
“It’s great to be back in the Dome and playing in front of our fans, I think they’re the best fans in the country. It’s always a lot of fun to be out there.”
How do you think the team did today?
“I thought we played pretty well. We went in a drought at the end there with scoring the ball. Defensively, we still had errors we have to work on to get better. We just have to play a complete game and finish it out.”
Andrew White, Gr., G
With Roberson having such a big game driving to the basket, how important is it to you as a shooter when your team is penetrating to open up shooting opportunities?
“It starts at the top when you have point guards who can get it in there and create gaps. It makes it hard for the defense to choose who they’re going to react to. So by Tyler (Roberson) slashing in there, being around the rim, it made our attack well balanced. So I think throughout the course of that, it will help me and the perimeter players when you have somebody like him (Roberson) posing as a threat. Sometimes it will require double-team box outs to keep him off the rim.”
How would you rate your performance tonight?
“I’d give myself a C, C- tonight. It wasn’t as efficient as I would have liked to have been, but more importantly other guys caught on. I can get in a rhythm quickly and guys like Tyler (Roberson), DaJuan (Coleman), and Pascal (Chukwu), Tyus (Battle), the point guards-those guys definitely haven’t scored as much so I think to see them, and see that confidence grow, gave me confidence. I’ll get in rhythm I’ll be better from now on, but I’ve got some work to do myself.”
