Coach Boeheim Quotes - Cornell
Syracuse vs. Cornell
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Carrier Dome | Syracuse, N.Y.
Opening Statement:
"I thought we were more active tonight on defense. If you are not active in a zone you get picked apart and that’s what has happened to us the last couple of games. We were more active tonight. Offensively, I thought we were a little better than we have been. Andrew (White III) got some good looks. Didn’t make them. But I thought we overcame missing those shots and made some good plays and got the lead. We have four more days of practice ahead of us. I thought we had some really good practices after we got back (from Christmas break). We need the next four days of practice."
What did you emphasize in the recent practices?
"Some small things, nothing big. Play harder. Defensively, worked defensively a bit, but we have more work to do. Tonight, I thought that after (Matt) Morgan hit a couple we were able to find him better. We need to be able to do that. We haven’t been able to do that all year, and we found him a little bit better. But we still have a lot of work to do."
What did you do to motivate the team?
"I just coach them. That’s for you guys (the media), all that stuff. We go to practice. We go to practice every day. If we win 20 in a row, we go to practice the next day. If we lose 20 in a row, we go to practice the next day. That’s it. All the other stuff is nonsense. We don’t win any games talking to people. We win games by playing better. We’re not better. We have to get better."
What did you think of Tyler Lydon's play?
"I think he is a very good player. I think he sees where he is getting opportunities, and he is going to get more opportunities. I thought that he and Taurean (Thompson) were a pretty good combination because they both can pass. They both can shoot. I think that is a good combination. We have to get better on defense with them, but I thought that Tyler Roberson gave us a really good half, really good, then nothing. But he gave us a really good half. Everybody gave us a little more. I thought John (Gillon) was real good in the first half. Frank (Howard) was pretty good in the second. Tyus (Battle) gets those open looks -- he knocks them down."
What made you put Tyus Battle back in the starting lineup?
“He was only out because of health reasons and the little guards (Frank Howard and John Gillon), neither of them, are playing that good anyway. If one of them would have taken off then that might have altered things. That didn’t happen.”
Did Tyler Lydon take a more vocal role on the court tonight?
“Yeah, it looked like that was what he was doing out there. We have to get the guards to do that. That is what we are working on. I think that we got better, even though it was only three practices. We have to go to practice, we have to correct the things we can correct and move on.”
How do you assess Taurean Thompson's play?
“He is a very, very good offensive player. Very gifted. He needs work on his defense rebounding-wise. He is our best low-post player and it’s not even close."
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Carrier Dome | Syracuse, N.Y.
Opening Statement:
"I thought we were more active tonight on defense. If you are not active in a zone you get picked apart and that’s what has happened to us the last couple of games. We were more active tonight. Offensively, I thought we were a little better than we have been. Andrew (White III) got some good looks. Didn’t make them. But I thought we overcame missing those shots and made some good plays and got the lead. We have four more days of practice ahead of us. I thought we had some really good practices after we got back (from Christmas break). We need the next four days of practice."
What did you emphasize in the recent practices?
"Some small things, nothing big. Play harder. Defensively, worked defensively a bit, but we have more work to do. Tonight, I thought that after (Matt) Morgan hit a couple we were able to find him better. We need to be able to do that. We haven’t been able to do that all year, and we found him a little bit better. But we still have a lot of work to do."
What did you do to motivate the team?
"I just coach them. That’s for you guys (the media), all that stuff. We go to practice. We go to practice every day. If we win 20 in a row, we go to practice the next day. If we lose 20 in a row, we go to practice the next day. That’s it. All the other stuff is nonsense. We don’t win any games talking to people. We win games by playing better. We’re not better. We have to get better."
What did you think of Tyler Lydon's play?
"I think he is a very good player. I think he sees where he is getting opportunities, and he is going to get more opportunities. I thought that he and Taurean (Thompson) were a pretty good combination because they both can pass. They both can shoot. I think that is a good combination. We have to get better on defense with them, but I thought that Tyler Roberson gave us a really good half, really good, then nothing. But he gave us a really good half. Everybody gave us a little more. I thought John (Gillon) was real good in the first half. Frank (Howard) was pretty good in the second. Tyus (Battle) gets those open looks -- he knocks them down."
What made you put Tyus Battle back in the starting lineup?
“He was only out because of health reasons and the little guards (Frank Howard and John Gillon), neither of them, are playing that good anyway. If one of them would have taken off then that might have altered things. That didn’t happen.”
Did Tyler Lydon take a more vocal role on the court tonight?
“Yeah, it looked like that was what he was doing out there. We have to get the guards to do that. That is what we are working on. I think that we got better, even though it was only three practices. We have to go to practice, we have to correct the things we can correct and move on.”
How do you assess Taurean Thompson's play?
“He is a very, very good offensive player. Very gifted. He needs work on his defense rebounding-wise. He is our best low-post player and it’s not even close."
