Coach Boeheim Quotes - North Florida
Syracuse vs. North Florida
December 3, 2016
Coach Boeheim Opening Statement
“I thought in the first half our defense was good. When you lose two games you start thinking about things. Their zone’s pretty good, but we moved the ball and finally got a couple of threes; Frank (Howard) hit one, Andrew (White III), and then Tyler (Lydon) hit the one at the half, but we struggled offensively.
The second half we got going, had a nice rhythm, we got the ball inside, we made some shots. Tyus (Battle) had a really good shooting game. We got control of the game and then we tried to get some people into the game and they weren’t ready to play and the game got really close. That’s what happens when you aren’t ready to play -- you don’t compete and it’s disappointing. We’re just going to move on and try to get better on Monday night. For quite a bit of time there in the second half, and in the first half, we moved the ball and did some really good things on offense.”
How do you think Frank Howard played?
“I thought Frank (Howard) had a really good game. I didn’t look at the stats or anything but he played well. I thought his defense was good, I thought both he and Tyus (Battle) did a good job for a long time at the top of the zone.
The kid, Dallas Moore, is a really good player, I thought we did a good job in the first half because we were really conscious of him -- but we forgot him a couple of times, we gave him a turnover for a lay up and got him going a little bit. Then two times we just didn’t get out on him enough. He was making some long, tough shots. He’s a really good player and I just didn’t think we did a good job in some other areas and we needed to push up on him a couple of times. We made a couple of bad turnovers and they led to some open shots.”
Coleman had 15 points today and 12 against Wisconsin. How much does that help?
“They’re not really going back and helping on him. He’s got good opportunities. I think we’re looking for him, moving the ball in the right places, he’s making that 10-12-foot jump shot. I think with that group, we weren’t great in the first half but we were very good offensively and we’ve got to find a way to rebound the ball a little bit better with that group. I think that’s something we just have to battle a little bit harder at guard. Frank (Howard) went back there a little early and he got four defensive rebounds I think, and Tyus (Battle) has to get back there and help us too. At the end of the day, we have to get some help off of the bench and we just didn’t get that today, but that’s something we have to have.”
Are the rebounding difficulties a case of not blocking out?
“No it's a zone. There’s no block outs. Sometimes you just have to go get it (the ball). In some defenses, there’s no block out, you just have to go get the ball and get to your spot. There’s a slight disadvantage when you play zone. There’s a little bit more of an opportunity to get rebounds offensively but, generally in man-to-man, you’re going to give up 10-to-12 offensive rebounds. We gave up 17, so three or four too many. We can live with that. You have to take care of the ball, not turn it over and find other ways to make it up. When you put your best offensive team out there, you’ve got to get something for it because you're giving up something. We need to be able to score.
“We scored 50-something points in a couple games. We can’t win with that, so we decided to make a change in helping our offense. We brought Tyus (Battle) in and he had 19 points. That was a good move in the equation. Andrew (White III) had some good looks. He can shoot it. Tyler Lydon had some good situations, he just didn't have a good game, but he will.
“We have got to be able to bring guys in off the bench and help. You don’t have to be a star, but you have to help. You have to play defense. John (Gillon) started off the season with some big games. He’s had some adversity. He’s just not coming in playing, which he has to whether you're a starter or not. You can’t get down. We've got to get those guys to help us. Duke is No. 6 in the country and they played five guys last night. If that’s what you have to do, then that’s what we’ll do. We’re going to play the guys who are going to help us. We’ve got a lot of opportunities for guys to come in and help us.
“I thought our ball movement was good against their zone. We got good shots. We got good looks. Our defense was good for a long time.”
What works better for you guys on offense when playing against three guards? Is it spacing or shooting?
“We have two really good 3-point shooters in the game. Tyus (Battle) is a good 3-point shooter and Tyler Lydon. So we have better shooting. I think Tyus will get better at getting to the rim. That’s something he can do. He had a couple nice moves getting in there this game, but he’ll get better at that. He’s a freshmen and he’s always been a wing player. So, it’s a little different for him. Frank (Howard) is a big key. He was really good tonight. To establish a 22-23 point lead, we played very well to get that. Some guys weren’t ready to play and we gave that back.”
How do you handle these quick turn-around games, especially going up against Connecticut on Monday?
“We know what they do. We play them, so we understand what they do. They’re very good. Their guards are good. Their inside guys are good. I don’t look at their record because I think they’re still a very good team. They’ve got very good guard play. They’ve got the big guy in the middle. They have eight very good players. They haven’t played well but that doesn’t mean they won't play well. They’re a very good team.”
Why did you change the starting five today?
“You have to score. You have to be able to score points. Andrew (White III) is fine as a forward. He played forward previously. He’s good down there. It gives the other teams match-up problems. It wasn’t even a decision. You can’t play 34 minutes and not score a point, and keep your job. You just can’t do that. Unless you’re doing something else, which wasn’t the case. We have to make some changes sometimes. I didn’t think it would work out this well.
“I didn’t think Tyus was ready for this kind of game. He still has a lot of work to do, but he gets in the right areas and they find him. He’s shooting the ball. He shot the ball extremely well from first day of practice. He’s really worked on it and he’s shooting well. Better than we thought. He’s going to have to get comfortable and be able to drive to the basket.
“We were able to extend our defense, but we’re not always going to be able to do that. I don’t think everybody will have a guy who shoots it like that so far.
“There’s no question we still have a lot of work to do and adjustments to make, but that’s kind of what we thought.
“We lost to two really good teams (South Carolina, Wisconsin). Right now, we’re not there yet. We have work to do. I want to try to get Paschal (Chukwu) better in practice and get him to the point where he can help us. But right now it’s hard to get him in there. We have to get him a little better. We’ve got good players. We just have to make sure they're going to come in and contribute. They can’t go out there and give up turnovers right away or give a couple rebounds. It’s not the jump shot, it’s the rebound. You have to get the rebound and then run the court. That’s what we need from Tyler (Roberson). If he does that, he’ll play. I’m not concerned. I think he thinks you have to make jump shots. That’s not important. We have guys who can shoot. He has to be able to make rebounds, play defense, and stop missing shots around the basket.
“We’ll see what happens. Obviously we have a lot of work to do.”
December 3, 2016
Coach Boeheim Opening Statement
“I thought in the first half our defense was good. When you lose two games you start thinking about things. Their zone’s pretty good, but we moved the ball and finally got a couple of threes; Frank (Howard) hit one, Andrew (White III), and then Tyler (Lydon) hit the one at the half, but we struggled offensively.
The second half we got going, had a nice rhythm, we got the ball inside, we made some shots. Tyus (Battle) had a really good shooting game. We got control of the game and then we tried to get some people into the game and they weren’t ready to play and the game got really close. That’s what happens when you aren’t ready to play -- you don’t compete and it’s disappointing. We’re just going to move on and try to get better on Monday night. For quite a bit of time there in the second half, and in the first half, we moved the ball and did some really good things on offense.”
How do you think Frank Howard played?
“I thought Frank (Howard) had a really good game. I didn’t look at the stats or anything but he played well. I thought his defense was good, I thought both he and Tyus (Battle) did a good job for a long time at the top of the zone.
The kid, Dallas Moore, is a really good player, I thought we did a good job in the first half because we were really conscious of him -- but we forgot him a couple of times, we gave him a turnover for a lay up and got him going a little bit. Then two times we just didn’t get out on him enough. He was making some long, tough shots. He’s a really good player and I just didn’t think we did a good job in some other areas and we needed to push up on him a couple of times. We made a couple of bad turnovers and they led to some open shots.”
Coleman had 15 points today and 12 against Wisconsin. How much does that help?
“They’re not really going back and helping on him. He’s got good opportunities. I think we’re looking for him, moving the ball in the right places, he’s making that 10-12-foot jump shot. I think with that group, we weren’t great in the first half but we were very good offensively and we’ve got to find a way to rebound the ball a little bit better with that group. I think that’s something we just have to battle a little bit harder at guard. Frank (Howard) went back there a little early and he got four defensive rebounds I think, and Tyus (Battle) has to get back there and help us too. At the end of the day, we have to get some help off of the bench and we just didn’t get that today, but that’s something we have to have.”
Are the rebounding difficulties a case of not blocking out?
“No it's a zone. There’s no block outs. Sometimes you just have to go get it (the ball). In some defenses, there’s no block out, you just have to go get the ball and get to your spot. There’s a slight disadvantage when you play zone. There’s a little bit more of an opportunity to get rebounds offensively but, generally in man-to-man, you’re going to give up 10-to-12 offensive rebounds. We gave up 17, so three or four too many. We can live with that. You have to take care of the ball, not turn it over and find other ways to make it up. When you put your best offensive team out there, you’ve got to get something for it because you're giving up something. We need to be able to score.
“We scored 50-something points in a couple games. We can’t win with that, so we decided to make a change in helping our offense. We brought Tyus (Battle) in and he had 19 points. That was a good move in the equation. Andrew (White III) had some good looks. He can shoot it. Tyler Lydon had some good situations, he just didn't have a good game, but he will.
“We have got to be able to bring guys in off the bench and help. You don’t have to be a star, but you have to help. You have to play defense. John (Gillon) started off the season with some big games. He’s had some adversity. He’s just not coming in playing, which he has to whether you're a starter or not. You can’t get down. We've got to get those guys to help us. Duke is No. 6 in the country and they played five guys last night. If that’s what you have to do, then that’s what we’ll do. We’re going to play the guys who are going to help us. We’ve got a lot of opportunities for guys to come in and help us.
“I thought our ball movement was good against their zone. We got good shots. We got good looks. Our defense was good for a long time.”
What works better for you guys on offense when playing against three guards? Is it spacing or shooting?
“We have two really good 3-point shooters in the game. Tyus (Battle) is a good 3-point shooter and Tyler Lydon. So we have better shooting. I think Tyus will get better at getting to the rim. That’s something he can do. He had a couple nice moves getting in there this game, but he’ll get better at that. He’s a freshmen and he’s always been a wing player. So, it’s a little different for him. Frank (Howard) is a big key. He was really good tonight. To establish a 22-23 point lead, we played very well to get that. Some guys weren’t ready to play and we gave that back.”
How do you handle these quick turn-around games, especially going up against Connecticut on Monday?
“We know what they do. We play them, so we understand what they do. They’re very good. Their guards are good. Their inside guys are good. I don’t look at their record because I think they’re still a very good team. They’ve got very good guard play. They’ve got the big guy in the middle. They have eight very good players. They haven’t played well but that doesn’t mean they won't play well. They’re a very good team.”
Why did you change the starting five today?
“You have to score. You have to be able to score points. Andrew (White III) is fine as a forward. He played forward previously. He’s good down there. It gives the other teams match-up problems. It wasn’t even a decision. You can’t play 34 minutes and not score a point, and keep your job. You just can’t do that. Unless you’re doing something else, which wasn’t the case. We have to make some changes sometimes. I didn’t think it would work out this well.
“I didn’t think Tyus was ready for this kind of game. He still has a lot of work to do, but he gets in the right areas and they find him. He’s shooting the ball. He shot the ball extremely well from first day of practice. He’s really worked on it and he’s shooting well. Better than we thought. He’s going to have to get comfortable and be able to drive to the basket.
“We were able to extend our defense, but we’re not always going to be able to do that. I don’t think everybody will have a guy who shoots it like that so far.
“There’s no question we still have a lot of work to do and adjustments to make, but that’s kind of what we thought.
“We lost to two really good teams (South Carolina, Wisconsin). Right now, we’re not there yet. We have work to do. I want to try to get Paschal (Chukwu) better in practice and get him to the point where he can help us. But right now it’s hard to get him in there. We have to get him a little better. We’ve got good players. We just have to make sure they're going to come in and contribute. They can’t go out there and give up turnovers right away or give a couple rebounds. It’s not the jump shot, it’s the rebound. You have to get the rebound and then run the court. That’s what we need from Tyler (Roberson). If he does that, he’ll play. I’m not concerned. I think he thinks you have to make jump shots. That’s not important. We have guys who can shoot. He has to be able to make rebounds, play defense, and stop missing shots around the basket.
“We’ll see what happens. Obviously we have a lot of work to do.”
