Player Quotes - Virginia Tech
Syracuse Men’s Basketball
Syracuse vs. Virginia Tech
February 2, 2016
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Tyler Lydon, Freshman, Forward
Can you describe that sequence when Michael Gbinije led and you followed up with that dunk that put you guys up five in overtime?
“Mike is a really fast player. Obviously he can really get out and run and I just saw him get that slight little edge on the defender and I was just thinking to myself that I had to be there in case he misses, so I just ran for it as hard as I could.”
How disappointed were you to foul out?
“I always love to be in the game and just playing with the guys. So I’m sad, I wish I could have been in there to finish the game, but the guys made plays and they stepped up big for us tonight and everyone played well.”
Coach talked about how you saved the game on defense when they were trapping and impacting shots from the back. Are there any that stand out? How challenging was it to bother shots while also in foul trouble?
“Obviously it is difficult when I had four fouls and I think for a couple minutes there I did not want to foul out of the game. And I did but I was just trying to make plays and still play my game and I knew we had DC (DaJuan Coleman) coming in and he would be ready to go for us, so it was just a matter of me playing my game and staying aggressive.”
Michael Gbinije, Graduate Student, Guard
How tough was it to fight through the rough shooting performance to start the game?
“I really don’t question Coach at all when it comes to drawing up plays and I saw Trevor (Cooney) basically go off where he could not miss, so at some point you know it’s just going to fall through. If you give Cooney an inch and he is in attack mode, he is going to take that shot regardless and thankfully he was in attack mode and it happened to fall down for him.”
A lot of times at the end of regulation the team that misses the shot kind of sags a little as they go into the huddle and it’s an emotional downer. This was different. You guys had the last shot, Malachi’s Richardson’s didn’t go in and yet it still seemed like you guys went into overtime on the upswing because of your rally.
“We all knew as a team that we dodged a bullet, sending us into overtime. I think in the overall game, they played probably better than us, honestly, but we knew that if we could get it into overtime we could finally turn things around, and we happened to do so.”
Are you aware that you never led at all tonight until the overtime? Your shot was the first time you had a lead?
“No, I was not aware of that. That’s amazing. We have a group of winners in the locker room. We are a very close team and we did not get a chance to go to the tournament last year and this is another opportunity that we have and we are just trying to make the most of it.”
How much do you and Trevor Cooney put it on your back that this is your last chance to go to the tournament?
“It means a lot to me. I haven’t had success in the NCAA Tournament during my college career, so I definitely want to change that. But the only thing I can really do about it is just take one game at a time and try my best. We are going to try our best to win games.”
Trevor Cooney, Graduate Student, Guard
Coach Boeheim was complimenting your defense, and he said maybe people don’t give you a fair shake because all people want you to do is shoot the ball and then they get frustrated when you don’t make shots, but your defense sets you apart. Is there anything you want to say about that?
“It is something that is not talked about a lot and I don’t get a lot of credit for it. I think that’s because we play a 2-3 zone but I’m always up there in steals and a 2-3 isn’t easy to play, but I’ve learned it along the way.”
Have you come to take a lot of pride in becoming an all-around player rather than just a scorer?
“Absolutely. When I came in here my role was to make three’s and stretch the defense out, but I knew that I wanted to be more and play more so you had to look at guys before me and see how they transitioned into more than that and I was able to do that with the help of my coaches who taught me the right way to play a game both offense and defense.”
Syracuse vs. Virginia Tech
February 2, 2016
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Tyler Lydon, Freshman, Forward
Can you describe that sequence when Michael Gbinije led and you followed up with that dunk that put you guys up five in overtime?
“Mike is a really fast player. Obviously he can really get out and run and I just saw him get that slight little edge on the defender and I was just thinking to myself that I had to be there in case he misses, so I just ran for it as hard as I could.”
How disappointed were you to foul out?
“I always love to be in the game and just playing with the guys. So I’m sad, I wish I could have been in there to finish the game, but the guys made plays and they stepped up big for us tonight and everyone played well.”
Coach talked about how you saved the game on defense when they were trapping and impacting shots from the back. Are there any that stand out? How challenging was it to bother shots while also in foul trouble?
“Obviously it is difficult when I had four fouls and I think for a couple minutes there I did not want to foul out of the game. And I did but I was just trying to make plays and still play my game and I knew we had DC (DaJuan Coleman) coming in and he would be ready to go for us, so it was just a matter of me playing my game and staying aggressive.”
Michael Gbinije, Graduate Student, Guard
How tough was it to fight through the rough shooting performance to start the game?
“I really don’t question Coach at all when it comes to drawing up plays and I saw Trevor (Cooney) basically go off where he could not miss, so at some point you know it’s just going to fall through. If you give Cooney an inch and he is in attack mode, he is going to take that shot regardless and thankfully he was in attack mode and it happened to fall down for him.”
A lot of times at the end of regulation the team that misses the shot kind of sags a little as they go into the huddle and it’s an emotional downer. This was different. You guys had the last shot, Malachi’s Richardson’s didn’t go in and yet it still seemed like you guys went into overtime on the upswing because of your rally.
“We all knew as a team that we dodged a bullet, sending us into overtime. I think in the overall game, they played probably better than us, honestly, but we knew that if we could get it into overtime we could finally turn things around, and we happened to do so.”
Are you aware that you never led at all tonight until the overtime? Your shot was the first time you had a lead?
“No, I was not aware of that. That’s amazing. We have a group of winners in the locker room. We are a very close team and we did not get a chance to go to the tournament last year and this is another opportunity that we have and we are just trying to make the most of it.”
How much do you and Trevor Cooney put it on your back that this is your last chance to go to the tournament?
“It means a lot to me. I haven’t had success in the NCAA Tournament during my college career, so I definitely want to change that. But the only thing I can really do about it is just take one game at a time and try my best. We are going to try our best to win games.”
Trevor Cooney, Graduate Student, Guard
Coach Boeheim was complimenting your defense, and he said maybe people don’t give you a fair shake because all people want you to do is shoot the ball and then they get frustrated when you don’t make shots, but your defense sets you apart. Is there anything you want to say about that?
“It is something that is not talked about a lot and I don’t get a lot of credit for it. I think that’s because we play a 2-3 zone but I’m always up there in steals and a 2-3 isn’t easy to play, but I’ve learned it along the way.”
Have you come to take a lot of pride in becoming an all-around player rather than just a scorer?
“Absolutely. When I came in here my role was to make three’s and stretch the defense out, but I knew that I wanted to be more and play more so you had to look at guys before me and see how they transitioned into more than that and I was able to do that with the help of my coaches who taught me the right way to play a game both offense and defense.”
