Student-Athlete Quotes - Boston College
Syracuse Men’s Basketball
Syracuse vs. Boston College
January 14, 2017
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Frank Howard, So., G
Coach said you had a really good practice yesterday and it carried over to today. Can you explain that?
“Just getting back to that comfort level. Started the year off well, just playing more confident now. Being free and playing my game.”
Have you been working on what to do when you get past the first line of defense?
“Making a second-level read is vital for a point guard. You have to be able to do that. I think I was making my mind up before I got there today.”
You looked assertive and aggressive today. Do you think that’s true?
“Yes, I am getting back to trusting my instincts. Not thinking too much, make a play, put the ball on the floor and do whatever the defense gives me. I’m not out there thinking too much, just playing off instincts and trying to make the right read.”
Tyler Lydon, So., F
How do you get these dominating home performances to trickle over for road games?
We just have to come mentally prepared. Everyone needs to be focused and ready to go. We just have to play together and I think we do a good job of that here. Then on the road, there are some tough environments and stuff like that. We just need to focus on what the goal is and come out and play our game.”
What was the difference today compared to Jan. 1?
“Defense. We gave up 96 points at their place and only 53 today. Just coming out and playing defense.”
Have you guys figured it out collectively?
“Yes. The numbers don’t lie in games we play good defense. It is something we have to be aware of and hold each other accountable.”
Andrew White III, Gr. St., G
This was a much different outcome than the last time you saw these guys. What was the difference between this game and January 1?
“We just defended better. I think we were more active and we did a better job of getting our hands on loose balls. There were a lot of deflections. Our forwards crashed down. We got a piece of the ball a lot so by getting steals and forcing turnovers, that kind of initiated our transition a little bit so we could get some easy baskets and get into a flow.”
Three of the last four games you had really good defensive efforts. Are you guys starting to figure it out defensively as a whole?
“Every game is a new game so I guess it depends what scheme you’re in – like Virginia Tech got a lot of easy baskets. I think it just depends what type of offense you’re going up against. The next game coming up will be something unique in itself so you can never say you have it figured out because the zone can change overnight drastically. We just need to make sure we’re locked into our game plan.”
You were really able to get going by using the baseline, running, coming off screens. You hit a few buckets while the game was still somewhat tight. Was that something that you saw against this particular opponent or is that a way you get yourself going against anybody?
“We have a handful of sets that just involve me moving around. I have some screen options on both sides. It’s kind of on our guards to pick up where I’m moving to and our bigs to do a good job screening for me so that’s just something that can give me some options.”
Tyus Battle, Fr., G
What’s the difference between playing at home and on the road. It seems like two different teams.
“Well of course it’s always a little bit better playing at home. I think the priority has to be executing better and I don’t think we did that well against Virginia Tech at all. So against UNC, it’s a big game. I know that the crowd is going to be amazing there, so that will be a great one for us.”
Boston College scored 96 on you last time, I’m sure you guys carried that with you, right?
“Yeah, we definitely carried that. That one hurt a lot. We knew our defense was terrible that game. You look back on film, fixed some mistakes we made that game and tried to get better at it this game. Any team that beats you by that much, you definitely want pay back. The energy was amazing this afternoon, so we were happy to get the win.”
John Gillon, Gr. St., G
What was different between tonight and the last match up?
“Our defense. I’ve said it 100 times, I hate to be repetitive, but we didn’t play with the same energy (against Virginia Tech). We didn’t have it. You could see in our energy it just wasn’t the same as the Pittsburgh and Miami games and then we just tried to come out and not let that happen again. We went hard in practice, because you practice like you play, and we had some success.”
They scored 96 against you guys two weeks ago. Did you kind of carry the memory of that one into this game?
“Oh yeah. Definitely. We discussed it a little bit in some of the timeouts that we remembered how bad they beat us so we just wanted to come back and kind of return the favor.”
Syracuse vs. Boston College
January 14, 2017
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Frank Howard, So., G
Coach said you had a really good practice yesterday and it carried over to today. Can you explain that?
“Just getting back to that comfort level. Started the year off well, just playing more confident now. Being free and playing my game.”
Have you been working on what to do when you get past the first line of defense?
“Making a second-level read is vital for a point guard. You have to be able to do that. I think I was making my mind up before I got there today.”
You looked assertive and aggressive today. Do you think that’s true?
“Yes, I am getting back to trusting my instincts. Not thinking too much, make a play, put the ball on the floor and do whatever the defense gives me. I’m not out there thinking too much, just playing off instincts and trying to make the right read.”
Tyler Lydon, So., F
How do you get these dominating home performances to trickle over for road games?
We just have to come mentally prepared. Everyone needs to be focused and ready to go. We just have to play together and I think we do a good job of that here. Then on the road, there are some tough environments and stuff like that. We just need to focus on what the goal is and come out and play our game.”
What was the difference today compared to Jan. 1?
“Defense. We gave up 96 points at their place and only 53 today. Just coming out and playing defense.”
Have you guys figured it out collectively?
“Yes. The numbers don’t lie in games we play good defense. It is something we have to be aware of and hold each other accountable.”
Andrew White III, Gr. St., G
This was a much different outcome than the last time you saw these guys. What was the difference between this game and January 1?
“We just defended better. I think we were more active and we did a better job of getting our hands on loose balls. There were a lot of deflections. Our forwards crashed down. We got a piece of the ball a lot so by getting steals and forcing turnovers, that kind of initiated our transition a little bit so we could get some easy baskets and get into a flow.”
Three of the last four games you had really good defensive efforts. Are you guys starting to figure it out defensively as a whole?
“Every game is a new game so I guess it depends what scheme you’re in – like Virginia Tech got a lot of easy baskets. I think it just depends what type of offense you’re going up against. The next game coming up will be something unique in itself so you can never say you have it figured out because the zone can change overnight drastically. We just need to make sure we’re locked into our game plan.”
You were really able to get going by using the baseline, running, coming off screens. You hit a few buckets while the game was still somewhat tight. Was that something that you saw against this particular opponent or is that a way you get yourself going against anybody?
“We have a handful of sets that just involve me moving around. I have some screen options on both sides. It’s kind of on our guards to pick up where I’m moving to and our bigs to do a good job screening for me so that’s just something that can give me some options.”
Tyus Battle, Fr., G
What’s the difference between playing at home and on the road. It seems like two different teams.
“Well of course it’s always a little bit better playing at home. I think the priority has to be executing better and I don’t think we did that well against Virginia Tech at all. So against UNC, it’s a big game. I know that the crowd is going to be amazing there, so that will be a great one for us.”
Boston College scored 96 on you last time, I’m sure you guys carried that with you, right?
“Yeah, we definitely carried that. That one hurt a lot. We knew our defense was terrible that game. You look back on film, fixed some mistakes we made that game and tried to get better at it this game. Any team that beats you by that much, you definitely want pay back. The energy was amazing this afternoon, so we were happy to get the win.”
John Gillon, Gr. St., G
What was different between tonight and the last match up?
“Our defense. I’ve said it 100 times, I hate to be repetitive, but we didn’t play with the same energy (against Virginia Tech). We didn’t have it. You could see in our energy it just wasn’t the same as the Pittsburgh and Miami games and then we just tried to come out and not let that happen again. We went hard in practice, because you practice like you play, and we had some success.”
They scored 96 against you guys two weeks ago. Did you kind of carry the memory of that one into this game?
“Oh yeah. Definitely. We discussed it a little bit in some of the timeouts that we remembered how bad they beat us so we just wanted to come back and kind of return the favor.”
