Miami Head Coach Jim Larranaga Quotes
Syracuse Men’s Basketball
Syracuse vs. Miami
January 4, 2017
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Miami Head Coach Jim Larranaga
Opening Statement:
“I thought they were very, very sharp, right from the opening tip. The first few shots that they hit were exactly the kind of shots we did not want them even shooting – just a pass directly to a shooter.
“At the other end, we did not want to take a lot of shots off of the dribble, and we shot way too many of them throughout the game, maybe a little bit more in the first half than late in the second half when we fell behind again. We were not finding the open man quickly enough to have him catch and shoot a wide open three. We were 11-of-26 from the three, and I think we could have taken maybe five or six more if we had just caught it and shot it. Instead, we hesitated, dribbled, and tried to drive into the lane, and then we’re taking a contested two, which is definitely not what we wanted to do.
“I thought they played really well, I thought Tyler Lydon was terrific – 20 points and seven rebounds. Andrew White played well, scoring 22. We only had one guy in double-figures. We’re trying to get four guys every night in double-figures and we weren’t even close to that tonight.”
Did you talk to your team before the game or did you sense that you were playing a team tonight that badly needed a win?
“I think we all knew they did. I don’t know how our players viewed it, but I know what the coaches felt. This is their opening game in the ACC at home, they’re 0-1. Teams have a certain edge when they’re trying to fight back from a loss, and especially, I think, on the road and the way they lost with Boston College making 16 three’s. I think it made the zone a little bit more active and we didn’t respond very well.”
Has anybody else been able to get that kind of quality shots against you consistently like Syracuse did tonight?
“Not this season. Our defense was so lacking that I’m surprised they didn’t have more assists. They get 23 assists on games that they win and they had 16 tonight. I think they easily could have had 20-plus.”
Syracuse vs. Miami
January 4, 2017
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Miami Head Coach Jim Larranaga
Opening Statement:
“I thought they were very, very sharp, right from the opening tip. The first few shots that they hit were exactly the kind of shots we did not want them even shooting – just a pass directly to a shooter.
“At the other end, we did not want to take a lot of shots off of the dribble, and we shot way too many of them throughout the game, maybe a little bit more in the first half than late in the second half when we fell behind again. We were not finding the open man quickly enough to have him catch and shoot a wide open three. We were 11-of-26 from the three, and I think we could have taken maybe five or six more if we had just caught it and shot it. Instead, we hesitated, dribbled, and tried to drive into the lane, and then we’re taking a contested two, which is definitely not what we wanted to do.
“I thought they played really well, I thought Tyler Lydon was terrific – 20 points and seven rebounds. Andrew White played well, scoring 22. We only had one guy in double-figures. We’re trying to get four guys every night in double-figures and we weren’t even close to that tonight.”
Did you talk to your team before the game or did you sense that you were playing a team tonight that badly needed a win?
“I think we all knew they did. I don’t know how our players viewed it, but I know what the coaches felt. This is their opening game in the ACC at home, they’re 0-1. Teams have a certain edge when they’re trying to fight back from a loss, and especially, I think, on the road and the way they lost with Boston College making 16 three’s. I think it made the zone a little bit more active and we didn’t respond very well.”
Has anybody else been able to get that kind of quality shots against you consistently like Syracuse did tonight?
“Not this season. Our defense was so lacking that I’m surprised they didn’t have more assists. They get 23 assists on games that they win and they had 16 tonight. I think they easily could have had 20-plus.”
