Coach Pitino Postgame Quotes
Syracuse Men’s Basketball
Syracuse vs. Louisville
February 13, 2017
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Louisville Head Coach Rick Pitino
How big of a win is this?
“It's the way we did it. We came out and played 17 minutes of great basketball, and then we got in a little foul trouble and missed our free throws down the stretch. I thought every free throw by Jaylen (Johnson) was going in, and they went in and out. To shoot 16-for-30 from the foul line and still win the game in overtime with your best player fouling out is quite a tribute to their toughness.”
How did your team respond when Syracuse wouldn’t die, and kept coming and coming?
“Nobody is going to die at this point in the season. Everybody is playing for a seed. Everybody is playing for a bid. There’s no dying in the ACC because everybody thinks they have a bid, so everyone’s going to play to the wire. Our guys are playing for something different.”
Can you talk about Ryan [McMahon]?
“Ryan, no matter what the situation is, never met a shot he wouldn’t take. And then he got a big deflection. Ryan, I knew was going to shoot the ball. It doesn’t mean it’s going in under pressure, but he made big plays and I’m really happy he had his moment.”
What is your take on Syracuse after this game and looking at your upcoming game against them?
“They’ve got some of the best shooters in the game. Outside of the end, we did a great job of focusing on Andrew White, because I think he’s the best shooter in college basketball. Even his misses on film go in and out. He’s terrific, their point guard is terrific, (Tyler) Lydon is terrific. Jim (Boeheim) will have them ready for the next one. He’s one of the great ones in our game. My respect for him is off the charts. I hated seeing what he went through. He’s just a great coach and a great guy. I was just thinking, when they announced him as 41 years in a program and people not getting tired of him… I think my town’s tired of me.”
Syracuse vs. Louisville
February 13, 2017
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Louisville Head Coach Rick Pitino
How big of a win is this?
“It's the way we did it. We came out and played 17 minutes of great basketball, and then we got in a little foul trouble and missed our free throws down the stretch. I thought every free throw by Jaylen (Johnson) was going in, and they went in and out. To shoot 16-for-30 from the foul line and still win the game in overtime with your best player fouling out is quite a tribute to their toughness.”
How did your team respond when Syracuse wouldn’t die, and kept coming and coming?
“Nobody is going to die at this point in the season. Everybody is playing for a seed. Everybody is playing for a bid. There’s no dying in the ACC because everybody thinks they have a bid, so everyone’s going to play to the wire. Our guys are playing for something different.”
Can you talk about Ryan [McMahon]?
“Ryan, no matter what the situation is, never met a shot he wouldn’t take. And then he got a big deflection. Ryan, I knew was going to shoot the ball. It doesn’t mean it’s going in under pressure, but he made big plays and I’m really happy he had his moment.”
What is your take on Syracuse after this game and looking at your upcoming game against them?
“They’ve got some of the best shooters in the game. Outside of the end, we did a great job of focusing on Andrew White, because I think he’s the best shooter in college basketball. Even his misses on film go in and out. He’s terrific, their point guard is terrific, (Tyler) Lydon is terrific. Jim (Boeheim) will have them ready for the next one. He’s one of the great ones in our game. My respect for him is off the charts. I hated seeing what he went through. He’s just a great coach and a great guy. I was just thinking, when they announced him as 41 years in a program and people not getting tired of him… I think my town’s tired of me.”
