Coach Boeheim Quotes - Virginia
Postgame Quotes
Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim
Feb. 4, 2017 | Carrier Dome
Opening Statement:
“Virginia played great. If someone had told me they were going to shoot 12-for-24 from the three, or 24-for-50 -- I would’ve not liked our chances too much in this game. In spite of those numbers I thought we did a pretty good job defensively. We made some good plays inside, we made our free throws when we’ve had to all year. They made a couple of tough threes when they had the lead, but the game turned in the second have when Gerry (McNamara) and Mike (Hopkins) were talking about being more open in the circle and trying to get in the lane.
“We tried to get in the lane the whole second half and just get the ball to the basket. First half we were shooting three’s, we were shooting jumpers, and we weren’t getting any traction. Second half we were able to get to the basket. Their two best offensive players against the zone are the two freshmen, and I’m sure they would say they’re their two weakest defenders. So, we tried to drive those guys as much as we could and that got us in the lead. We got off to a great start. Andrew (White III) got us going and we just started driving the ball, making the plays. John (Gillon) struggled for a lot of the game, but he made a couple of really big plays. The last shot he made in the game was a huge shot. We just hung in there.
"This team had a lot of adversity. Obviously, four games ago we were in a really deep hole we had to work our way out of. They’ve done a great job. Tonight was another really great example. NC State, being down 12, 16 (points), and they just keep playing, keep fighting and I’m very proud of this team. Tyus (Battle) -- I thought he was unbelievable tonight. He made some plays that were just great plays, unbelievable plays. And that’s what it takes - players have to make plays. I thought the fans were great. They always are. Especially when we start playing better! They’re really good then.
“It was a great comeback against one of the best defensive teams -- one of the best road defensive teams. They won at Notre Dame by 15, they won at Louisville, they were ahead the whole game. They’re really difficult to play against. For us to shoot 73 percent - I don’t even believe that number looking at it, I think it has to be wrong. From the field in the second half to shoot 66 percent from the 3-point line, those are mind boggling numbers - they don’t do that. I think last year we were the first team to beat them when they had a 12-point lead at half time or more. They had a 12-point lead today and we came back and won. It shows a lot of determination from our players and I’m really proud of what they did today. That was an unbelievable comeback. I think it topped the other night because of the way Virginia plays defense. We had to shoot 73 percent and 66 percent to win. So, that’s pretty good.”
Did your comeback against this team last year give you any insight for today?
“No, because we knew we couldn’t press them. We tried to press them in the first half, but they’re really good against pressure. They got an open three, we weren’t going to press them. We knew we had to start off the second half and get a little bit of a lead and I didn’t know if we could. The driving helped us and Tyus (Battle) made a tough three to start the second-half. We started driving, getting good looks, and getting to the foul line. Andrew (White III) made a couple, Tyler Lydon made one.
"Tyler Lydon didn’t score much, but I’ll tell you what, defensively down there he was tremendous. Playing two guys down there, we were so concerned about their shooters so we wanted to stay out and that opened up the middle. He was 2-on-1 in there a lot and it was a tremendous effort.”
Four games ago the NCAA tournament looked pretty bleak, would you say you’re in the conversation now?
“I don’t talk about that, never have. We’re just going to play. What people say doesn’t really effect anything. We just have to go play the next game. We’ve been doing that for a long time and we need to keep doing that.”
Was there something specific you said at halftime that helped you to win?
“We changed the offense a little bit, that’s it.”
How key were the turnovers that you forced Virginia into?
“They don’t make a lot of them and they made some key ones in the second half. Some of them they made good plays on, and some of them they made a mistake. They moved so fluent in the first half and we got them a little bit off off-balance in the second half, but even with that they still made some tough threes. (London) Perrantes is the guy. We let him have a couple, but he’s always going to make one when the pressure is on.”
Can you talk about Tyus’s (Battle) overall game?
“Tyus (Battle) was great. This was the best game he’s played, he was fabulous today.”
What would say about the grad transfers, (John) Gillon as well as (Andrew) White?
“They played great, they’ve been playing great. John was off a little bit tonight - he couldn’t get in the lane, they we’re cheating and really guarding him. Finally, he did what he needed to do in the second-half. He got the lane, he made that key basket the one he made.”
Can you talk about your plan to change, or open it up, in the second-half?
“Just to drive, you can’t screen - they do too much stuff. You have to open it up and you have to drive. That’ll help, but they won’t come completely off the three-point shooters. We were able to get into the lane. Andrew (White III) has really improved with that, we’ve got those three guys that can really drive and get into the lane.”
Was pushing the pace in that second half also part of the process?
“When we get steals we can push it, but we didn’t get steals in the first half so you can’t push it. So when we get a couple of fast breaks it’s because we’ve gotten steals.”
On the team:
“These players have come miles and miles and it still goes back to what I’ve been saying. We have four good players in the starting lineup and it’s been a hard process. We still have bad breakdowns – (London) Perrante getting the corner three, we just talked about it in the timeout, just talked about it. So we’re still having those breakdowns – because you give guys like that those threes, they’re going to make them. They made two monster plays, but we hung on and got to the foul line. It was a great effort and I’m really proud of these guys.”
Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim
Feb. 4, 2017 | Carrier Dome
Opening Statement:
“Virginia played great. If someone had told me they were going to shoot 12-for-24 from the three, or 24-for-50 -- I would’ve not liked our chances too much in this game. In spite of those numbers I thought we did a pretty good job defensively. We made some good plays inside, we made our free throws when we’ve had to all year. They made a couple of tough threes when they had the lead, but the game turned in the second have when Gerry (McNamara) and Mike (Hopkins) were talking about being more open in the circle and trying to get in the lane.
“We tried to get in the lane the whole second half and just get the ball to the basket. First half we were shooting three’s, we were shooting jumpers, and we weren’t getting any traction. Second half we were able to get to the basket. Their two best offensive players against the zone are the two freshmen, and I’m sure they would say they’re their two weakest defenders. So, we tried to drive those guys as much as we could and that got us in the lead. We got off to a great start. Andrew (White III) got us going and we just started driving the ball, making the plays. John (Gillon) struggled for a lot of the game, but he made a couple of really big plays. The last shot he made in the game was a huge shot. We just hung in there.
"This team had a lot of adversity. Obviously, four games ago we were in a really deep hole we had to work our way out of. They’ve done a great job. Tonight was another really great example. NC State, being down 12, 16 (points), and they just keep playing, keep fighting and I’m very proud of this team. Tyus (Battle) -- I thought he was unbelievable tonight. He made some plays that were just great plays, unbelievable plays. And that’s what it takes - players have to make plays. I thought the fans were great. They always are. Especially when we start playing better! They’re really good then.
“It was a great comeback against one of the best defensive teams -- one of the best road defensive teams. They won at Notre Dame by 15, they won at Louisville, they were ahead the whole game. They’re really difficult to play against. For us to shoot 73 percent - I don’t even believe that number looking at it, I think it has to be wrong. From the field in the second half to shoot 66 percent from the 3-point line, those are mind boggling numbers - they don’t do that. I think last year we were the first team to beat them when they had a 12-point lead at half time or more. They had a 12-point lead today and we came back and won. It shows a lot of determination from our players and I’m really proud of what they did today. That was an unbelievable comeback. I think it topped the other night because of the way Virginia plays defense. We had to shoot 73 percent and 66 percent to win. So, that’s pretty good.”
Did your comeback against this team last year give you any insight for today?
“No, because we knew we couldn’t press them. We tried to press them in the first half, but they’re really good against pressure. They got an open three, we weren’t going to press them. We knew we had to start off the second half and get a little bit of a lead and I didn’t know if we could. The driving helped us and Tyus (Battle) made a tough three to start the second-half. We started driving, getting good looks, and getting to the foul line. Andrew (White III) made a couple, Tyler Lydon made one.
"Tyler Lydon didn’t score much, but I’ll tell you what, defensively down there he was tremendous. Playing two guys down there, we were so concerned about their shooters so we wanted to stay out and that opened up the middle. He was 2-on-1 in there a lot and it was a tremendous effort.”
Four games ago the NCAA tournament looked pretty bleak, would you say you’re in the conversation now?
“I don’t talk about that, never have. We’re just going to play. What people say doesn’t really effect anything. We just have to go play the next game. We’ve been doing that for a long time and we need to keep doing that.”
Was there something specific you said at halftime that helped you to win?
“We changed the offense a little bit, that’s it.”
How key were the turnovers that you forced Virginia into?
“They don’t make a lot of them and they made some key ones in the second half. Some of them they made good plays on, and some of them they made a mistake. They moved so fluent in the first half and we got them a little bit off off-balance in the second half, but even with that they still made some tough threes. (London) Perrantes is the guy. We let him have a couple, but he’s always going to make one when the pressure is on.”
Can you talk about Tyus’s (Battle) overall game?
“Tyus (Battle) was great. This was the best game he’s played, he was fabulous today.”
What would say about the grad transfers, (John) Gillon as well as (Andrew) White?
“They played great, they’ve been playing great. John was off a little bit tonight - he couldn’t get in the lane, they we’re cheating and really guarding him. Finally, he did what he needed to do in the second-half. He got the lane, he made that key basket the one he made.”
Can you talk about your plan to change, or open it up, in the second-half?
“Just to drive, you can’t screen - they do too much stuff. You have to open it up and you have to drive. That’ll help, but they won’t come completely off the three-point shooters. We were able to get into the lane. Andrew (White III) has really improved with that, we’ve got those three guys that can really drive and get into the lane.”
Was pushing the pace in that second half also part of the process?
“When we get steals we can push it, but we didn’t get steals in the first half so you can’t push it. So when we get a couple of fast breaks it’s because we’ve gotten steals.”
On the team:
“These players have come miles and miles and it still goes back to what I’ve been saying. We have four good players in the starting lineup and it’s been a hard process. We still have bad breakdowns – (London) Perrante getting the corner three, we just talked about it in the timeout, just talked about it. So we’re still having those breakdowns – because you give guys like that those threes, they’re going to make them. They made two monster plays, but we hung on and got to the foul line. It was a great effort and I’m really proud of these guys.”
