Head Coach Jim Boeheim Quotes - Ole Miss
Syracuse Men’s Basketball
Syracuse vs. Ole Miss
Saturday, March 18, 2017
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Head Coach Jim Boeheim
Opening Statement:
“This game is really a microcosm of our season. We fight hard, we battle. When our shots aren’t going, we aren’t able to stop the other team’s shooters. They have two guys shooting it well. At the end of the shot clock, twice where we tied the game, we couldn’t get up on them and keep them from shooting. You have to stop the guy from shooting. We never got out of the mentality that you have in high school where you hope they miss. You have to get up and you have to guard the shooters and we haven’t done that all year – obviously, especially on the road. Even some of the games we won at home, we never stopped the other team’s best shooter. We were just able to score more.
“They are a good team. They shot the ball well and we did not attempt to guard them at the 3-point line, even with the shot clock going down to the end, like at the end of the first half, and then we tied the game twice with three’s, and the shot clock is almost down and we let them shoot again from the three. It’s just a microcosm of our season. Obviously, it’s very disappointing when you can’t guard at the 3-point line. We had that problem all year.
“Obviously, Andrew (White III) has shot the ball great all year. He had a bad day and we could have overcome that if we had played a little bit of defense and we didn’t. I thought Taurean (Thompson) was really good the second half. He moved, he rebounded. He did things we need him to do. I thought Tyler Lydon battled like he has all year long. He didn’t finish inside the way we know he can. He just didn’t tonight. He hasn’t shot the ball well in a while.
“I don’t know what John (Gillon) is thinking. I have no idea. He played 52 minutes in the last two games and took three shots after taking 15 shots, 12 shots, 10 shots consistently. You’re point guard has to make plays. They ran at him with a little half-court trap and he threw the ball away. He has been so key to us.
“Frank (Howard) makes really good plays and then he just makes bad plays. And he’s better than that. He’s very capable if he can eliminate some of the plays he makes mistakes on.
“Tyus (Battle) has been good, really good all year. I thought he was again. But when we don’t shoot well from the 3-point line, 8-for-30, we’re not winning those games because of our defense. This game is no differently defensively. It’s what we’ve done all year. For us to win games like this, we have to be really good on offense. We have to shoot the ball well – 8-for-30 is not going to get it done.”
With the defense, is it a lack of concentration, not knowing where the guys are, what is it?
“Maybe ask them, I’m not sure. We’ve done it all year, it’s nothing new. If we shot it well we would have won. But, when you don’t shoot it well you have to stop somebody. They shot 15-for-32, and they’re good shooters, but nobody’s that good. We have to get up and make them change the shot. We didn’t do that.”
The shots Andrew White III and Tyus Battle were taking in the first half, were you happy with those?
“We didn’t take a bad shot in the game that I saw. Not one. We got it inside and we didn’t finish. We had some wide-open looks from the 3-point line. The three’s that Andrew (White III) hit at the end were tougher than the one’s he had missed, for the most part. He just had a bad night, a bad shooting night, but he got the looks.”
For Taurean Thompson’s defense to improve for next year, is it about intensity with him, is it about understanding?
“It’s everything. I don’t think we’ve ever had a freshman center that was that good right away, not once. It takes time. He can play the forward a little bit too, which I think could be better for him at that position. He’s a very creative offensive player and defensively in the second half tonight, he was much better. Their big guy’s averaging big numbers and we did a fairly good job on him. He was 4-for-13, we did a good job on him. He’s a big-time scorer.
“I thought he got a lot better throughout the course of the year. It’s a big change when you’re a big guy coming into college your first year. Some guys aren’t ready at all. It takes time. He had a good year. If he played 32 minutes a game he would have averaged 15 points per game. He’s very good offensively, which is usually the other way around. Big guys’ offense takes more time, but his offense is very good. He just has to get better on defense and rebound better.”
What strides did you see Tyus Battle make throughout the year?
“I thought he played great this year. I mean he had a great year. He made big, big shots. We struggled, but he made a couple of big threes to get us back in it. He made two monster drives in the second half. He’s really gotten better, he has a chance to be a special player.”
How soon do you start thinking about next year?
“I’m always thinking about it one way or another. There are always thoughts about it. What we’re going to do, what we have to get done. We’ve got some work to do, and we’d like to bring someone in so we’ll see what happens. I like the three guys we have commitments from. I think we’ll try to find somebody else. But, we’ll see what happens. We’ve got some good young players, we just have to get some help for them, especially inside. I think the guys we have coming will help us. Paschal (Chukwu) will be back.”
How will you remember this season?
“It’s a season where we did some great things. We had some great moments on the offensive end especially. We really did some good things offensively. We fought our way from the bottom of the league to start out, to the middle of the best league in the country. We tied for seventh (after) being in a bad place and this team fought back.
“They really battled back well, Andrew (White III) had an unbelievable year, I thought Tyus Battle had a great year. Individually, Tyler Lydon did really well on the boards. He struggled shooting little bit. He got on the boards and played his tail off. He battled in there every game. I thought Frank (Howard) showed a lot of signs. He just has to become a little but more consistent. I really think he’s a good playmaker, who's developing his shooting. He gives us good defense at the other end. He’s our best defensive player on the other end.
“I thought there were a lot of positives, a lot of things that we have to work on, but, a lot of positive things this year. It’s always disappointing when you miss the (NCAA) tournament. We needed to win one more game somewhere along the way. It was that close of a call. We lost to South Carolina, who I wouldn’t be surprised if they win their next game and get to the Sweet 16. They’re a really good basketball team. Wisconsin, I wouldn’t be surprised if they won their next game, (a) really good basketball team. The other teams that we lost to played really well when we played them. We got better. I thought it was a lot of positive things, though you always look at the negatives. But one more win along the way, there would have been a different outlook then. We didn’t get that win, and that’s the way it is.”
Overall assessment of Andrew White II and John Gillon at the end of the season, from how they started off?
“Andrew (White III) played great the whole year. He was tremendous the whole year. We were a little disadvantaged at forward with him because of size. It hurts us on the boards and defensively, but offensively he was great. You couldn’t have asked for a player to have a better year. He probably had the best offensive year of anybody in the league, he was there every night. I thought John (Gillon) played extremely well during the middle when we got going. He was a big key for us when he played well. He was a game wining player.”
Syracuse vs. Ole Miss
Saturday, March 18, 2017
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Head Coach Jim Boeheim
Opening Statement:
“This game is really a microcosm of our season. We fight hard, we battle. When our shots aren’t going, we aren’t able to stop the other team’s shooters. They have two guys shooting it well. At the end of the shot clock, twice where we tied the game, we couldn’t get up on them and keep them from shooting. You have to stop the guy from shooting. We never got out of the mentality that you have in high school where you hope they miss. You have to get up and you have to guard the shooters and we haven’t done that all year – obviously, especially on the road. Even some of the games we won at home, we never stopped the other team’s best shooter. We were just able to score more.
“They are a good team. They shot the ball well and we did not attempt to guard them at the 3-point line, even with the shot clock going down to the end, like at the end of the first half, and then we tied the game twice with three’s, and the shot clock is almost down and we let them shoot again from the three. It’s just a microcosm of our season. Obviously, it’s very disappointing when you can’t guard at the 3-point line. We had that problem all year.
“Obviously, Andrew (White III) has shot the ball great all year. He had a bad day and we could have overcome that if we had played a little bit of defense and we didn’t. I thought Taurean (Thompson) was really good the second half. He moved, he rebounded. He did things we need him to do. I thought Tyler Lydon battled like he has all year long. He didn’t finish inside the way we know he can. He just didn’t tonight. He hasn’t shot the ball well in a while.
“I don’t know what John (Gillon) is thinking. I have no idea. He played 52 minutes in the last two games and took three shots after taking 15 shots, 12 shots, 10 shots consistently. You’re point guard has to make plays. They ran at him with a little half-court trap and he threw the ball away. He has been so key to us.
“Frank (Howard) makes really good plays and then he just makes bad plays. And he’s better than that. He’s very capable if he can eliminate some of the plays he makes mistakes on.
“Tyus (Battle) has been good, really good all year. I thought he was again. But when we don’t shoot well from the 3-point line, 8-for-30, we’re not winning those games because of our defense. This game is no differently defensively. It’s what we’ve done all year. For us to win games like this, we have to be really good on offense. We have to shoot the ball well – 8-for-30 is not going to get it done.”
With the defense, is it a lack of concentration, not knowing where the guys are, what is it?
“Maybe ask them, I’m not sure. We’ve done it all year, it’s nothing new. If we shot it well we would have won. But, when you don’t shoot it well you have to stop somebody. They shot 15-for-32, and they’re good shooters, but nobody’s that good. We have to get up and make them change the shot. We didn’t do that.”
The shots Andrew White III and Tyus Battle were taking in the first half, were you happy with those?
“We didn’t take a bad shot in the game that I saw. Not one. We got it inside and we didn’t finish. We had some wide-open looks from the 3-point line. The three’s that Andrew (White III) hit at the end were tougher than the one’s he had missed, for the most part. He just had a bad night, a bad shooting night, but he got the looks.”
For Taurean Thompson’s defense to improve for next year, is it about intensity with him, is it about understanding?
“It’s everything. I don’t think we’ve ever had a freshman center that was that good right away, not once. It takes time. He can play the forward a little bit too, which I think could be better for him at that position. He’s a very creative offensive player and defensively in the second half tonight, he was much better. Their big guy’s averaging big numbers and we did a fairly good job on him. He was 4-for-13, we did a good job on him. He’s a big-time scorer.
“I thought he got a lot better throughout the course of the year. It’s a big change when you’re a big guy coming into college your first year. Some guys aren’t ready at all. It takes time. He had a good year. If he played 32 minutes a game he would have averaged 15 points per game. He’s very good offensively, which is usually the other way around. Big guys’ offense takes more time, but his offense is very good. He just has to get better on defense and rebound better.”
What strides did you see Tyus Battle make throughout the year?
“I thought he played great this year. I mean he had a great year. He made big, big shots. We struggled, but he made a couple of big threes to get us back in it. He made two monster drives in the second half. He’s really gotten better, he has a chance to be a special player.”
How soon do you start thinking about next year?
“I’m always thinking about it one way or another. There are always thoughts about it. What we’re going to do, what we have to get done. We’ve got some work to do, and we’d like to bring someone in so we’ll see what happens. I like the three guys we have commitments from. I think we’ll try to find somebody else. But, we’ll see what happens. We’ve got some good young players, we just have to get some help for them, especially inside. I think the guys we have coming will help us. Paschal (Chukwu) will be back.”
How will you remember this season?
“It’s a season where we did some great things. We had some great moments on the offensive end especially. We really did some good things offensively. We fought our way from the bottom of the league to start out, to the middle of the best league in the country. We tied for seventh (after) being in a bad place and this team fought back.
“They really battled back well, Andrew (White III) had an unbelievable year, I thought Tyus Battle had a great year. Individually, Tyler Lydon did really well on the boards. He struggled shooting little bit. He got on the boards and played his tail off. He battled in there every game. I thought Frank (Howard) showed a lot of signs. He just has to become a little but more consistent. I really think he’s a good playmaker, who's developing his shooting. He gives us good defense at the other end. He’s our best defensive player on the other end.
“I thought there were a lot of positives, a lot of things that we have to work on, but, a lot of positive things this year. It’s always disappointing when you miss the (NCAA) tournament. We needed to win one more game somewhere along the way. It was that close of a call. We lost to South Carolina, who I wouldn’t be surprised if they win their next game and get to the Sweet 16. They’re a really good basketball team. Wisconsin, I wouldn’t be surprised if they won their next game, (a) really good basketball team. The other teams that we lost to played really well when we played them. We got better. I thought it was a lot of positive things, though you always look at the negatives. But one more win along the way, there would have been a different outlook then. We didn’t get that win, and that’s the way it is.”
Overall assessment of Andrew White II and John Gillon at the end of the season, from how they started off?
“Andrew (White III) played great the whole year. He was tremendous the whole year. We were a little disadvantaged at forward with him because of size. It hurts us on the boards and defensively, but offensively he was great. You couldn’t have asked for a player to have a better year. He probably had the best offensive year of anybody in the league, he was there every night. I thought John (Gillon) played extremely well during the middle when we got going. He was a big key for us when he played well. He was a game wining player.”
