Head Coach Jim Boeheim Quotes - Morehead State
Syracuse Men’s Basketball
Syracuse vs. Morehead State
November 10, 2018
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Head Coach Jim Boeheim
Opening Statement
“I think that we got off to a good start. We made some really bad turnovers, but they (Morehead State) did a great job of going after the ball. They’re a really aggressive team, and I thought they did a great job of getting the ball and getting loose balls and jumping back into the game.
“We had opportunities, but we missed a lot of shots around the basket. We can’t do that. I thought there was contact, but you have to finish those plays thorough contact. I thought Tyus (Battle) got going and that was a good thing. I think Paschal (Chukwu) was a factor defensively. He let a couple go easy, but then he came up and made a couple of big blocks down there.
“It’s a learning experience. I think the one big thing that hurts Jalen (Carey) is that he hasn’t been able to practice. As a freshman, you are playing against an aggressive defensive player, and you need to have those practices. He just wasn’t prepared for that kind of defensive effort.
“I think we learned a lot tonight, I think it’s a good learning experience for us. And we move on.”
How do you see Marek Dolezaj in that sixth-man role?
“We’ll see how it all works out, I know what he can do. Right now, Oshae (Brissett) and Elijah (Hughes) are our two best forwards. We have to see where Marek fits. He’ll play some at forward and some at center, and that’s still stuff that needs to be worked out as we move on.”
What did Tyus Battle do to get himself going?
“I thought he got in and hit a couple of pull-ups. He missed his first two or three probably, but he got a couple of pull-ups – that’s his shot and that is the shot that he can make and does make. He’s still not there. I think he worked this week for a couple of days on his shooting a little more, and I think that showed up. He’s a very good shooter when he gets that and gets his shot in the right position."
Has Paschal Chukwu overcome his lack of experience?
“I think he’s improving. It all goes back to playing time. He didn’t play much in high school. He didn’t play his first year. He sat out a year, he got hurt. Last year was his first year playing and this is his second, to me. He’s doing some things better. He’s closing on the ball better. He’s getting in better position rebound-wise. He’s getting better.
“As a team, we’re just not where we’d like to be. We’re doing the best we can with the situation that we’re in (with starting point guard Frank Howard hurt). It’s hard. It’s like a football team playing without a quarterback. It’s not easy. Hopefully, we’ll learn and get better as we move on.”
The team struggled at the 3-point line, but the team had 30 foul shots. What did you say to the team to make the adjustment?
“It’s pretty obvious that if you’re not shooting the ball from the outside, you have to get to the basket. We did in the second half. Even with that, we scored 84 points and we missed 10 lay-ups. We have to be able to make some of those.
“We’re very good at getting to the basket. This team is very good. We’ve got three or four guys out there that can get to the basket, and we have to do that. If they compress their defenses, then we’ll get some open looks and I think we’ll knock down those shots in those situations.”
What changes for Tyus Battle when he plays the point?
“Nothing. His first three or four baskets were at the point. He can score anywhere. It doesn’t matter where he is. At the end, he was scoring from the point. He’s at the two or the three when we run the same plays. There’s no difference. There’s absolutely no difference.
“Right now, he’s not shooting the ball. He’s not making three’s. He scored 23 points tonight and he hasn’t made a three all year that I remember. When he starts shooting, he’ll be fine. I know what he can do.”
What did you think about the rest of the team?
“I was very encouraged with what Elijah (Hughes) did tonight. I thought he was good. I thought Oshae (Brissett) was really aggressive. He could have had 30 tonight easily. We’re better, but in order to get really better, we have to get Jalen (Carey) on board and we need to get Frank (Howard) back playing. That’s where we have a chance to be what we would like to be, and until then we’ll do the best we can.”
You didn't use the press as much tonight as you did in the first game. What was the reason?
“If you watched the game you’d know that guy went past our press like it wasn’t there. You’re certainly not going to press then. Presses are good when they work. Presses, when they don’t work, aren’t so good. We couldn’t press that guy if we had seven guys out there.
“That’s why you coach for 50 years: so you figure out the difference between when you press and when you don’t press. Just because it works in one situation doesn’t mean it’s going to work the next time, and maybe it will. But you don’t know, and you have to try it, and we did with absolutely no success. In fact, if we had pressed the whole game, we would have lost the game. That’s a team that can handle that. That’s why they have four guards out there, and they’re good. They’re good with the ball, they move the ball, and they don’t turn it over. They only had 12 turnovers. They did a good job with the pressure.
“I think they’re a better team than people realize. They lost a lot of games last year, but those guys are back and they learned a lot. They had a chance against Connecticut too, but a few of their players went 0-for-10 or 0-for-12 from the three and they were in the game. They’ve got a pretty good team. I’m happy to get a win here.”
Syracuse vs. Morehead State
November 10, 2018
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Head Coach Jim Boeheim
Opening Statement
“I think that we got off to a good start. We made some really bad turnovers, but they (Morehead State) did a great job of going after the ball. They’re a really aggressive team, and I thought they did a great job of getting the ball and getting loose balls and jumping back into the game.
“We had opportunities, but we missed a lot of shots around the basket. We can’t do that. I thought there was contact, but you have to finish those plays thorough contact. I thought Tyus (Battle) got going and that was a good thing. I think Paschal (Chukwu) was a factor defensively. He let a couple go easy, but then he came up and made a couple of big blocks down there.
“It’s a learning experience. I think the one big thing that hurts Jalen (Carey) is that he hasn’t been able to practice. As a freshman, you are playing against an aggressive defensive player, and you need to have those practices. He just wasn’t prepared for that kind of defensive effort.
“I think we learned a lot tonight, I think it’s a good learning experience for us. And we move on.”
How do you see Marek Dolezaj in that sixth-man role?
“We’ll see how it all works out, I know what he can do. Right now, Oshae (Brissett) and Elijah (Hughes) are our two best forwards. We have to see where Marek fits. He’ll play some at forward and some at center, and that’s still stuff that needs to be worked out as we move on.”
What did Tyus Battle do to get himself going?
“I thought he got in and hit a couple of pull-ups. He missed his first two or three probably, but he got a couple of pull-ups – that’s his shot and that is the shot that he can make and does make. He’s still not there. I think he worked this week for a couple of days on his shooting a little more, and I think that showed up. He’s a very good shooter when he gets that and gets his shot in the right position."
Has Paschal Chukwu overcome his lack of experience?
“I think he’s improving. It all goes back to playing time. He didn’t play much in high school. He didn’t play his first year. He sat out a year, he got hurt. Last year was his first year playing and this is his second, to me. He’s doing some things better. He’s closing on the ball better. He’s getting in better position rebound-wise. He’s getting better.
“As a team, we’re just not where we’d like to be. We’re doing the best we can with the situation that we’re in (with starting point guard Frank Howard hurt). It’s hard. It’s like a football team playing without a quarterback. It’s not easy. Hopefully, we’ll learn and get better as we move on.”
The team struggled at the 3-point line, but the team had 30 foul shots. What did you say to the team to make the adjustment?
“It’s pretty obvious that if you’re not shooting the ball from the outside, you have to get to the basket. We did in the second half. Even with that, we scored 84 points and we missed 10 lay-ups. We have to be able to make some of those.
“We’re very good at getting to the basket. This team is very good. We’ve got three or four guys out there that can get to the basket, and we have to do that. If they compress their defenses, then we’ll get some open looks and I think we’ll knock down those shots in those situations.”
What changes for Tyus Battle when he plays the point?
“Nothing. His first three or four baskets were at the point. He can score anywhere. It doesn’t matter where he is. At the end, he was scoring from the point. He’s at the two or the three when we run the same plays. There’s no difference. There’s absolutely no difference.
“Right now, he’s not shooting the ball. He’s not making three’s. He scored 23 points tonight and he hasn’t made a three all year that I remember. When he starts shooting, he’ll be fine. I know what he can do.”
What did you think about the rest of the team?
“I was very encouraged with what Elijah (Hughes) did tonight. I thought he was good. I thought Oshae (Brissett) was really aggressive. He could have had 30 tonight easily. We’re better, but in order to get really better, we have to get Jalen (Carey) on board and we need to get Frank (Howard) back playing. That’s where we have a chance to be what we would like to be, and until then we’ll do the best we can.”
You didn't use the press as much tonight as you did in the first game. What was the reason?
“If you watched the game you’d know that guy went past our press like it wasn’t there. You’re certainly not going to press then. Presses are good when they work. Presses, when they don’t work, aren’t so good. We couldn’t press that guy if we had seven guys out there.
“That’s why you coach for 50 years: so you figure out the difference between when you press and when you don’t press. Just because it works in one situation doesn’t mean it’s going to work the next time, and maybe it will. But you don’t know, and you have to try it, and we did with absolutely no success. In fact, if we had pressed the whole game, we would have lost the game. That’s a team that can handle that. That’s why they have four guards out there, and they’re good. They’re good with the ball, they move the ball, and they don’t turn it over. They only had 12 turnovers. They did a good job with the pressure.
“I think they’re a better team than people realize. They lost a lot of games last year, but those guys are back and they learned a lot. They had a chance against Connecticut too, but a few of their players went 0-for-10 or 0-for-12 from the three and they were in the game. They’ve got a pretty good team. I’m happy to get a win here.”
