Head Coach Jim Boeheim Quotes - Cornell
Syracuse Men's Basketball
Syracuse vs. Cornell
Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Head Coach Jim Boeheim
Opening Statement
"I thought during the start of the game we weren’t in sync and weren’t really executing at all, but Tyus pulled us out of it. The second half we got off to a good start, and then we just lost all of our movement and what we were attempting to do. Matt Morgan, I’ve watched him play a lot, is a tremendous shooter. You can’t let him get going, and he got going with a couple of open shots. Then he hit a couple of shots that not many people can make.
"Elijah hadn’t played well, but he took the open holes and got to the basket. Then, we made a couple of good stops on the defensive end. Cornell played well, and they can play well when Matt Morgan gets going. He’s tough, he can put the ball in the basket with anybody in the country. He’ll probably be the second-leading Ivy League scorer of all time to Bill Bradley. I thought Cornell played really well. They hit some shots, and they were patient against our zone.
"We weren’t in sync offensively. Maybe when you come off a game like we had Wednesday where everything was there, maybe it’s a little harder to come back. It shouldn’t be an excuse, but we didn’t seem to be in sync. I think their matchup (zone defense) hurt us. We saw that against Oregon, too, and that bothered us a little bit tonight. We just weren’t sharp and didn’t attack them very well. At the end of the day, you have to get a win. We made plays down the stretch. That’s a good thing."
What was it like to have Jimmy and Buddy playing against each other?
"I was so worried about the game and what was going on, I wasn’t really thinking about that. Their mother can think about that. I’m thinking about trying to get us to play better."
How involved has the coaching staff been in Tyus Battle’s jump shot from a technical standpoint?
“He’s just been getting a lot of shots up. We’ve talked to him about it. I’ve talked to him about it. He’s been getting more shots up. He’s more comfortable where he’s playing. He’s playing the way we know he can play. He’s improved his percentages tremendously.”
You mentioned Frank Howard. In what areas is he behind right now?
”He’s not explosive. He doesn’t get to the basket or even try to get to the basket and that’s what he does. So, if you don’t go to the basket, it’s hard to make plays, really hard. He just needs to be able to do more there. He was shooting great this summer, but this is now. He would start the game with a three, and another three. He could make seven threes. The odds of him making the last one (against Cornell) was 10 percent. That was the game, it was coming down to the wire.”
Has Oshae Brissett rebounded since his rough time at Madison Square Garden?
“He’s been aggressive. He’s been making a couple of threes. He’s playing inside, he’s getting a couple of threes up and making a couple of baskets. He’s good.”
Syracuse vs. Cornell
Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Head Coach Jim Boeheim
Opening Statement
"I thought during the start of the game we weren’t in sync and weren’t really executing at all, but Tyus pulled us out of it. The second half we got off to a good start, and then we just lost all of our movement and what we were attempting to do. Matt Morgan, I’ve watched him play a lot, is a tremendous shooter. You can’t let him get going, and he got going with a couple of open shots. Then he hit a couple of shots that not many people can make.
"Elijah hadn’t played well, but he took the open holes and got to the basket. Then, we made a couple of good stops on the defensive end. Cornell played well, and they can play well when Matt Morgan gets going. He’s tough, he can put the ball in the basket with anybody in the country. He’ll probably be the second-leading Ivy League scorer of all time to Bill Bradley. I thought Cornell played really well. They hit some shots, and they were patient against our zone.
"We weren’t in sync offensively. Maybe when you come off a game like we had Wednesday where everything was there, maybe it’s a little harder to come back. It shouldn’t be an excuse, but we didn’t seem to be in sync. I think their matchup (zone defense) hurt us. We saw that against Oregon, too, and that bothered us a little bit tonight. We just weren’t sharp and didn’t attack them very well. At the end of the day, you have to get a win. We made plays down the stretch. That’s a good thing."
What was it like to have Jimmy and Buddy playing against each other?
"I was so worried about the game and what was going on, I wasn’t really thinking about that. Their mother can think about that. I’m thinking about trying to get us to play better."
How involved has the coaching staff been in Tyus Battle’s jump shot from a technical standpoint?
“He’s just been getting a lot of shots up. We’ve talked to him about it. I’ve talked to him about it. He’s been getting more shots up. He’s more comfortable where he’s playing. He’s playing the way we know he can play. He’s improved his percentages tremendously.”
You mentioned Frank Howard. In what areas is he behind right now?
”He’s not explosive. He doesn’t get to the basket or even try to get to the basket and that’s what he does. So, if you don’t go to the basket, it’s hard to make plays, really hard. He just needs to be able to do more there. He was shooting great this summer, but this is now. He would start the game with a three, and another three. He could make seven threes. The odds of him making the last one (against Cornell) was 10 percent. That was the game, it was coming down to the wire.”
Has Oshae Brissett rebounded since his rough time at Madison Square Garden?
“He’s been aggressive. He’s been making a couple of threes. He’s playing inside, he’s getting a couple of threes up and making a couple of baskets. He’s good.”
