Head Coach Jim Boeheim Quotes - Wake Forest
Syracuse Men’s Basketball
Syracuse vs. Wake Forest
Saturday, February 11, 2017
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Head Coach Jim Boeheim
Opening Statement:
“We didn’t let them get comfortable the whole (first) half and then they got that three at the end, that’s two games in a row. We just have to overcome those things. There were running bank shots there at the end. We had to keep offensively being aggressive and going to the basket because they are going to make some shots. I don’t know if anyone has ever come in here and made six three’s in a row but we were up on them but that is pretty good shooting – Mitchell Wilbekin has not been playing, he’s been out and to be able to make four in a row like that.. . .
“We finally got out there and made them go inside and they missed two or three inside. That’s what we have to do. When someone is shooting, you give them something inside and they missed a couple and that was really the difference in the game when it was close.
"Tyus Battle has the ability to get to the basket and I thought Frank Howard made a great play, play of the game with the pass to Paschal Chukwu and he finished that down there.
“We have made our free throws all year -- it was disappointing in the first half we missed four, second half we missed a bunch of them. That’s been a strong suit for our team and if we just make our free throws in this game, in spite of the fact that they shot 69 percent from the three in the second half and 58 percent from the two. In spite of that, if we just make our free throws, we can win by 10 or 12 points. Wake Forest is a pretty good offensive basketball team. We played them in here three times and each game comes down to the last play almost every time. Games down there do the same thing. They lost a lot of games in the league. They are a very good offensive team. They have three guys that can shoot it all the time. We did a good job with Chaundee Brown, he’s been getting 20. (Terrence)Thompson hurt us down there.
“We just played great defense in the first half. It was disappointing that our offense missed free throws, we should have had better control of the When they made their run, we had a little cushion and Tyus made big plays and Frank made a big play to Paschal at the end. That was the difference. Every game in this league is like this, been like this, and will be like this. This was a good win and I’m happy to get it.”
What are your expectations of Braedon Bayer?
“I expect him to not make mistakes, play defense and hustle. He can shoot and, especially if he’s open, he can make shots. He did a good job. I wanted to get him in there so he’s been in the game.
I thought Bourama [Sidibe] was good. We rested him, he got some treatment and I thought he was very good. He gave us 17 really good minutes. If we can get that out of Paschal and him (Sidibe) — they had 14 rebounds, 11 points and two or three blocks – that helps our team.”
Can you give a status report on Matt Moyer?
“He practiced the last two days and then came in today and said he was too sore. He said his ankle hurts and he can’t really jump off one leg. He looked fine in practice the last two days and he helped us against Louisville. He said he was about 60 percent, which I’ll take because that would help us as it helped us against Louisville, but we’ll see what he says.”
How was your team able to get to the free throw line 39 times?
“We’ve been doing it since the first game this year. We have to drive. We got some assists tonight, which is unusual and it’s because we’re driving. Our assists come from missed shots, the guy getting the rebound and putting it back up.”
What did you tell the players when the game got close at the end?
“I told them to play better. We changed the whole defense. We got out, made them drive, made them get the ball at the high post, didn’t let them shoot the threes. Fortunately Wake missed a couple, we got a couple steals and it turned the game. They could’ve gotten inside and scored, but we took away what they were doing. They were smart when we spread out and they went inside. Fortunately, they missed. They didn’t convert six or seven times out of 10.”
How would you rate Frank Howard’s play today – he only had one turnover and nine assists?
“He’s been good recently. I don’t think he’s turned it over that much in a while. We can’t turn it over. Eight turnovers (as a team) is good, we have to keep it low. Two turnovers today were offensive fouls. We need to keep turnovers down.
“He’s a really good player now and he can even get better. It’s his (Howard’s) first year of playing the majority of time. It’s also Paschal’s [Chukwu] first year and I thought today he played well. He made a great catch that he finished. He got a good rebound and dunked it. I thought he did some nice things. He and Bourama [Sidibe] are both healthy, which gives us a good center combination.”
Can you talk about facing North Carolina State on Wednesday?
“They beat North Carolina. They’re a good team. We’ll see on Wednesday.”
Syracuse vs. Wake Forest
Saturday, February 11, 2017
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Head Coach Jim Boeheim
Opening Statement:
“We didn’t let them get comfortable the whole (first) half and then they got that three at the end, that’s two games in a row. We just have to overcome those things. There were running bank shots there at the end. We had to keep offensively being aggressive and going to the basket because they are going to make some shots. I don’t know if anyone has ever come in here and made six three’s in a row but we were up on them but that is pretty good shooting – Mitchell Wilbekin has not been playing, he’s been out and to be able to make four in a row like that.. . .
“We finally got out there and made them go inside and they missed two or three inside. That’s what we have to do. When someone is shooting, you give them something inside and they missed a couple and that was really the difference in the game when it was close.
"Tyus Battle has the ability to get to the basket and I thought Frank Howard made a great play, play of the game with the pass to Paschal Chukwu and he finished that down there.
“We have made our free throws all year -- it was disappointing in the first half we missed four, second half we missed a bunch of them. That’s been a strong suit for our team and if we just make our free throws in this game, in spite of the fact that they shot 69 percent from the three in the second half and 58 percent from the two. In spite of that, if we just make our free throws, we can win by 10 or 12 points. Wake Forest is a pretty good offensive basketball team. We played them in here three times and each game comes down to the last play almost every time. Games down there do the same thing. They lost a lot of games in the league. They are a very good offensive team. They have three guys that can shoot it all the time. We did a good job with Chaundee Brown, he’s been getting 20. (Terrence)Thompson hurt us down there.
“We just played great defense in the first half. It was disappointing that our offense missed free throws, we should have had better control of the When they made their run, we had a little cushion and Tyus made big plays and Frank made a big play to Paschal at the end. That was the difference. Every game in this league is like this, been like this, and will be like this. This was a good win and I’m happy to get it.”
What are your expectations of Braedon Bayer?
“I expect him to not make mistakes, play defense and hustle. He can shoot and, especially if he’s open, he can make shots. He did a good job. I wanted to get him in there so he’s been in the game.
I thought Bourama [Sidibe] was good. We rested him, he got some treatment and I thought he was very good. He gave us 17 really good minutes. If we can get that out of Paschal and him (Sidibe) — they had 14 rebounds, 11 points and two or three blocks – that helps our team.”
Can you give a status report on Matt Moyer?
“He practiced the last two days and then came in today and said he was too sore. He said his ankle hurts and he can’t really jump off one leg. He looked fine in practice the last two days and he helped us against Louisville. He said he was about 60 percent, which I’ll take because that would help us as it helped us against Louisville, but we’ll see what he says.”
How was your team able to get to the free throw line 39 times?
“We’ve been doing it since the first game this year. We have to drive. We got some assists tonight, which is unusual and it’s because we’re driving. Our assists come from missed shots, the guy getting the rebound and putting it back up.”
What did you tell the players when the game got close at the end?
“I told them to play better. We changed the whole defense. We got out, made them drive, made them get the ball at the high post, didn’t let them shoot the threes. Fortunately Wake missed a couple, we got a couple steals and it turned the game. They could’ve gotten inside and scored, but we took away what they were doing. They were smart when we spread out and they went inside. Fortunately, they missed. They didn’t convert six or seven times out of 10.”
How would you rate Frank Howard’s play today – he only had one turnover and nine assists?
“He’s been good recently. I don’t think he’s turned it over that much in a while. We can’t turn it over. Eight turnovers (as a team) is good, we have to keep it low. Two turnovers today were offensive fouls. We need to keep turnovers down.
“He’s a really good player now and he can even get better. It’s his (Howard’s) first year of playing the majority of time. It’s also Paschal’s [Chukwu] first year and I thought today he played well. He made a great catch that he finished. He got a good rebound and dunked it. I thought he did some nice things. He and Bourama [Sidibe] are both healthy, which gives us a good center combination.”
Can you talk about facing North Carolina State on Wednesday?
“They beat North Carolina. They’re a good team. We’ll see on Wednesday.”
