Head Coach Jim Boeheim Quotes - Pittsburgh
Syracuse Men’s Basketball
Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh
Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Head Coach Jim Boeheim
Opening Statement:
“I think Jeff (Capel) has done an unbelievable job with his team. They come at you for 40 minutes with great pressure and great dribble penetration. I thought Paschal (Chukwu) did a good job for the most part for most of the game. He gets panicked when he gets pressure on a rebound, and we can’t have those turnovers.
“I thought the difference in the second half was that our defense was good and we hit a couple of shots. I think Tyus (Battle) and Frank (Howard) hit one and we got a little space.
"They are a really good team. They are coming at you just about as hard as you can come and play, but I thought we did a lot of good things. We can’t miss 11 free throws and we’ve done that a couple of times this year. When you have a 12- or 14-point game, you have to make those down the stretch.
“They (Pitt) battled hard and are a tough, physical team. When they start pressing and doubling you like that, it’s physical. I didn’t think we moved it as well. Marek (Dolezaj) made a couple of great pressure passes backdoor to give us the lead.
“But it was a good solid win. I told the players that every game in this league is going to be like this –there is nothing easy. It’s going to be difficult every time you come to play, and this was a good win.”
Can you talk about the difference Paschal Chukwu makes for you guys with double-digit rebounds in two straight games?
“His rebounding and defense are good. He blocked three, but he changed some shots today. He just has to finish better under the basket. He’s right under there, but he is still dribbling – when he is right underneath he’s got to go up and put the ball in the basket. He is very important for our defense.
“Marek gives us a great passer coming in, but he can’t do the things defensively that we need. I thought he did really good offensively today. Oshae (Brissett) has got to concentrate on being physical, getting inside and rebounding the ball. He is still missing around the basket, and he can convert those. But I thought, again, that it was a good, balanced effort.”
How do you feel the team played early in the game when Tyus Battle wasn’t scoring?
“Tyus got going, but they (Pitt) are a good defensive team and they get in your face. We were missing shots and we weren’t getting any penetration. When we got it, Oshae (Brissett) probably missed two, three, or four layups. You have to convert those. Our defense was good throughout, but our offense really struggled early. But we did shoot the ball well from three and that made a difference.”
You mentioned the uptick in tenacity and attitude for Pitt. What do you think of the job Jeff Capel has done so far?
“He’s done a great job. He picked up some good guys late. Those guys are good. We know (Jared) Frame is good. We worry about him and (Xavier) Johnson is really good. (Trey) McGowens is really good even though he didn’t shoot well today. Those guys are really good players who play hard and come after you every play. He’s done a great job.”
When Buddy (Boeheim) went through the poor shooting stretch earlier this year, what do you say to him to keep his confidence up?
“He knows he can shoot. He probably had the best few days of practice he has had all year. He made everything, literally everything. There were some weeks he didn’t shoot well. But he was this week so I knew I was going to get him in at some point. We need to see him better. We’re trying to throw a bounce pass inside to someone who’s covered when he’s standing there on the wing. We need to find him or Elijah (Hughes) if they’re there. We need to do a better job with end-of-the-clock situations. If we can’t get by guys, we need to do something better in those situations. He’s a good defender (Buddy). He made a great steal down there. He doesn’t hurt us when he’s in there. A couple times when Tyus (Battle) was driving they were hanging right with him (Buddy) and Tyus got some room to drive.”
Was this game more suited for Buddy than for Jalen Carey?
“No, not really. We needed a shooter. Jalen, obviously, had a bad game at Duke but he’s been practicing better. The one advantage we had from Frank (Howard) being out (earlier this season) was that Tyus (Battle) learned how to play the point. So now we try to get Tyus the ball right away when he’s at the point. He scored 10, 12 points from that spot. Early in the year, he was trying to run the team, now he’s taking advantage of the ball screens because he’s got the ball. He can go two ways. If you help he’s got guys open on the wings. But it was just a matter of I wanted to play Ty at the point. Jalen didn’t do anything wrong.”
Were you concerned about a hangover effect after Monday’s win?
“We know we have to play every game. We’ve never worried about what’s happened in the past here or what’s next. We worry about what’s right now. We made a couple of mistakes and they capitalized right away. They are a good team. They’re difficult to play against.”
How have you seen Frank Howard develop defensively?
“He’s a good defender, he’s just not shooting the ball the way he did before. Obviously, at Duke, he hit some, but tonight it was a struggle. But he did have five assists and no turnovers. He just struggled shooting. I just know he’s really been starting to shoot it well in practice. He can make those shots. He just has to keep working and keep getting comfortable.”
What’s been the biggest difference with Paschal Chukwu from where he was two weeks ago?
“He’s more active. He was just standing and watching, now he’s moving around. He’s going to get the ball. Looking to block shots, before he was just watching. He’s a different player than he was early. The main reason I sat him down was he just wasn’t doing anything. If he’s going to be out there, he hurts us on offense a little bit so we need him to be there on defense and be a dominate type inside player.”
Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh
Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Head Coach Jim Boeheim
Opening Statement:
“I think Jeff (Capel) has done an unbelievable job with his team. They come at you for 40 minutes with great pressure and great dribble penetration. I thought Paschal (Chukwu) did a good job for the most part for most of the game. He gets panicked when he gets pressure on a rebound, and we can’t have those turnovers.
“I thought the difference in the second half was that our defense was good and we hit a couple of shots. I think Tyus (Battle) and Frank (Howard) hit one and we got a little space.
"They are a really good team. They are coming at you just about as hard as you can come and play, but I thought we did a lot of good things. We can’t miss 11 free throws and we’ve done that a couple of times this year. When you have a 12- or 14-point game, you have to make those down the stretch.
“They (Pitt) battled hard and are a tough, physical team. When they start pressing and doubling you like that, it’s physical. I didn’t think we moved it as well. Marek (Dolezaj) made a couple of great pressure passes backdoor to give us the lead.
“But it was a good solid win. I told the players that every game in this league is going to be like this –there is nothing easy. It’s going to be difficult every time you come to play, and this was a good win.”
Can you talk about the difference Paschal Chukwu makes for you guys with double-digit rebounds in two straight games?
“His rebounding and defense are good. He blocked three, but he changed some shots today. He just has to finish better under the basket. He’s right under there, but he is still dribbling – when he is right underneath he’s got to go up and put the ball in the basket. He is very important for our defense.
“Marek gives us a great passer coming in, but he can’t do the things defensively that we need. I thought he did really good offensively today. Oshae (Brissett) has got to concentrate on being physical, getting inside and rebounding the ball. He is still missing around the basket, and he can convert those. But I thought, again, that it was a good, balanced effort.”
How do you feel the team played early in the game when Tyus Battle wasn’t scoring?
“Tyus got going, but they (Pitt) are a good defensive team and they get in your face. We were missing shots and we weren’t getting any penetration. When we got it, Oshae (Brissett) probably missed two, three, or four layups. You have to convert those. Our defense was good throughout, but our offense really struggled early. But we did shoot the ball well from three and that made a difference.”
You mentioned the uptick in tenacity and attitude for Pitt. What do you think of the job Jeff Capel has done so far?
“He’s done a great job. He picked up some good guys late. Those guys are good. We know (Jared) Frame is good. We worry about him and (Xavier) Johnson is really good. (Trey) McGowens is really good even though he didn’t shoot well today. Those guys are really good players who play hard and come after you every play. He’s done a great job.”
When Buddy (Boeheim) went through the poor shooting stretch earlier this year, what do you say to him to keep his confidence up?
“He knows he can shoot. He probably had the best few days of practice he has had all year. He made everything, literally everything. There were some weeks he didn’t shoot well. But he was this week so I knew I was going to get him in at some point. We need to see him better. We’re trying to throw a bounce pass inside to someone who’s covered when he’s standing there on the wing. We need to find him or Elijah (Hughes) if they’re there. We need to do a better job with end-of-the-clock situations. If we can’t get by guys, we need to do something better in those situations. He’s a good defender (Buddy). He made a great steal down there. He doesn’t hurt us when he’s in there. A couple times when Tyus (Battle) was driving they were hanging right with him (Buddy) and Tyus got some room to drive.”
Was this game more suited for Buddy than for Jalen Carey?
“No, not really. We needed a shooter. Jalen, obviously, had a bad game at Duke but he’s been practicing better. The one advantage we had from Frank (Howard) being out (earlier this season) was that Tyus (Battle) learned how to play the point. So now we try to get Tyus the ball right away when he’s at the point. He scored 10, 12 points from that spot. Early in the year, he was trying to run the team, now he’s taking advantage of the ball screens because he’s got the ball. He can go two ways. If you help he’s got guys open on the wings. But it was just a matter of I wanted to play Ty at the point. Jalen didn’t do anything wrong.”
Were you concerned about a hangover effect after Monday’s win?
“We know we have to play every game. We’ve never worried about what’s happened in the past here or what’s next. We worry about what’s right now. We made a couple of mistakes and they capitalized right away. They are a good team. They’re difficult to play against.”
How have you seen Frank Howard develop defensively?
“He’s a good defender, he’s just not shooting the ball the way he did before. Obviously, at Duke, he hit some, but tonight it was a struggle. But he did have five assists and no turnovers. He just struggled shooting. I just know he’s really been starting to shoot it well in practice. He can make those shots. He just has to keep working and keep getting comfortable.”
What’s been the biggest difference with Paschal Chukwu from where he was two weeks ago?
“He’s more active. He was just standing and watching, now he’s moving around. He’s going to get the ball. Looking to block shots, before he was just watching. He’s a different player than he was early. The main reason I sat him down was he just wasn’t doing anything. If he’s going to be out there, he hurts us on offense a little bit so we need him to be there on defense and be a dominate type inside player.”
