Head Coach Jim Boeheim Quotes - Miami
Syracuse Men's Basketball
Syracuse vs. Miami
Thursday, January 24, 2019
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Head Coach Jim Boeheim
Opening Statement:
"They’re (Miami) playing back in the zone -- you’re going to make some shots, it’s as simple as that. Our guys got a couple in the first half, and Elijah (Hughes) got going.
"I thought Marek (Dolezaj) did a good job in the middle, but the difference in the game was how Paschal (Chukwu) played in the second half. He must have forgotten to be there in the first half, but the second half he was active. When he plays like that - blocking shots, rebounding, taking some shots -- we are a different team. We found him for a couple buckets inside too, and that was, again, really good offense.
Elijah is going to get some of those shots. I thought we did a really good job finding him and he knocked them down."
At Elijah Hughes’ size, how is he able to be such a powerful shot blocker?
"He’s got a good sprint. He gets a running start on people. He can go get it. That’s what he does -- he goes and gets it."
What do you think is the reason for Buddy's (Boeheim) success in conference play?
"He’s getting open looks and he’s knocking them down. It’s as simple as that. He’s playing out there with offensive guys that people are worried about. He just has to find his spot and get his looks. He hit some big ones in the first half when we were struggling to get things going there for awhile.
“Tyus (Battle) was off tonight and Oshae (Brissett), and other guys stepped up. That’s really the key. Frank (Howard) hit some big shots in the first half and just played smart. Tyus had nine assists -- I know that’s a record for him and Marek (Dolezaj) had five again. There’s not many folks who have the 2:1 assist ratio and he (Dolezaj) does that. He’s starting to look for his scores, he can find places in there to score as well.
“That was a good win. We moved the ball. Our defense was really good in the second half. We covered them. (Chris) Lykes can get by people and we did a good job keeping him in front. (DJ) Vasiljevic always made shots against us but for the most part we did a pretty good job on him. We did a good job defensively, That was key.”
What’s the difference in this offense?
“The biggest part of it is that we’re making shots. It’s the same shots we had against Oregon - exactly the same shots. You have to make them. You’ve got to make those shots. If you make them, you get an assist.”
Is it frustrating when Paschal Chukwu doesn’t play up to the level he has the past few games?
“He’s just got to play, and if he doesn’t, we’ll put somebody in there that will. He just stood there. In the first half, he never jumped. The other guy is jumping, knocking rebounds. It was 24-12 rebounds in the first half. There’s no excuse for that.”
The kind of game that Tyus Battle had tonight -- is that a game that he could have had a year or two ago?
“I think he’s looking to try to [facilitate the ball]. He played the point a lot early and he played the point in this game. When he does that, I think he’s doing a good job. He could have had a couple more assists in there on missed shots. He got Buddy (Boeheim) a good look, he missed.
He’s playing well. There’s more to just scoring. His defense is good. He did get to the boards in the first half, he got six rebounds [in the game].
“We have to rebound better than we did tonight. A lot of them were long rebounds, but we still have to be able to get those rebounds.”
Are the 3-pointers tonight in the game plan or is it dictated by the defense?
“If the other teams are going to play zone, you have to make some shots. That’s just the way it is.”
Syracuse vs. Miami
Thursday, January 24, 2019
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Head Coach Jim Boeheim
Opening Statement:
"They’re (Miami) playing back in the zone -- you’re going to make some shots, it’s as simple as that. Our guys got a couple in the first half, and Elijah (Hughes) got going.
"I thought Marek (Dolezaj) did a good job in the middle, but the difference in the game was how Paschal (Chukwu) played in the second half. He must have forgotten to be there in the first half, but the second half he was active. When he plays like that - blocking shots, rebounding, taking some shots -- we are a different team. We found him for a couple buckets inside too, and that was, again, really good offense.
Elijah is going to get some of those shots. I thought we did a really good job finding him and he knocked them down."
At Elijah Hughes’ size, how is he able to be such a powerful shot blocker?
"He’s got a good sprint. He gets a running start on people. He can go get it. That’s what he does -- he goes and gets it."
What do you think is the reason for Buddy's (Boeheim) success in conference play?
"He’s getting open looks and he’s knocking them down. It’s as simple as that. He’s playing out there with offensive guys that people are worried about. He just has to find his spot and get his looks. He hit some big ones in the first half when we were struggling to get things going there for awhile.
“Tyus (Battle) was off tonight and Oshae (Brissett), and other guys stepped up. That’s really the key. Frank (Howard) hit some big shots in the first half and just played smart. Tyus had nine assists -- I know that’s a record for him and Marek (Dolezaj) had five again. There’s not many folks who have the 2:1 assist ratio and he (Dolezaj) does that. He’s starting to look for his scores, he can find places in there to score as well.
“That was a good win. We moved the ball. Our defense was really good in the second half. We covered them. (Chris) Lykes can get by people and we did a good job keeping him in front. (DJ) Vasiljevic always made shots against us but for the most part we did a pretty good job on him. We did a good job defensively, That was key.”
What’s the difference in this offense?
“The biggest part of it is that we’re making shots. It’s the same shots we had against Oregon - exactly the same shots. You have to make them. You’ve got to make those shots. If you make them, you get an assist.”
Is it frustrating when Paschal Chukwu doesn’t play up to the level he has the past few games?
“He’s just got to play, and if he doesn’t, we’ll put somebody in there that will. He just stood there. In the first half, he never jumped. The other guy is jumping, knocking rebounds. It was 24-12 rebounds in the first half. There’s no excuse for that.”
The kind of game that Tyus Battle had tonight -- is that a game that he could have had a year or two ago?
“I think he’s looking to try to [facilitate the ball]. He played the point a lot early and he played the point in this game. When he does that, I think he’s doing a good job. He could have had a couple more assists in there on missed shots. He got Buddy (Boeheim) a good look, he missed.
He’s playing well. There’s more to just scoring. His defense is good. He did get to the boards in the first half, he got six rebounds [in the game].
“We have to rebound better than we did tonight. A lot of them were long rebounds, but we still have to be able to get those rebounds.”
Are the 3-pointers tonight in the game plan or is it dictated by the defense?
“If the other teams are going to play zone, you have to make some shots. That’s just the way it is.”
