Head Coach Jim Boeheim Quotes - Colgate
Syracuse Men’s Basketball
Syracuse vs. Colgate
November 13, 2019
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Head Coach Jim Boeheim
Opening Statement:
“Obviously, when you, lose your first game, you get off to a slow start. In this second game, we had to rely on our defense. Our defense was really good in keeping the game reasonable, which we did against Virginia too. But we have to get our offense going better. I thought Joe (Girard III) did a good job. He didn’t score a lot, but I thought he did a good job defensively. He got three steals. I thought he stabilized us a little bit. I thought that Buddy (Boeheim) had a couple of big shots early to get us back in it. But the difference was that Bourama (Sidibe) was active down low. He finished around the basket and we looked for him better. I thought he really played well.
“We played pretty good defense. In the last six minutes, I wanted to try some guys and they didn’t have any idea of what they were doing defensively. We just gave up open looks. I think they had 34 points with six minutes to go and they got 20 in the last six minutes because these guys want to play and then they get in and they don’t play. You have to produce and you have to play defense in that situation. Fortunately, they actually moved the ball and made some good plays on offense or it probably would have been an eight-point game.
“I thought Joe (Girard III) did a good job and Bourama (Sidibe) and Marek (Dolezaj) were much better. I think everybody on our team can play better on offense. It’s a process. You’ve got to get there. But I thought we moved the ball and looked for people. They’re passing the ball and moving the ball, but we have to just get better at it. This is where we should be at this stage. We have a lot of work to do on offense. I thought that our defense in both games has been pretty good, not too bad. I think that Colgate is a really good team. I think last year it was 46-45 here at one point and at the same point this year, we were up 22. I think Colgate is just as good, maybe better than they were last year.
“I think our inside guys did a good job and, for the most part, we got to the 3-point shooters very well for an extended period of time in the first half. They got a couple early -- then we got to them. But again, we’ve got a lot of work to do. We’ve done a lot of work in practice, but practice is different. You have to be able to play in games and when you’re younger, you just need time out there on the court. The games we have coming up are huge for us. It’s going to take us a while to get there, maybe 10, 12 good effort games, maybe more, before we can get to where we’d like to get to. So, we have a lot of work ahead of us.”
Did it seem more efficient offensively with Joe Girard III in the game?
“I thought Joe did a good job. He moved the ball better. He played okay, but he can play a lot better. Fortunately, I thought that Buddy (Boeheim) was more aggressive tonight. He got in the lane against this team and got some buckets and we got some rebounds off it because he was penetrating. So, I think that was good. Elijah (Hughes) still hasn’t hit his stride. He was fine, but I just think he’s not to where he can get. He was good, but I think he can get even better.”
Was there an imperative to get the ball inside against Colgate?
“We got the help and the screens, so we got them on the roll plays. We missed Jesse (Edwards) a couple times. So, if Bourama (Sidibe) can get it in the lane, he can score. If he gets it just outside the lane, he can’t score. So, you can’t just throw it to him. You have to get him in roll situations where he’s in the lane already. Then he can score there.”
Syracuse vs. Colgate
November 13, 2019
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Head Coach Jim Boeheim
Opening Statement:
“Obviously, when you, lose your first game, you get off to a slow start. In this second game, we had to rely on our defense. Our defense was really good in keeping the game reasonable, which we did against Virginia too. But we have to get our offense going better. I thought Joe (Girard III) did a good job. He didn’t score a lot, but I thought he did a good job defensively. He got three steals. I thought he stabilized us a little bit. I thought that Buddy (Boeheim) had a couple of big shots early to get us back in it. But the difference was that Bourama (Sidibe) was active down low. He finished around the basket and we looked for him better. I thought he really played well.
“We played pretty good defense. In the last six minutes, I wanted to try some guys and they didn’t have any idea of what they were doing defensively. We just gave up open looks. I think they had 34 points with six minutes to go and they got 20 in the last six minutes because these guys want to play and then they get in and they don’t play. You have to produce and you have to play defense in that situation. Fortunately, they actually moved the ball and made some good plays on offense or it probably would have been an eight-point game.
“I thought Joe (Girard III) did a good job and Bourama (Sidibe) and Marek (Dolezaj) were much better. I think everybody on our team can play better on offense. It’s a process. You’ve got to get there. But I thought we moved the ball and looked for people. They’re passing the ball and moving the ball, but we have to just get better at it. This is where we should be at this stage. We have a lot of work to do on offense. I thought that our defense in both games has been pretty good, not too bad. I think that Colgate is a really good team. I think last year it was 46-45 here at one point and at the same point this year, we were up 22. I think Colgate is just as good, maybe better than they were last year.
“I think our inside guys did a good job and, for the most part, we got to the 3-point shooters very well for an extended period of time in the first half. They got a couple early -- then we got to them. But again, we’ve got a lot of work to do. We’ve done a lot of work in practice, but practice is different. You have to be able to play in games and when you’re younger, you just need time out there on the court. The games we have coming up are huge for us. It’s going to take us a while to get there, maybe 10, 12 good effort games, maybe more, before we can get to where we’d like to get to. So, we have a lot of work ahead of us.”
Did it seem more efficient offensively with Joe Girard III in the game?
“I thought Joe did a good job. He moved the ball better. He played okay, but he can play a lot better. Fortunately, I thought that Buddy (Boeheim) was more aggressive tonight. He got in the lane against this team and got some buckets and we got some rebounds off it because he was penetrating. So, I think that was good. Elijah (Hughes) still hasn’t hit his stride. He was fine, but I just think he’s not to where he can get. He was good, but I think he can get even better.”
Was there an imperative to get the ball inside against Colgate?
“We got the help and the screens, so we got them on the roll plays. We missed Jesse (Edwards) a couple times. So, if Bourama (Sidibe) can get it in the lane, he can score. If he gets it just outside the lane, he can’t score. So, you can’t just throw it to him. You have to get him in roll situations where he’s in the lane already. Then he can score there.”
