Syracuse Player Quotes - Colgate
Syracuse Men’s Basketball
Syracuse vs. Colgate
November 13, 2019
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Elijah Hughes, R-Jr., F
How did you like the team's effort in the second half as opposed to what was going on in the first half?
"We just got after it more on defense, we located more, we matched up better. Pretty much all week we’ve been preaching ‘don’t let playing hard be something that coach yells at you about.’”
Looks like through two games this team has been pretty solid on defense. What is it about this team to be able to play this well defensively?
"When we’re in our spots it’s hard to score against us -- that’s the basic of it. We’ve got a lot of youth. We’re getting better each and every day. We’re just going to build on this."
Career high eight assists for you today. How did you feel facilitating the basketball and how much of that do you want to make a part of your game moving forward?
"I feel good, sharing the ball. Getting guys good shots, putting them in the best position to score. It just feels good and I’m trying to build off this."
Bourama Sidibe, Jr., C
What did you do differently from last game?
“I didn’t do anything differently. One of the things that I try to do is get a lot of rebounds so we can win games. It helps me moving around to get rebounds.”
What did you focus more on?
“The main thing for me was trying to get defensive stops, make sure if they are within the free-throw line that they don’t get an open shot, and that I want to get the rebound from doing that. And the guys found a way to find me tonight.”
How do you keep up consistency?
“I just have to keep playing, and things happen sometimes. Every day isn’t going to be perfect but I’m going to keep playing and maybe if I play better defense that will translate to getting offense too.”
Marek Dolezaj, Jr., F:
Tell me about how Bourama played today.
"He played great -- just what we need all the time. He is a great guy, we need his energy, and his defense and offense. His points will come. He had 14 rebounds. He was making shots, so we just gave him the ball and he went to work, made his shots, and did what was needed. Usually, they go and double him or something like that, and he was wide open all the time and just made his shots."
You looked a little more comfortable today, can you walk me through that spin move and when you were able to push through and get the dunk in?
"I just rebounded the ball, tried to push the ball. I saw on the right side was Joe and Buddy and I was planning on passing them the ball, but the two defenders just ran over there and forgot about me. I was surprised, like 'come on man, you have to guard me.' I was just wide open and did the spin move into the dunk."
You’ve looked more comfortable over the past few games, is there anything that has changed?
"You know, this is my third year, I have to be comfortable to help the younger guys and I cannot be scared anymore. I do come every day and tell myself I can be a leader here."
Buddy Boeheim, So., G:
Have you tried running any new plays this season or do anything differently from last game?
"Just more movement. We were watching a lot of film: Trevor Cooney, Mike Gbinije, Malachi Richardson a lot, their year, Final Four year. We would play a two-guard set and play Elijah through double screens and then pass it and rotate it and then just keep sending the guard through, kind of in a circle and when someone got a lane, they would attack or set a ball screen so we tried running that. And also, we had a new play with a couple of double screens in there with me and Elijah working off double screens. If he doesn’t have it then I’m coming off two. So, just working on movement and spacing. I thought that our offense was a lot better today, especially in the second half."
Obviously, Colgate is not Virginia, but is there any other adjustment you guys made?
"Not really, just a couple of new sets in. Really just slowing down, we were able to make a couple of shots and then worked on penetration and spacing."
What do you feel like you guys had going when you hit, I think, 13-straight shots?
"Just a good game plan. I feel that coming in we knew that they were shooters, they were looking to get inside with their big guys, and usually attack or kick it out. Bourama did a great job stopping that. I thought we really located shooters well. We were flying around and we contested a lot of hard shots. We were rebounding really well and trying to push the tempo."
How much better do you feel in the zone this year?
"I actually feel a lot better in general. I feel like I’ve gotten a lot stronger and a lot quicker and I am able to move more and anticipate stuff. So, just learning every day from practice and watching film and trying to be the best defender I can."
How do you keep up consistency?
“I just have to keep playing and things happen sometimes. Every day isn’t going to be perfect but I’m going to keep playing and maybe if I play better defense that will translate to getting offense too.”
Syracuse vs. Colgate
November 13, 2019
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Elijah Hughes, R-Jr., F
How did you like the team's effort in the second half as opposed to what was going on in the first half?
"We just got after it more on defense, we located more, we matched up better. Pretty much all week we’ve been preaching ‘don’t let playing hard be something that coach yells at you about.’”
Looks like through two games this team has been pretty solid on defense. What is it about this team to be able to play this well defensively?
"When we’re in our spots it’s hard to score against us -- that’s the basic of it. We’ve got a lot of youth. We’re getting better each and every day. We’re just going to build on this."
Career high eight assists for you today. How did you feel facilitating the basketball and how much of that do you want to make a part of your game moving forward?
"I feel good, sharing the ball. Getting guys good shots, putting them in the best position to score. It just feels good and I’m trying to build off this."
Bourama Sidibe, Jr., C
What did you do differently from last game?
“I didn’t do anything differently. One of the things that I try to do is get a lot of rebounds so we can win games. It helps me moving around to get rebounds.”
What did you focus more on?
“The main thing for me was trying to get defensive stops, make sure if they are within the free-throw line that they don’t get an open shot, and that I want to get the rebound from doing that. And the guys found a way to find me tonight.”
How do you keep up consistency?
“I just have to keep playing, and things happen sometimes. Every day isn’t going to be perfect but I’m going to keep playing and maybe if I play better defense that will translate to getting offense too.”
Marek Dolezaj, Jr., F:
Tell me about how Bourama played today.
"He played great -- just what we need all the time. He is a great guy, we need his energy, and his defense and offense. His points will come. He had 14 rebounds. He was making shots, so we just gave him the ball and he went to work, made his shots, and did what was needed. Usually, they go and double him or something like that, and he was wide open all the time and just made his shots."
You looked a little more comfortable today, can you walk me through that spin move and when you were able to push through and get the dunk in?
"I just rebounded the ball, tried to push the ball. I saw on the right side was Joe and Buddy and I was planning on passing them the ball, but the two defenders just ran over there and forgot about me. I was surprised, like 'come on man, you have to guard me.' I was just wide open and did the spin move into the dunk."
You’ve looked more comfortable over the past few games, is there anything that has changed?
"You know, this is my third year, I have to be comfortable to help the younger guys and I cannot be scared anymore. I do come every day and tell myself I can be a leader here."
Buddy Boeheim, So., G:
Have you tried running any new plays this season or do anything differently from last game?
"Just more movement. We were watching a lot of film: Trevor Cooney, Mike Gbinije, Malachi Richardson a lot, their year, Final Four year. We would play a two-guard set and play Elijah through double screens and then pass it and rotate it and then just keep sending the guard through, kind of in a circle and when someone got a lane, they would attack or set a ball screen so we tried running that. And also, we had a new play with a couple of double screens in there with me and Elijah working off double screens. If he doesn’t have it then I’m coming off two. So, just working on movement and spacing. I thought that our offense was a lot better today, especially in the second half."
Obviously, Colgate is not Virginia, but is there any other adjustment you guys made?
"Not really, just a couple of new sets in. Really just slowing down, we were able to make a couple of shots and then worked on penetration and spacing."
What do you feel like you guys had going when you hit, I think, 13-straight shots?
"Just a good game plan. I feel that coming in we knew that they were shooters, they were looking to get inside with their big guys, and usually attack or kick it out. Bourama did a great job stopping that. I thought we really located shooters well. We were flying around and we contested a lot of hard shots. We were rebounding really well and trying to push the tempo."
How much better do you feel in the zone this year?
"I actually feel a lot better in general. I feel like I’ve gotten a lot stronger and a lot quicker and I am able to move more and anticipate stuff. So, just learning every day from practice and watching film and trying to be the best defender I can."
How do you keep up consistency?
“I just have to keep playing and things happen sometimes. Every day isn’t going to be perfect but I’m going to keep playing and maybe if I play better defense that will translate to getting offense too.”
