Syracuse Player Quotes - Bucknell
Elijah Hughes, R-Jr., F
Is this the performance you needed to see before you go up against another power-five conference opponent next week?
“We played well, we made shots. That was the biggest thing from today. Hopefully we will bring that confidence to Barclays.”
You came out in full control. Can you describe your mindset coming into this game and how you got off to that kind of start?
“I’m usually pretty aggressive coming out the gate but today I just made my first three or four. I think and that was pretty much that.”
Are you as proud of the assists you’re doing as much as the scoring?
“I’m just trying to be a complete basketball player. I try to get on the boards a little bit more and try to be a playmaker in the lane.”
Joe Girard, Fr., G
With you taking over the point how has this offense matured the last couple games? How have you seen the offense get in the flow with you running the show?
"I don’t know. I’ve just been going out there playing my game. Try to get these guys open shots. Space the floor. When you have shooters out there like Buddy and Elijah it helps the guys inside as well."
How fun has this been for you?
“It’s been amazing. Like you said, this is the dream come true -- something I’ve always wanted to do is play for Syracuse and win games here.”
How do you prepare yourself for the two games down in Barclays?
"Just gotta take it like any other game. Follow what the coaches say, follow their lead, listen to the game plan, watch the scout, and practice and prepare like we always do. Make sure we play Syracuse basketball -- that’s when we're usually at our best.”
You’ve played on big stages before, but how do you feel about playing in Barclays Center?
“It gonna be amazing. You know I kinda felt the same and thought the same about the Dome before I even got to play in here so it’s kinda like another great experience for me to go play in the Barclays Center. Like I said, it’s just another game, you gotta play like it’s any arena, any basketball gym, and any court. Just help the team win and make sure you're playing the right way.”
Buddy Boeheim, So., G
How much are we going to learn about this team over the next week as you guys head to Brooklyn?
"It's going to be a great trip for us. It's definitely our first road test and being on the road against two really good teams it's going to be great for us. It's a young team, you look forward to opportunities like that and I think we're just gonna show what we can do out there. I'm looking forward to it."
Do you feel like this was the best 40 minutes of the season?
"Yeah, definitely. I think we played a full 40 today. We didn't let up for a minute and we were moving around really well. We played unselfish basketball and we never really had a stretch where we felt like we didn't play well."
What do you think was working differently today than in the first couple of games?
"I would say just not rushing it too much, trying to get easy looks. I started off missing my first two shots and I kept my head up, kept going, and that's something I'm really working on. Playing through while I'm shooting poorly, working on the defensive end, making plays trying to get assists for my teammates and I kinda just got everything going. I kept getting good looks and I was able to knock them down."
When you're playing that fast and you're hitting those transition threes, how fun is that?
"It's a lot of fun. One of the most fun games I've been a part of ever since I started playing basketball. It's just a lot of fun to get the Dome like that -- get the fans involved. Even when we were up by a lot we kept that same energy and kept trying to make exciting plays and be smart, We never let down."
There was that one sequence where Joe hit a three, got a steal, and you came back hit a three on a kick-out from Elijah. What was that sequence like for you? Because the dome went pretty nuts.
"That's what we do best, just running the floor and looking for each other, so that was a lot of fun."
Marek Dolezaj, Jr., F
Did you like the way you guys ran today?
"We get some stops, we get some steals, and we run and this is how we make easy shots. Buddy, Joe, make easy threes. Elijah did and this is how the defense is set up and what it can do."
Interesting that you say easy threes because you know they are pretty open threes in transition.
"We have guys like Elijah, Buddy, Joe who are great shooters and if they have great shots they're going to make them."
Do you think part of the transition today was that you guys got so many steals -- they turned it over so much?
"We played really good defense. We moved, and everybody moved. Bourama moved, Bourama got some great plays, Elijah and the guards, this is what we need to do every single night."
