Head Coach Jim Boeheim Quotes- Louisville
Syracuse Men’s Basketball
Syracuse vs. Louisville
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Head Coach Jim Boeheim
Opening statement:
“I thought tonight our defense was really good right from the beginning. I thought we covered their shooters and did a good job of making them take tough shots inside. We just couldn’t make anything, but Buddy (Boeheim) hit a couple. In the second half – I was going to go with Elijah (Hughes) the whole game because he was so good in practice. He shot the ball well, and I think he made three in a row in the second half and broke it open.
“Our defense was really good, and then late when we got the lead, they got it in the middle and they couldn’t make anything in there – every once in a while that happens. They are a good shooting team and a good 3-point shooting team, but we got them off of their spots a little bit. At the end of the day, they missed five or six shots in the middle that they would normally make. We took advantage of that.
“I thought moving Tyus (Battle) to the point got us into our attack better. We took better advantage with Oshae (Brissett) when they switched the little guy on him. Marek (Dolezaj) got him the ball in there. Paschal (Chukwu) has not been able to do that. I thought Marek was huge defensively for us tonight. Oshae really played at a high level. He played like he did last year and hit those two three’s early and just got going.
“It was a really good game. Louisville has been a really good road team. They won at North Carolina by 20, at Virginia Tech. They have been very good on the road, so it was a good win. I thought the week off helped us. I thought we were able to do some things practice-wise that helped us. We have a couple of days now to get ready for Saturday.”
How much did you work on defense during the week off? Do you think it was the best defense the team has played this season?
“It was a combination of our defense and their missed shots. It was a little bit of both. We didn’t really work that much on defense, but we were probably playing more full-court and working on our offense a little bit more.”
In what ways did the seven-day layoff/lack of travel help you in this game?
“I think we had good practices, I thought that helped us.”
How do you think Marek Dolezaj turned the game? His stats don’t seem to show how effective he was.
“He makes plays and he gets involved. Defensively he was good. He gets his hands on the ball. He makes passes that sometimes lead to other passes for buckets and he was very good out there today. The stats don’t really tell the story of the things that he does out there. He did have nine rebounds, which was pretty good. He’s a very smart player.”
Why was your team so effective shooting 3-pointers?
“We weren’t until the second half. We were horrendous in the first half. I think we were 5-for-17 and then 6-for-13 in the second half. Elijah (Hughes) was the difference. In the first half, he made one out of four or five, and in the second half he made three straight and that was the difference.”
Buddy Boeheim was playing a lot more today. Was that just riding the hot hand or was there something in practice?
“You know we want another shooter out there and Tyus (Battle) is better when he has the ball but we can put Frank (Howard) off the ball as we will and we’ll probably do that Saturday.”
In the second half they were trying to come out with a little bit of pressing, how did you handle that?
“We have good ball handlers out there. Elijah (Hughes) got two three’s out there, we should not have trouble with that.”
Earlier in the year, Tyus Battle struggled a little bit and now he’s playing better. How would you assess his play?
“It’s different now. We changed our offense and we’re not running plays, we’re just running a couple of sets and it’s easier for him to play that way. We’re not trying to run a lot of plays and sets. We’re just at the point that we’re just trying to attack the basket and that’s what he’s good at. Again, we moved the ball, we got a lot of good looks on some we didn’t make and then we finally got some.”
What’s going on with Frank Howard?
“We just want Tyus (Battle) to play and have the ball a little bit more. Frank played 11 minutes and made one shot and he’s just not going by anybody. You have to go by somebody and make something happen. That’s what a point guard has to do and we have to get him going. He’s been shooting the ball well at practice, but we have to get him in the lane and make something happen there.”
Why were you guys so effective defending Jordan Nwora?
“We tried to get him, we tried to guard him. He missed a couple but we did a good job overall. The two guys we were really worried about were (Ryan) McMahon and Nwora. They’re both having big years and they’re a very good shooting team. We did a good job defensively and they missed some when they got the opportunity.”
How important was this win?
“They’re all important. Every game’s important, every game you play. If we would’ve won the NC State game, that would’ve been really important. Every game you play in this league is important.”
What do you expect out of the game Saturday night?
“It’ll be noisy.”
Syracuse vs. Louisville
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Head Coach Jim Boeheim
Opening statement:
“I thought tonight our defense was really good right from the beginning. I thought we covered their shooters and did a good job of making them take tough shots inside. We just couldn’t make anything, but Buddy (Boeheim) hit a couple. In the second half – I was going to go with Elijah (Hughes) the whole game because he was so good in practice. He shot the ball well, and I think he made three in a row in the second half and broke it open.
“Our defense was really good, and then late when we got the lead, they got it in the middle and they couldn’t make anything in there – every once in a while that happens. They are a good shooting team and a good 3-point shooting team, but we got them off of their spots a little bit. At the end of the day, they missed five or six shots in the middle that they would normally make. We took advantage of that.
“I thought moving Tyus (Battle) to the point got us into our attack better. We took better advantage with Oshae (Brissett) when they switched the little guy on him. Marek (Dolezaj) got him the ball in there. Paschal (Chukwu) has not been able to do that. I thought Marek was huge defensively for us tonight. Oshae really played at a high level. He played like he did last year and hit those two three’s early and just got going.
“It was a really good game. Louisville has been a really good road team. They won at North Carolina by 20, at Virginia Tech. They have been very good on the road, so it was a good win. I thought the week off helped us. I thought we were able to do some things practice-wise that helped us. We have a couple of days now to get ready for Saturday.”
How much did you work on defense during the week off? Do you think it was the best defense the team has played this season?
“It was a combination of our defense and their missed shots. It was a little bit of both. We didn’t really work that much on defense, but we were probably playing more full-court and working on our offense a little bit more.”
In what ways did the seven-day layoff/lack of travel help you in this game?
“I think we had good practices, I thought that helped us.”
How do you think Marek Dolezaj turned the game? His stats don’t seem to show how effective he was.
“He makes plays and he gets involved. Defensively he was good. He gets his hands on the ball. He makes passes that sometimes lead to other passes for buckets and he was very good out there today. The stats don’t really tell the story of the things that he does out there. He did have nine rebounds, which was pretty good. He’s a very smart player.”
Why was your team so effective shooting 3-pointers?
“We weren’t until the second half. We were horrendous in the first half. I think we were 5-for-17 and then 6-for-13 in the second half. Elijah (Hughes) was the difference. In the first half, he made one out of four or five, and in the second half he made three straight and that was the difference.”
Buddy Boeheim was playing a lot more today. Was that just riding the hot hand or was there something in practice?
“You know we want another shooter out there and Tyus (Battle) is better when he has the ball but we can put Frank (Howard) off the ball as we will and we’ll probably do that Saturday.”
In the second half they were trying to come out with a little bit of pressing, how did you handle that?
“We have good ball handlers out there. Elijah (Hughes) got two three’s out there, we should not have trouble with that.”
Earlier in the year, Tyus Battle struggled a little bit and now he’s playing better. How would you assess his play?
“It’s different now. We changed our offense and we’re not running plays, we’re just running a couple of sets and it’s easier for him to play that way. We’re not trying to run a lot of plays and sets. We’re just at the point that we’re just trying to attack the basket and that’s what he’s good at. Again, we moved the ball, we got a lot of good looks on some we didn’t make and then we finally got some.”
What’s going on with Frank Howard?
“We just want Tyus (Battle) to play and have the ball a little bit more. Frank played 11 minutes and made one shot and he’s just not going by anybody. You have to go by somebody and make something happen. That’s what a point guard has to do and we have to get him going. He’s been shooting the ball well at practice, but we have to get him in the lane and make something happen there.”
Why were you guys so effective defending Jordan Nwora?
“We tried to get him, we tried to guard him. He missed a couple but we did a good job overall. The two guys we were really worried about were (Ryan) McMahon and Nwora. They’re both having big years and they’re a very good shooting team. We did a good job defensively and they missed some when they got the opportunity.”
How important was this win?
“They’re all important. Every game’s important, every game you play. If we would’ve won the NC State game, that would’ve been really important. Every game you play in this league is important.”
What do you expect out of the game Saturday night?
“It’ll be noisy.”
