Florida State Head Coach Quotes
Syracuse Men’s Basketball
Syracuse vs. Florida State
Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Florida State Head Coach Leonard Hamilton
Opening Statement:
“This was a very important game for us. We have always had a tremendous amount of respect for Syracuse and the job that Jim (Boeheim) has done here over the years. I thought that the respect that the kids had for the program going into the game elevated our focus. I thought that our guys were connected and realized that if we didn’t play exceptionally well and with a lot of energy, it would be highly unlikely that we could win here. But I thought that our guys raised their level of focus and energy out of respect for Syracuse. I thought that our execution was good, especially on the defensive end even though we had a hard time guarding (Tyus) Battle, (Elijah) Hughes and (Oshae) Brissett. They are outstanding players. But I still thought that we were able to execute very well and finish the game strong.”
What did you say to your players in the timeout when Syracuse drew close?
“We made a little adjustment offensively, giving us a lot more movement than we had up until that point. It was enough change to allow us to become more comfortable and make some plays. On the defensive end, I think we got some good stops and we got a couple of long rebounds and easy buckets that gave us a lot more confidence.”
What does being able to withstand this road challenge say about your team?
“We still have a ways to go from a maturity standpoint. We still have some execution issues and some growing up to do. I have said all along that I think if we continue to keep winning while we grow and develop that this team has a potential to be a pretty good basketball team. Inconsistency has been our biggest obstacle. But I do feel that we made a step in the right direction on the road against a good basketball team in a place that is very challenging to win in. I thought our guys grew up a little bit tonight.”
Do you feel that your players were fresher than Syracuse’s towards the end of the game?
“I think that Jim always has a team that is well conditioned, but that’s who we are. We utilize a full compliment of our players and we always say that we win by committee. We had 32 points off the bench. That’s who we are. That’s why it is more challenging for us to be in sync early on in the season because we are playing a lot of people. We’ve had unbelievable injuries as well. All kinds of guys have been coming and going and that’s part of basketball. But we’ve been healthy for the first time over these past two games. We have a full compliment of guys and we’ve been able to practice with them and over the course of the season we have been gaining experience and our players are making better decisions.”
Syracuse vs. Florida State
Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Florida State Head Coach Leonard Hamilton
Opening Statement:
“This was a very important game for us. We have always had a tremendous amount of respect for Syracuse and the job that Jim (Boeheim) has done here over the years. I thought that the respect that the kids had for the program going into the game elevated our focus. I thought that our guys were connected and realized that if we didn’t play exceptionally well and with a lot of energy, it would be highly unlikely that we could win here. But I thought that our guys raised their level of focus and energy out of respect for Syracuse. I thought that our execution was good, especially on the defensive end even though we had a hard time guarding (Tyus) Battle, (Elijah) Hughes and (Oshae) Brissett. They are outstanding players. But I still thought that we were able to execute very well and finish the game strong.”
What did you say to your players in the timeout when Syracuse drew close?
“We made a little adjustment offensively, giving us a lot more movement than we had up until that point. It was enough change to allow us to become more comfortable and make some plays. On the defensive end, I think we got some good stops and we got a couple of long rebounds and easy buckets that gave us a lot more confidence.”
What does being able to withstand this road challenge say about your team?
“We still have a ways to go from a maturity standpoint. We still have some execution issues and some growing up to do. I have said all along that I think if we continue to keep winning while we grow and develop that this team has a potential to be a pretty good basketball team. Inconsistency has been our biggest obstacle. But I do feel that we made a step in the right direction on the road against a good basketball team in a place that is very challenging to win in. I thought our guys grew up a little bit tonight.”
Do you feel that your players were fresher than Syracuse’s towards the end of the game?
“I think that Jim always has a team that is well conditioned, but that’s who we are. We utilize a full compliment of our players and we always say that we win by committee. We had 32 points off the bench. That’s who we are. That’s why it is more challenging for us to be in sync early on in the season because we are playing a lot of people. We’ve had unbelievable injuries as well. All kinds of guys have been coming and going and that’s part of basketball. But we’ve been healthy for the first time over these past two games. We have a full compliment of guys and we’ve been able to practice with them and over the course of the season we have been gaining experience and our players are making better decisions.”
