Syracuse Player Quotes - North Carolina
Syracuse vs. North Carolina
February 29, 2020
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Buddy Boeheim, So., G
What prep went into your strong performance today?
“I felt a lot better the last two days. I give a lot of credit to Brad Pike (head athletic trainer). I’ve spent about 10 hours with him the past two days, before and after class, doing treatment and making sure I was good to go. I’ve made a lot of progress the past two days and at practice yesterday, which was huge. At practice yesterday, I knew I felt a lot better. I just had a feeling I’d be good to go. The swelling went down a lot. I give credit to Brad. I was feeling good about playing going into today.”
How disappointing was it to lose with this atmosphere and with the implications of this game?
"It was disappointing to lose the last game in the Dome on senior night and with everything going on. We needed that win more than anything. Losing to a pretty good team that shot the ball extremely well today was tough. We have to be better on defense and rebound better. We still have two games left, so we just have to move forward from this.”
What was happening with the rotation on defense?
"Well Cole (Anthony) got going early, and he was their guy. He was getting looks. They were getting offensive rebounds and passing it out to him, and we couldn’t locate him. He shot the ball really well, and (Christian) Keeling is also a great shooter. They were throwing it inside and throwing it out. It’s tough when you have to give attention to the bigs and they also have guys that can shoot the ball from outside. They’re just a good offensive team, but we have to be better at rotating. We can’t get Marek (Dolezaj) in foul trouble that early on.”
Joseph Girard III, Fr., G
What have you seen from Bourama (Sidibe) in recent games?
"He’s done a really good job. He’s moving in practice and he’s moving out on the court now. That’s when he’s at his best. He’s getting a lot of put backs recently. He’s just a really good player when he wants to be, and the past few games he’s showed up.”
Nearing the end of your freshman year, how do you feel you’ve developed defensively?
"I keep learning and doing the right things. I’m figuring out how to attack the opposing team when we’re in the zone and be in the right spots.”
What is something you’re trying to work on in the final stretch of the season?
“Just figuring out how to win. That’s what I’m here to do. We’ve played a lot of close games and sometimes we haven’t been able to figure it out. So, we just have to figure out how to win.”
Elijah Hughes, R-Jr., F
Can you talk about the second half and what happened?
“They got hot and they got hot at the right time. They found their shooters and they really rebounded well, so you have to hand it to them.”
How do you guys approach this final stretch of the regular season?
“We just have to take everything one day at a time. We know what we’re capable of doing and what we can do. Everyone’s just got to take a breath and take it one day at a time.”
Bourama Sidibe, Jr., F
North Carolina is the best rebounding team in the conference. Why do you think you had so much success individually on the blocks tonight?
“They were doing a great job and I can’t take anything from them. They have a great team and they played their best game tonight.”
What was different for you tonight and what made you play more aggressively?
“I wasn’t worried about fouling people. Today, I said, ‘I’m going to go play. If I foul, I foul.” I wanted to be more aggressive around the rim and I was.”
What has led to you getting more opportunities under the rim?
“The more Elijah (Hughes), Buddy (Boeheim) or Joe (Girard III) drive, the more chances I’m going to have. If they miss, it’s easy for me to rebound and put it back. When they drive, I’m in the best position to finish.”
February 29, 2020
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Buddy Boeheim, So., G
What prep went into your strong performance today?
“I felt a lot better the last two days. I give a lot of credit to Brad Pike (head athletic trainer). I’ve spent about 10 hours with him the past two days, before and after class, doing treatment and making sure I was good to go. I’ve made a lot of progress the past two days and at practice yesterday, which was huge. At practice yesterday, I knew I felt a lot better. I just had a feeling I’d be good to go. The swelling went down a lot. I give credit to Brad. I was feeling good about playing going into today.”
How disappointing was it to lose with this atmosphere and with the implications of this game?
"It was disappointing to lose the last game in the Dome on senior night and with everything going on. We needed that win more than anything. Losing to a pretty good team that shot the ball extremely well today was tough. We have to be better on defense and rebound better. We still have two games left, so we just have to move forward from this.”
What was happening with the rotation on defense?
"Well Cole (Anthony) got going early, and he was their guy. He was getting looks. They were getting offensive rebounds and passing it out to him, and we couldn’t locate him. He shot the ball really well, and (Christian) Keeling is also a great shooter. They were throwing it inside and throwing it out. It’s tough when you have to give attention to the bigs and they also have guys that can shoot the ball from outside. They’re just a good offensive team, but we have to be better at rotating. We can’t get Marek (Dolezaj) in foul trouble that early on.”
Joseph Girard III, Fr., G
What have you seen from Bourama (Sidibe) in recent games?
"He’s done a really good job. He’s moving in practice and he’s moving out on the court now. That’s when he’s at his best. He’s getting a lot of put backs recently. He’s just a really good player when he wants to be, and the past few games he’s showed up.”
Nearing the end of your freshman year, how do you feel you’ve developed defensively?
"I keep learning and doing the right things. I’m figuring out how to attack the opposing team when we’re in the zone and be in the right spots.”
What is something you’re trying to work on in the final stretch of the season?
“Just figuring out how to win. That’s what I’m here to do. We’ve played a lot of close games and sometimes we haven’t been able to figure it out. So, we just have to figure out how to win.”
Elijah Hughes, R-Jr., F
Can you talk about the second half and what happened?
“They got hot and they got hot at the right time. They found their shooters and they really rebounded well, so you have to hand it to them.”
How do you guys approach this final stretch of the regular season?
“We just have to take everything one day at a time. We know what we’re capable of doing and what we can do. Everyone’s just got to take a breath and take it one day at a time.”
Bourama Sidibe, Jr., F
North Carolina is the best rebounding team in the conference. Why do you think you had so much success individually on the blocks tonight?
“They were doing a great job and I can’t take anything from them. They have a great team and they played their best game tonight.”
What was different for you tonight and what made you play more aggressively?
“I wasn’t worried about fouling people. Today, I said, ‘I’m going to go play. If I foul, I foul.” I wanted to be more aggressive around the rim and I was.”
What has led to you getting more opportunities under the rim?
“The more Elijah (Hughes), Buddy (Boeheim) or Joe (Girard III) drive, the more chances I’m going to have. If they miss, it’s easy for me to rebound and put it back. When they drive, I’m in the best position to finish.”
