Jim Boeheim Wake Forest Postgame Transcript
Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim spoke to the media following the Orange's 94-72 win over Wake Forest.
OPENING STATEMENT
Boeheim: "They've added two really good players since we lost to them down there. Think Williamson had 20-something easy. The other guy had 3-3 (from three) in the first half. The difference is we guarded better, we played better defense. We got out to the shooters better and we rebounded better. Offensively, Joe did a tremendous job of getting us into the right situations. Making the right pass, the right play. Buddy hit a hot streak there and they just kept getting him the ball. Cole was, the best he's played I think. Jimmy was good, getting on the boards. I think the unit in the second half, I wasn't planning on just playing the five, but the unit was so cohesive and played together so well that there was no way we were going to break that up. Our visitor from Milwaukee (Giannis Antetokounmpo) thought this team played well. He talked to the team about how well they played together. It was just a really good offensive and defensive performance. We haven't had that. We haven't been able to put that together this year. It was a good thing to see. I think Wake Forest is a really good team, a really good team. It's a good win.
Q: WERE THERE ANY CONVERSATIONS YOU HAD WITH GIANNIS DURING THE GAME, AT HALFTIME OR AFTER THE GAME?
Boeheim: "Not either before or during, until after. He came in the locker room after the game and he was really great. He gave a really, really good talk to the players. Probably five, six, seven, eight minutes, took some pictures with him. He's one of the nicest people I've ever come across in this business. Him and his brother. Just really, really good people. It was fun having him there. Fun having the students back. Fans were good, fans got into the game. Hopefully we can get past this stuff where we're healthier and people can come in more easily. I even miss the (in person) press conferences. I think we're the only school in the country that's not doing them right now, probably. It's kind of time to move on, I think, for that."
Q: I ASKED GIANNIS WHICH SCHOOL HE WOULD HAVE GONE TO IF HE WENT TO COLLEGE AND HE SAID SYRACUSE. COULD YOU ENVISION GIANNIS IN THE 2-3?
Boeheim: "Yeah he could play two positions at once. He could play 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, I'd be happy to have him at any of them. It was great to meet him. He's really a great young man."
Q: WAS THERE ANYTHING SPECIFIC ABOUT YOUR DEFENSE THAT DURING THAT STRETCH WHEN YOU PULLED AHEAD?
Boeheim: "I just thought we made some plays that we hadn't been making. Jimmy got back and got two steals. We got a couple deflections. Buddy got back in, Joe got one. I just thought we were a little bit more active. Just a little bit quicker to the ball. Again, we just haven't played that kind of defense and that's why we're in the predicament we're in. We try to keep improving as we move forward here."
Q: YOU SCORED MORE POINTS TODAY IN ONE HALF THAN THE WHOLE PITTSBURGH GAME.
Boeheim: "Well Pittsburgh's a different game as you well know. Half court game, bruising defensive team, completely different game, much harder to score against them. But we've been very good offensively this year, I think, except for the last two games. Duke just got us early and we missed shots. This game, the tempo was there, they're going to play and we're going to play. We're a good offensive team in that situation. I thought tonight we had the best balance. Joe was able to get some things, Jesse got some things, Frank got some. In the first we could have been down by a lot. Jimmy got in and Buddy got in and made some really good passes to Frank. He got a couple dunks in there. I thought our offense, even in the first half, was really good. We looked for each other, hit each other. In the second half, Buddy really got going so that was a big part of that. I thought Cole got to his spot better than he has all year. We've been a good offensive team, but I thought tonight was the most balanced overall. It wasn't one or two, it was five guys."
Q: HOW MUCH DID THE CROWD ENERGIZE THE TEAM?
Boeheim: "I think it's all good. The better we play, the more they cheer. It was good. It was good to have the students back. At the end of the day you've got to play basketball and today we did."
Q: WHAT DID COLE SWIDER DO SPECIFICALLY TO HELP THE TEAM, ESPECIALLY IN THE SECOND HALF?
Boeheim: "He got to his spot and he made the turnaround. He's been getting in there and not shooting it, but today he got in there and shot it. He's a good shooter, he can make that play. I was glad even when he got an offensive rebound, Jimmy tipped one to him. I just thought everybody played well in that unit. I thought Cole, this is the way I feel he can play. The way he played tonight."
Q: WHAT WAS THE DIFFERENCE TONIGHT IN GETTING BUDDY OPEN LOOKS?
Boeheim: "I just thought he made tough ones he'd been missing. He didn't get any easy ones. I think he got the same shots he'd been getting, he just made them tonight. He made some really tough threes and he got in the lane like he has done. I thought he was better when he got into the lane, he was balanced. He was the best he's been all year getting in that lane area and getting that shot up there."
Q: BUDDY MOVES INTO THE TOP 20 IN THE CAREER SCORING LIST. DID YOU EVER THINK HE'D HAVE THIS KIND OF CAREER?
Boeheim: "You never know what's going to happen, it depends on how hard somebody works. We knew he was a good player, we knew he could shoot. He showed that right away his freshman year. By his sophomore year he was putting the ball on the floor and making plays. He's worked really hard with Gerry (McNamara) and in the summer time with Eric (Devendorf). He's gotten to where he can get his shot, get in the lane. That's why he's able to do what he's able to do because he's worked into it. It didn't come easy, he's worked his tail off. He's worked harder than any play I've ever had. I've had a lot of players that have really worked hard, but he's overall worked harder than anybody in the weight room and on the basketball court."
Q: WHAT DID YOU SEE FROM THE FRONT COURT TONIGHT?
Boeheim: "I thought Frank was good, really good in the first half in rebounding. Jesse was really good offensively. He didn't rebound as well. A couple of fouls, I don't know, it looks like his hands are straight up, but he was good offensively. He's getting better, he's getting better all the time. He's really good when we can catch him rolling and get to the basket to make that quick move there. The two big guys were really good. Really good."
Q: HOW WOULD YOU RATE THE DEFENSE AND HOW IT TURNED INTO TRANSITION OFFENSE IN THE SECOND HALF?
Boeheim: "Getting turnovers is how you get into transition. They had 17 turnovers to our five, so that's 12 extra possessions and some of them did turn into fast breaks. But again, defense is key. We were better. We were just better on defense. We've said all year, it's pretty common knowledge, we just haven't been as good defensively as we need to be. This was a really good outing and hopefully we can carry this forward to NC State."
Q: IS THIS THE KIND OF PLAYER YOU EXPECTED COLE TO BE?
Boeheim: "He played great tonight. Absolutely great. I expect him to continue this and to play even better as we move down the stretch here."
