Jim Boeheim Quotes (136 Quotes)

From the beginning of the year, we never talked about Anthony being the best freshman in the country. We talked about him being the best player in the country. I think he proved that tonight.

We just really couldn't stop them defensively enough to get to where we wanted to go. They shot the ball well. They played well. We made some uncharacteristically bad turnovers in this game that really hurt us.

I think John's place in Syracuse basketball history is underappreciated, ... We were facing some tough times and he easily could have turned his back on us and committed someplace else, but he stuck with us. During that 1996 tournament, he literally carried us on his shoulders to the title game.

He couldn't play those last two games. I had to take him out. He played like himself in the first half and we needed that. Our offense has been terrible and we need him to get it going and we did today for the first time in a while.

It's our offense. We made too many turnovers and we missed too many lay-ups. I just told the players we're not going to win any games if we miss eight lay-ups and we turn it over that many times.

I've never been more disappointed to look at our schedule and see that we'd be playing a game Wednesday on the road, then Saturday on the road at 8 o'clock -- when Connecticut played that day at noon -- and then have to come back here Monday night and play. Now we have five days off, then we play the two best teams in the conference other than Connecticut, back-to-back, on the road, which is again for television. That's just crazy to have to do that.

It's an overwhelming feeling to be here. It's a tremendous honor to be here and walk through this building.

You know, they're a gambling pressure team. Eric just got a little careless a couple times.

Darryl probably played as well in that game as any center we've ever had in the minutes he played. He's got to be able to sustain that over 30 minutes, stay out of foul trouble and still maintain that kind of effort. Above all, he's got to be there for us defensively and rebounding.

I think any coach that can get a Carmelo Anthony will take them, I dont care what they say. Thats college basketball right now. Until they establish an NBA age limit or something, you just have to adjust to it.

Tonight was his first bad game of the year. You're going to have a bad game once in awhile. We're not used to him having a bad night. Usually if he's not shooting well, he's doing something well. He's making plays or doing something. But tonight he just had a bad game.

We're not really doing a good job of getting our offense going, getting rhythm and getting the ball to our shooters.

We had better balance in New York. That was the key to winning.

We struggled at times, but most of it was because of our schedule. It was more the product of our schedule than how we were playing. We really didn't play at the level we could until New York.

We had better balance and that was the key to winning. The other guys just scored more and played better. If we can continue with that kind of balance we'll play well here.

I think this year more than ever has proven there are teams that might not get in or just barely get in that can win games. In the past, years ago, I think there were always teams that maybe wanted to get in, but you really knew they couldn't win any games in the tournament if they got in.

This was a heck of a comeback from that kind of deficit against a team that controls the game. You just can't give anybody that kind of lead and expect to come back, but we just keep plugging away and as long as we get Gerry some looks he's going to make his share.

There's no doubt in my mind we needed to win two games. I think we would have deserved to be in after one, but I think we had to win two.

The last two games we've played as well as we have all year. We just want to keep playing well. We've been there (in the NCAA tournament) before. We've got veteran guys that know what to do. I think our league is making everybody a dangerous team it's so deep.

He hadn't been in the whole game, and he comes into that situation and if he misses then they have a shot to go ahead.

We were not in either game. The first time we battled them on the boards remarkably. The second time they dominated us.

Gerry went out, we were down five. He never came back. When you lose your best player without any practice time or anything, that's a huge mountain to overcome.

A team that can beat anybody, any night, any place. I still think they're the best team in our conference, and I think they're the best team in the country.

He made some bad choices and got in some bad situations but we need him to make plays. We don't have other guys to make plays.

Our schedule is difficult, we know that. We're not going into the Big East off six or seven easy wins. We've had to battle. Now we've got more of the same ahead of us.

If you watched the game, you knew why he wasn't in the game. Gerry could not make plays tonight. If anything, I played him too much.

New Orleans means a lot to me. To win on the same court we lost on was a tremendous experience. ... To see what's happened to New Orleans is even more difficult for me because of what the city meant to our team.

Roy was a great motivator, a guy with great energy, ... He was a very good practice coach. He had a way of keeping everybody enthusiastic and fired up every day, and that's important when you are dealing with a long season like you do in basketball.

If we can continue with that kind of balance, we will play well here.

We just played three teams I consider to be Top 10 teams and, right now, we're not a Top 10 team. It's sad we have to play great teams back-to-back ... that's not the right way. Nobody else has to do that, play back-to-back Saturday and Monday games two weeks in a row with three of four on the road. That's too much to ask.

He was so far ahead of his time as far as basketball was concerned, ... We pressed and played different zones and did things that weren't commonplace back then. And, as a result, we were able to compete with the big schools in the Rochester area.

He's had some tremendous spurts for us, but he's been in a lot of foul trouble, which happens with big guys. When he's in the game and not in foul trouble, he's been effective. But, he's got to stay in the game.

Syracuse, New York, is like Hawaii for eight months of the year, ... The other four months, I don't care about the weather because we're playing basketball.

We just have to play better. We're in control of our fate. We just have to play better basketball down the stretch.

Let the assistant coach come up to me and say, 'Gerry McNamara is overrated.' I'd like to see one of those guys come up to me and say that. He's been double-teamed all year, and the coaches voted him first team all-conference. The head coaches, they don't know (expletive), I guess.

He's been trying that 3 all year. I told him, 'Someday, you're going to make one of those things.' It just came up at the right time.

It's a great win. I'd say it's one of the best we've ever had at Syracuse and I've only been here about 44 years.

We'll be alright. We need a few days off, we'll be ready to play. It's sad that you have to play such great teams back to back then you have six days off. It's not the right way to play your best basketball. I am proud of the way we've battled back though. This has been a very difficult way to start.

He's got a big heart. If he's on your side, you'll never have to worry about having a friend.

You can't let him get open. When he got open he made two (three-pointers). I thought we did a good job of finding him and not letting him get set.

I'm glad we won a couple of games because I would have said this anyway. But people would have thought I was just upset because we lost three games, which we could have. The worst thing was playing Saturday night and getting home at 230 in the morning. At least play an afternoon game in Cincinnati or something. The way that we're scheduling is just not going to work.

Gerry has a pretty badly bruised thigh, but I think the rest will be good and he'll be able to come back next week.

We never made it through nine holes, ... If you were smart, you would have bet the under every time.

This was a good game for us. I like St. Rose. They get very good movement, they really tested us in some things. Defensively, that will help us. We didn't do a good job on the boards and had some really bad turnovers. Our young guys are going to make mistakes. You expect that.

When Gerry gets going like that, it's disheartening. He can pull up and make it from anywhere inside the half court.

Without Gerry McNamara we wouldn't have won 10 f-- games. We wouldn't even be here to even have a chance to win this game. It's the most bull-- I've seen in 30 years, especially in our own paper. Anonymous assistant coaches. Let that assistant coach come up to me and say that. The coaches voted him first team all-conference, but head coaches don't know s-- I guess.

I think I may be more excited about coaching than I've ever been, ... I think I realize that I'm closer to the end than I am to the beginning. I know I don't have 29 years left. So, I guess I'm appreciating it more.

He was very hard on me, ... It didn't matter if it was ping-pong or golf or pool, he'd try to beat me. He's definitely the person who taught me how to compete.

He amazes me every time I see him play. He has more guts than anybody I've ever coached. As soon as he released it, there was never a doubt. There was nothing but net.

I think some kids will get to college and realize it might be good to be here for two years or three. It's a good rule. I think it will prove to be beneficial to everybody in the long run.