Syracuse vs. Long Beach State
December 13, 2008
Carrier Dome/Syracuse, N.Y.
Andy Rautins, Jr., Guard
On strong second half defense:
“Our man-to-man was real aggressive. We wanted to come out in a one (defense). We were lackluster in the first half. We trailed off screens. We didn’t come and play really aggressive. Offensive rebounding was terrible. We didn’t go after the ball enough. We cleaned it up in the second and played the way we should.”
On winning when top players don’t have great games:
“There is so much talent on this team. If one guy doesn’t step up, there are plenty of other players to contribute. It’s not that they necessarily didn’t step up. Even if a player doesn’t contribute with points, their effort shows in other places. We have so many parts that anyone can take over any night.”
On Eric Devendorf’s performance:
“Eric’s rock steady. He doesn’t let the external things bother him. Neither does the team. We come in and take care of our business.”
On how the team played after a week off:
“In the first half we were trying to get into game mode and looked a little sluggish. Second half, we turned it up. We were ready to get back on the court and we’re looking forward to the games ahead of us.”
On how the team rebounded in the second half:
“In the first half they outrebounded us big time. We gave up 10 offensive rebounds in the first half. That is something we can’t have, especially with the schedule and conference games we play. We’d get outrebounded every game if we came out like that. We got motivated and got on the glass in the second half. Rick (Jackson) and Arinze (Onuaku) did a great job and rebounding opened up the floor for us in transition.”
Arinze Onuaku, Jr., Center
On how he felt on the floor with all of his shots dropping:
“Coach (Boeheim) called a couple of plays for me from the bench. My teammates trusted me. I just wanted to get the ball in places where I could finish.”
On how the team felt in the first half:
“When you’ve got a week off you’re always going to feel some rust. With a team like this, we were going to bounce back. Our practice hours really came into play.”
On the fact he hasn’t missed a shot in two straight games:
“We’ve been working hard. Rick (Jackson) is coming along. We’ve been working hard down there. We just feel that if we touch the ball, we can score.”
Rick Jackson, So., Center
On how he’s contributing from the bench:
“It makes us feel real good to get in there. When I get in there, I just try to block shots, get on the rebounds and when I get a chance to score, I try to score.”
On the center tandem of him and Arinze Onuaku:
“Now I can go in there and help the team if he’s tired or gets in foul trouble. Games like this make you feel more comfortable than last year.”
On the team’s potential going forward:
“I think we can go real far because guys are playing real well. We are knocking down shots. We are using our practice time to fix what we need to. We are just playing a lot better than last year.”
On how the whole team contributes:
“We can all just score. There is no one player who can just go out there and score. We don’t have one leading scorer who has to score in order for us to win. We’re getting points off the bench.”