NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - SYRACUSE VS WEST VIRGINIA

March 21, 2021

Buddy Boeheim

Bankers Life Fieldhouse

Syracuse Orange

Postgame Media Conference

Syracuse - 75, West Virginia - 72

BUDDY BOEHEIM: Buddy Boeheim.

Q. Buddy, congratulations on the win. Was the difficulty advancing the ball late in game a result of West Virginia's press or your team not executing a press break play to get open?

BUDDY BOEHEIM: A little bit of both. West Virginia is a great defensive team. They're known for their press. First off, we had a good -- we had Marek bringing it up, and then he got trapped and threw it away. I think, when that happens and you turn it over once, we kind of start thinking too much. We seem to do that a little.

It was tough for us getting it in. They did a good job denying and trapping hard. Kadary made the play of the game by getting the ball and dribbling it up court. He gave it to me. We were able to draw a foul and made two free throws.

So I thought that kind of was the dagger definitely and probably sealed the game. So that was an incredible game by Kadary.

Q. Buddy, you weren't on the team, but you were around in 2018 when that team was an 11 seed and made it to the Sweet 16. Can you compare what this team is doing right now with that team and compare those two squads.

BUDDY BOEHEIM: Defense. I mean, when I think of that team, it was defense. They held Michigan State to 50s, high 50s, 60s maybe. But it was defense first. Making big plays at the end of the game. They just played together. They were really solid on defense. They could count on each other to make a play.

They moved it really well. They were a tough team. They closed out tight games. They won a lot of games by one or two. Even from the first game against Arizona State, that was down to the wire. So that was a team that just closed out games.

We're very similar. We're never going to give up. We're always going to keep playing. They took the lead in the second half. McNeil got hot, but we just kept playing and kept answering them. So it's just continuing to play, and our defense was big time in the first half today and kept us at lead because we weren't making shots and I was definitely struggling shooting the ball.

Q. Hi, Buddy. You mentioned that you were struggling a little bit in the first half, but they left you open for a couple of shots, and you got a couple in transition in that second half. How did that sort of fuel your confidence and enable you to get kind of on a roll the second half?

BUDDY BOEHEIM: It was huge for me. Just credit to my teammates. They knew that I needed to get some clean looks early in the second half to get going, and they did a great job. My first two shots were wide open, and that's all credit to Marek giving me a handoff and finding me in the corner. They knew eventually I was going to start making shots. First off I got a lot of clean looks that I was frustrated about.

But G-Mac came up to me at halftime and said, keep going. I don't care if you miss 200. Just keep shooting. I said, all right, if I get clean looks, I'm going to have to take them, and I'm going to start making them.

Q. Thank you, Buddy. It's one of those things that it just seems everybody outside the program is saying Syracuse shouldn't be there. You go on a run like this, and this is everyone being on the team. How special is this to you, not just to have this happen, but to prove so many people wrong?

BUDDY BOEHEIM: Can't even describe it. Something I dreamed about my whole life. To win two games, we doubted in both the underdog. This means everything. If you were to ask me a month or two months ago, where I think we would be, I don't think I would say Sweet 16, that's for sure.

This team just never gave up. We just kept playing. It's just amazing to be part of this team and how fun these moments are. The fans were so, so fun and amazing having them there. They got us going. Just a lot of fun celebrating with them.

It's just amazing, and we've been doubted before, but we just continue to keep going and proving people wrong.

Q. Hey, Buddy, can you talk about what's going on with your mindset right now. That Syracuse swagger seems to be back, and you have it as much as anybody out there, getting big shots and barking at the guys, saying they can't guard you. Tell me about that. How fun is this for you right now?

BUDDY BOEHEIM: It's so fun. I've got a chip on my shoulder, like I said, every day. Coming into this game, no matter what happens, I'm just going to keep playing. We've already proved so many people wrong, so why not keep going? I struggled early on, but once I got going, I made sure that I was going to let my team know that I'm here now and I'm going to keep going and just let me create and make plays.

Credit to my teammates for getting me going. They always believe in me. There's no better feeling than having teammates and coaches that believe in you. I'm just having fun now. Why not keep going?

Q. Buddy, I'm going to kind of beat a dead horse here, but this is now Jim's 20th Sweet 16 appearance. I know you touched on it last game, but what does this mean to you to get him another one?

BUDDY BOEHEIM: It means everything. If I'm going to be honest, after a couple games, Georgia Tech game or something, I saw a lot of stuff on Twitter talking about him and just crazy stuff, how he's been not doing well the last ten years. Do you know how many people would dream about going to two Sweet 16s, two Final Fours and an Elite Eight? In ten years, that's pretty good. He's never had a losing season, and he continues to do it.

He's one of the best coaches in college sports, no doubt about it. There's no one better, and he continues to prove that. There's no better feeling than helping bring him to another Sweet 16 and just shows how great he is and the continued greatness he continues to have.

Q. Hi, Buddy. You mentioned Coach McNamara, and if I'm not mistaken, you passed him for the most three pointers in the first two tournament games for a Syracuse player. Just knowing how much he means to you, what does it mean to pass him on that list tonight?

BUDDY BOEHEIM: There's no one better than G-Mac. He'll always be the best shooter to come to Syracuse. Just being able to work with him every day is a dream come true for me. Before I even touch the court and get a play in a game, just being around him every day, taking knowledge from him.

Like I said, at halftime, he came up to me and said, keep shooting. You're the best shooter on the planet, is what he tells me, and I said yeah. He knows how to motivate me. He knows I need confidence sometimes, and he's like a big brother to me. And something I'll cherish forever.

As much as it's great playing for my dad, I've got three assistant coaches who are family too. This is a dream come true for me. Every day I'm on the court, I'm going to give it everything I've got for these guys and the coaches and just everything in this program.

Q. Buddy, congratulations. Just wanted to ask you overall in the postseason, how you've been playing since the conference tournament. What's kind of gone into that for you, especially the way you're shooting the ball?

BUDDY BOEHEIM: Just making shots. My mindset has definitely changed. I'm really not doing anything that different on the court. I'm working a little harder. I'm focused a bit more. But my mental, I think, mindset has gotten a lot stronger and better early on in the year. If I missed a couple, I would start pressing myself and really just thinking about my shots.

That's something I can never do as a shooter. As a shooter, you have to have an empty head almost and not think about it. It's muscle memory and just changing my mindset and starting attack, going off the dribble, getting to the lane better, and just continuing to believe myself and keep going always.

So just having the mindset that I'm going to make every shot I get, and if not, just keep shooting and keep playing. They'll fall eventually.

Q. You've been around the zone your whole life, obviously. Has that helped you understand it, and does your knowledge of it help with your teammates' understanding of it? Because, you know, the obvious connection there?

BUDDY BOEHEIM: I think at first, when I first got here, I needed some advice and needed help, partly because I wasn't that quick and not a good defender. I think I've improved a lot over the years, but I have guys like Frank Howard and Tyrus Battle that were helping me every day, telling me where I needed to be.

Like I said, G-Mac is the first one to get on me in defense. I gave up a three early in the game, and he's looking at me like, you can't do that, just like, yep, I've got you, and just stuff like that.

Now that I've known the zone so well and know multiple positions, I can help out guys and make adjustments. I think that the coaches have done a great job teaching all of us, and for guys' transfers, like Alan, freshmen like Kadary, I'm going to help them and tell them where they need to be if it's in that situation or that. So just trying to help out and improving on defense every day, and I think it's showing these last two games.

Q. Going back to the 2016 and some of the criticism that Syracuse seems to have gotten when they've come in as double-digit seeds, what is it about whether it's your dad or the team that seems to really feed off this? You've seen it from being around him first and now you're seeing it as part of one of those teams.

BUDDY BOEHEIM: I think the zone is just so different. Every run I can think of, our defense was great, and I think this year our offense is a little better than our defense -- or our other offense is, like 2018 and stuff. I think we have more shooters that can stretch the court out. I think this year we're just as good on defense.

The 2018 team had more size inside with Paschal and Oshae was a really good rebounder, but I think this year we're better on offense, but we're working hard on defense. We're playing together.

Jesse's helped us out a lot at times. I just think that the zone's really tough for teams. I've seen teams in the ACC prep for it two, three times a year. They know the offense and stuff. And these teams see it maybe once every five or six years.

The Syracuse zone is different. We just click on offense. We're motivated always. We want to prove people wrong, and that's what this team is doing right now.

Q. So once Virginia started the second half and shooting a lot of threes after really struggling with the defense early on, what was going through your mind when they started to hit?

BUDDY BOEHEIM: I knew it was coming. They're too good of a team to not score and be tentative on offense. Once McNeil got going, we knew to really get on him. He's a great shooter. He elevates on his shots. All you can do and contest and hope he misses it. He got going. Our biggest adjustment was getting out on him. We did a really good job just forcing them to make tough twos. Letting them take tough jumpers inside, contesting shots, whatever it was.

They scored. I mean, they scored 43 points in the second half, but we just made adjustments and kept playing. I think the biggest thing was, every time they scored, we took the lead once and just answered every time they scored and got a tough bucket. Eventually, they missed a couple, and we kept scoring.

Q. Can you maybe walk me through a moment or two in the first half when you could tell that the zone had stymied them? It looked like they maybe got sped up a little bit, but is there a moment where you're like, okay, this is working, and you guys feed off of that on offense and it manifests that way?

BUDDY BOEHEIM: Yeah, I think they had a couple turnovers early where they threw it out of bounds or forced a tough way up, forced a jump shot. We had two or three blocks early that got us going. Then we pushed in transition. We knew they were going to double ball screen. Hit Marek slipping, and we had a four on three. So just getting stops. I think early on they definitely were frustrated. They were moving the ball, they didn't know what plays they were running, where guys had to be. That definitely stunned them early.

They made adjustments. Obviously, they're a great team, great coach. But that helped us keep the lead at halftime. I was struggling, Joe was really the only guy that made tough shots. The defense was big for us in the first half.