BIG EAST CONFERENCE MEN'S TOURNAMENT

March 7, 2001

Jim Boeheim

Damone Brown

Allen Griffen

COACH JIM BOEHEIM: I think one thing about the game, both teams came out, it looked like it was probably the best basketball we played all year. I've seen Connecticut a lot. I thought they were playing well, too. They were making shots, getting the ball inside, moving the basketball, getting into the zone. When we went to the smaller team at the end, we had a couple of good opportunities. They had to go with the guard on Preston, we tried to isolate him. This was one of those offensive halves where every play we called worked. Even the out-of-bounds off the second (inaudible), we tried to go with the play, that play has never worked for us, not once. It was just one of those games where offensively everything we did worked, and, you know, this was really -- we've been playing better, I think, over the last few games especially, you know, Pittsburgh and then down here this weekend, this game, the other Connecticut game. So we've been playing better and that's a good thing. I think the important thing is to come to this tournament and to play well. Hopefully we did that. I think we beat a very, very good team. They should be given credit for this game because we're a pretty good team, we're ranked pretty high, and we played very well. I think they're a good team, too.

COACH JIM BOEHEIM: Yeah, he played great after he played the right way. Two ways to play: His way and the right way. He's going to play the right way. It's a lot easier to get to the basket after you've done something first and there's been some movement, then go. It's a lot easier.

COACH JIM BOEHEIM: They had to guard a 6-foot guy. If I was in the game, I would have gone down low. I don't think that's a big deal. He should have got something down there. I think he's putting the ball on the floor better. The guy to the left of me has improved his game as much as any player that I've coached in a long time in terms of being able to come outside, shoot the jumper, put the ball on the floor and go by people. I've coached some pretty good forwards at Syracuse. I can't remember one who's played much better than this guy has for me. I've also coached good point guards. I can remember one or two, Allen, in history, in all honesty, that were -- might have been -- might have been in your class. (Laughter.) But the reason we're where we are is because of the leadership these two guys have given us all year long, and when we got knocked over 15, 20 points a couple games, we always came back because of these two guys. They've been great for us all year long. You know, everybody talks about we should be -- we're tired. The only time we're tired is when we lose. When we win, we never seem to be tired. So, you know, we're not going to lose because we're tired. I don't care if we play two, three, four games down here. We're not going to lose a game because we're tired. We played two games in Alaska against DePaul when they were good, Ohio State -- well, people thought they were -- Ohio State and Missouri, two teams that are good, we'll play three nights in a row up there. There's no reason we can't play three here. These two guys are why we're sitting where we are. I said in the beginning of the year when we had the press conference that you wait and see how the teams with seniors play, and if you look at the four teams that got byes and us, seniors have been the key ingredients on every one of those teams. The freshman teams that have been the key, guys have not played well. You got to have veteran players. That's why we're here, these two guys especially.

COACH JIM BOEHEIM: I've seen them play a lot this year. Other than their coach, I mean, they played their ass off this year. They've overcome him somehow. I don't know how. But I told them last night, we were both trying to get to play them. Obviously, they play great. They really could have won both BC games, and if they had, they would have been in first place over there. If they just won one of them, they would have been tied. Timmy's done an unbelievable job with that team. I thought in the beginning of the year that BC surprised me, without any question. I thought Providence was going to be better than people thought because of their three seniors. (Inaudible) Last year they had no point guard. They had no point guard. Now they got one of the best point guards in the country. You know, Shabazz has got a year there. Transfers always, in my experience, always take time. You know, Maxey's is a good player. They got a couple guys that can shoot, which they didn't have before. So I thought they'd be good. They've obviously been even better than that. They're a very difficult team to play because they can pressure you and they can push it and run and it will be -- obviously, they're well-rested -- it will be a very tough game. They've proved it already all year. They're very good.

ALLEN GRIFFIN: I think Preston did a great job. He knocked down shots. They gonna keep giving him open shots, nine times out of ten he gonna knock them down. That's how much confidence we got in him. If he open, we got to give him the ball. He's the best shooter on the team. When he opens, lights out.

DAMONE BROWN: As long as we execute our offense, that's what we wanted to do. Every time they made a run, we came down, took our team, made the shot.

ALLEN GRIFFIN: Yeah, having DeShaun play good for us is a bonus for us because, I mean, he brings a lot when he's playing well. He can pass the ball real well. He can, you know, sometimes he can shoot the ball, he shoots the lights out of the ball. That's what we need. And, uhm, it's great to, you know, have games where you got a little bit of gap in the score. Sometimes you need rest. But it don't matter. As long as we get the win, we don't care how we get the win as long as it's a win.

COACH JIM BOEHEIM: Well, you know, I'll be honest with you, they were unlucky tonight. Preston got open twice in the first half. It was just really a transition. It was just like, you know, it was unlucky, really. He just banged them both. And even in the, you know, a couple of them he's making, you know, it's hard to go out there and get a guy five feet behind the line. It's no question, I mean, he's felt comfortable shooting the two games he's played against them. But he shot it -- I mean, you know, they've got a freshman playing him and their alternative is to put the guard on him. That's where we're going to try to get him down low, Damone can come outside, you have to go out with Damone, you can't double off of Damone, we have a big advantage. Their other alternative is they have to put a freshman on him. I don't think there's many freshman that can play Preston on our offense. He's going to get some looks. Our guards will have an opportunity, if they put the little guard on him, they have to put Butler on one of our two guards. Then they'll have an opportunity -- that's when we spread the floor and that's when DeShaun got in the lane and got his opportunities. It's a tough matchup for them. They went to the zone, which I think is the smart thing to do. Preston made, you know, a long three. You know, that's just the way it goes sometimes.

ALLEN GRIFFIN: I'm looking for the help of my teammates and to protect the ball as much as possible. I know he's a pesky defender. He likes to get up. I'll just take my time and control the basketball. As soon as I get to half court, get us into a set, that's my job. If things break down, get it back and hopefully make something happen. I'm going to just try to play like I played all year, control the ball and just get us into our offense.