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NCAA MEN'S REGIONALS SEMIFINALS & FINALS: BOSTONMarch 21, 2012Jim BoeheimScoop JardineKris JosephBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS THE MODERATOR: We're now joined by Syracuse. We've got Scoop Jardine and Kris Joseph joining us. Q. Scoop, you said your eyes lit up last week when you saw K State come out in the man to man defense. We know Wisconsin is going to run it. They pretty much solidified it just now saying they've never played the zone before. Is it the same kind of feeling even though it's a physical defense? SCOOP JARDINE: It don't matter. We've just got to run our sets whatever defense the team is in. We know they play like a soft man where they're going to help a lot, and they're very grounded on defense. They're a very smart defensive. We know that so we have to move the ball and help each other get open and get better shots, and I think if we do that, we should be fine, no matter what defense they be in. Q. Scoop, Jordan said you two roomed at a summer comp. Do you still keep in touch with him? SCOOP JARDINE: I haven't talked since the summer, but I kept up with his season to see how he was doing. He was my roommate at Deron Williams Point Guard Skills Academy. He's a pretty cool guy. We got to work out against each other all summer, and it's great to get to compete against each other at the highest level. Q. Every round has names. You're now in the Sweet 16. Does that give you a sense of accomplishment, getting to this point, or do you guys feel like in a way you haven't done anything yet, you have a lot left to do? KRIS JOSEPH: No, it's definitely an honor to be here. There's a lot of teams that's going to be watching us. We could be in those same seats at home, so we definitely feel blessed to be in this position here as a team. But also this is something that we expected of ourselves, and we're happy to be here. Q. Scoop, knowing the history of the Boston Celtics, when you walked in, you didn't see like Larry Bird's retired jersey and some of the other banners up there, did that take that wow effect away? SCOOP JARDINE: It's an honor to be here, to play in an arena like this. I don't think this is the arena where Larry Bird played at, is it? No, it don't matter. We know this is an NBA venue, and it's always great to play on an NBA floor. The tradition here alone in Boston is great, and I'm just happy to be a part of something like this. Q. Scoop, is part of the challenge of the NCAA Tournament preparing for a team you haven't seen and maybe their particular style in such a short period of time, and does that give you guys an advantage with the zone? SCOOP JARDINE: Yeah. I mean, playing in the Big East, you're playing against teams that really know you and have been playing against you for years and they know how to prepare for your zone, and I think that's why we have had a lot of success in the tournament, because we're definitely playing against teams that definitely don't know our zone, and it's not just an ordinary zone. So a lot of teams prepare for Syracuse, they know we're going to play zone, and they try to prepare just as much but I don't think you can until you play against it. And I think that's an advantage to us. We just have to go out there and execute on both ends no matter what team we're playing and who we're playing against. We just know if we play our zone the right way, I think can be effective. Q. Kris, losing Fab before the start of the tournament, did that almost lessen expectations or put less pressure on you guys? KRIS JOSEPH: For us as a team we didn't feel any pressure at all because we were placed in that situation during the season where Rakeem and Baye came in for Fab and did a tremendous job for us, so we didn't lose any hope. We still had the same expectations of ourselves. Outside of us a lot of people doubted us and stuff like that, but as far as the team went, the coaching staff went, we had the utmost confidence in ourselves and we knew we could play well without Fab. Q. You guys remember what UConn did last year as one of the hottest teams. Who do you guys feel is the hottest team in this regional? KRIS JOSEPH: The hottest team in this regional. Besides us? I feel pretty good with us, the way we've been playing. I think we're one of the hottest teams, especially coming in with so much doubt, the way the media was doubting us, and I'm sure other teams were, as well. The way we've been playing, the way we've been executing, especially after our last win against Kansas State, I think we're on pace to do something real special right now. Q. Kris, what has the support been like from Canadians, with yourself in the tournament and being in the Sweet 16? Have you received a lot of support from people back home and potentially from your cousins, as well? KRIS JOSEPH: Yeah, the Twitter love has been crazy, a lot of love on Twitter from fellow Canadians, and that's always good to see. I think especially from Montreal where basketball is not the main sport, I think I'm getting a lot of support from home, Toronto and things like that, and it's just a great feeling that I have my country supporting me. Q. For either of you guys, would you be able to handle all the stuff you've been able to handle this year if Jim didn't behave the way he behaves? How much has he kind of led you to discard all the other information that's gone on? SCOOP JARDINE: Coach has been the biggest part of it. He's our leader. The way he's handled everything on and off the court has helped us a lot, because he's our leader. He's everything to us, and we go on how he's acting. With everything that's been happening as far as on and off the court, he's been handling it in a manly fashion. We look at him through tough times like this, and he was great throughout the whole thing and allowed us to be even better because all we had to do was worry about basketball. That's the main thing. He's the coach, and that's all that he worries about. So that has helped us get over all the tough times that we had. Q. To follow up on that, you've been around him a long time, Coach. Is he different this year because of all the stuff outside or is he the same guy? SCOOP JARDINE: He's the same guy. I think coaching‑wise, he's been more into it. We want to prove a lot of people wrong, I can say that. As far as him, he's been the same guy no matter what, through adversity and through great times, and that's one thing about why he's a great coach. Through our success he never gets us too high or too low, he keeps us level headed and that's how it is through adversity, too, and that's why he's a Hall of Fame coach. Q. This is for Scoop. Piggybacking on an earlier theme, do you almost feel like because you lost Fab before the tournament that the disrespect factor, has that given you more of a sense of us against the world, that type of mentality? SCOOP JARDINE: We just go out there and play basketball. It's tough losing Fab, don't get me wrong, but we've got a lot of guys that work just as hard and with an opportunity can play just as well. For the most part we try to go out there and stay together no matter what happens and who's out on the court, and I think we've done it earlier in the year, and that's what helped us to this point. Guys had to step up, and I think we've done it. Q. Kris, another coach likened Jim to Rainman. He said he knows everything that's going on in basketball from any other tournament. Do you find that, that he's just as in tune with the game as anyone you've been around? KRIS JOSEPH: Coach is a guru. He knows everything. The thing with him, he has like the greatest memory of‑‑ something could happen in a game, he'll remember the time, where the ball‑‑ who had the ball, things like that. It's great to have a coach that's so in tune with everything, and that just helps us that much more on the court. He can watch a game one time and tell you how a team is going to play us. He doesn't even have to watch a full game. He's been around the game so much, coached at different levels and seen so many things that it's so much easier to play for a coach like that. Q. Scoop, I just wondered about coming, we play these neutral site games, you come to Massachusetts, you're closer than any of the other teams. Do you guys notice the crowd support depending on how close you are when you go to these neutral site games or do you assume it's going to be a free for all? SCOOP JARDINE: Well, playing for Syracuse, our fans travel no matter where we're at. I remember two years ago we was in Utah, and they was all the way out there with us. I think one thing about playing for a school like Syracuse, we definitely have a fan base and a following. But being close in Boston, it's going to be like home again. We know we have home court advantage, but in the tournament as you know, it don't matter where you play at. The crowd can't really do nothing, it's about the players on the floor, and I think that's what's great about the tournament. We know that, so we're definitely happy that we have the support we have, but for the most part we've still got to go out there and execute on both ends and try to win basketball games. KRIS JOSEPH: Scoop always answers the question so well that it leaves me no chance to say anything. That's why I love being up here with this guy. THE MODERATOR: Thank you both for spending time with us today, and good luck tomorrow. Coach, welcome back to Boston. Give us some of your thoughts as we begin. COACH BOEHEIM: All right. I had a good dinner last night. My wife is shopping today. We're living in a mall, which is not good for her. But other than that, it's great to be in this tournament still. It's a challenge of playing against Wisconsin. Bo sits right behind me at the Final Four every year, so we always talk about the games in progress. His dad usually comes and my wife brings him candy. We've had a relationship for a long period of time, and I've watched Wisconsin play over the years, and he's a great coach. It's a great challenge to play against his teams because they're so solid on both ends of the court and don't make any mistakes. This will be a great challenge for our team. Q. Can you just talk about how Scoop has developed as a leader from when he arrived on campus until now? COACH BOEHEIM: I think the advantage of having somebody for five years, they learn about the program, they learn what needs to be done. I think Scoop has worked very hard. I think he's really improved. He's improved more than any point guard I've ever had from his first year to this stage. It's because he's worked very hard at the game and understands the game and has great passion for the game. I think his teammates recognize that, and they look to him. Q. We know you guys obviously are in the 2‑3 and Coach Ryan talked about the way they approach things in a man to man, and with your history in the game and having an appreciation for the way the game is played, do you appreciate the fact that you guys approach this, at least in that sense, differently, but yet you're both successful, both playing here, both playing so well defensively? COACH BOEHEIM: Well, the great thing about the game of basketball is you can play and approach it in a lot of different ways and be successful. Coaches have done that over the years. There's a lot of different ways to coach a team and to play the game, and yet you can still be successful. Q. Last week you made the analogy that if a doctor was performing surgery on you, you wouldn't want him to be having fun. I've thought about that a little bit. Is basketball that serious, because obviously if he makes a mistake someone is dead. Theoretically no one is dead if you‑‑ COACH BOEHEIM: I don't want to make fun of‑‑ make light of what a doctor does. But what we do to us is very serious, and we need to‑‑ we can make jokes and comments and stuff, but it's very serious. It's what we do, and we want to do it right, be able to get it right. I've never associated‑‑ a better comment would be if I want to have fun, I'll go to play golf. This is not fun. If I wasn't getting paid, I wouldn't be doing this. I don't think too many of you would be sitting out here if you weren't getting paid, would you? No, I don't think so. You get satisfaction out of doing something right, just like everybody does, and I get a lot of satisfaction when we do things right and play right. That's the way it should‑‑ I think that's the way it should be. Q. You've talked about how important it is to have a good point guard at this phase. What have you seen from Wisconsin's Jordan Taylor? COACH BOEHEIM: He's a tremendous player. I've been watching him for four years. He's a tremendous player. He makes plays. He's a good defensive player, makes shots. He's one of the best guards in the country. Q. Of course Bo Ryan and the Wisconsin players were asked about preparing for the 2‑3 zone, but are there any special challenges that Wisconsin presents that you're having to prepare for on a short turnaround week? COACH BOEHEIM: Well, everybody‑‑ they're a tremendous defensive team, and you have to really‑‑ you have to execute and you have to play well on the offensive end. They're not going to give you anything. You're not going to get anything easy against them. You have to execute and play well on the offensive end of the court. Q. You mentioned Scoop and the way he progressed. How about Chris and his progression in his time there and did he become the player you maybe thought when he first came to you? COACH BOEHEIM: Well, I think Kris, his first year was a learning experience and his sophomore year he was the sixth man of the year in the country and he was tremendous coming off the bench for us, had a great year. I thought last year he had a very good year as a junior. This year I think he's had a really good year. I think when you make First‑Team All‑Conference in our league, you're pretty good. There's 26 or 28 teams, whatever it is, in our conference, so you've got to be real good to get in the first five or six. He's had a tremendous year. He's had a tremendous career at Syracuse. He's won more games than any player we've ever had. At the end of the day it's about winning games, and we've had a lot of good players that won a lot of games, and I'm pretty sure he's won more than anybody else. I don't really know that, but I think I read that someplace, so I'm taking it somebody was right when they wrote that. Q. Kris Joseph just said basically that you've got a memory like a steel trap. Does anything stand out about playing here in Boston when Syracuse used to face BC regularly? COACH BOEHEIM: Well, I've tried to block all those out of my mind. I'll bring them back some day. We had great games here in Boston, I mean, really great games up in the little gym. Coaching against Tom Davis and then Gary Williams up there, I remember the shot against Boston College in the dome. That one I remember a little bit better. I remember when we switched and played in the old Boston Garden, it was pretty cold there in those locker rooms. But it was a great rivalry, and I'm sure it will be a great rivalry again. But yeah, a lot of great games. We had a lot of great games with Boston College over the years. Q. Based on the people that I work with in this area, there are far more people with ties to Syracuse, and we're closer to Syracuse than we are to Wisconsin. With that in mind, does it kind of feel like a home game in some ways? COACH BOEHEIM: Well, you never know until you get to the arena how it's going to turn out. Last time we played in Boston we had great support here. We had great fan support, which I really hadn't thought about or expected. But you never know when you play in the NCAA Tournament what's going to happen in terms of the fans. A lot of times they go with the underdog. But it's hard. It's hard to tell until the game actually starts what's going to happen there. Q. Because you know the history here in Boston, is it special to you to know you're playing at a place with so much tradition? COACH BOEHEIM: Well, I've always been a Celtics fan, going way back, so it's a great basketball city, unbelievable tradition. But that's more of a pro type thing. I love basketball. I love pro and college. But for college, it's not as much of a factor. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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