March 4, 2003
NOTRE DAME vs. SYRACUSE (March 4, 2003)
Jim Boeheim Postgame Quotes
On Notre Dame. . .
“This Notre Dame team is going to be a very tough team in the BIG EAST tournament and the NCAA’s. I think they’re going to represent our league very well.”
On Notre Dame’s defense of Carmelo Anthony. . .
“Carmelo wasn’t really able to do anything the first half, and when that happens he usually gets it going in the second half. He really struggled; they did a good job on him.”
On Matt Carroll…
“I had the privilege to coach Matt when he was coming out of high school. He’s had a tremendous career here. I give him a tremendous amount of credit for the way he’s played and gotten better every year. He makes tough shots and tough plays. The last shot he made when we had a three-point lead was really a tough play. “
On the second half…
“I couldn’t find the right defense to stop them. There may have been a right one, but we couldn’t get in it. We tried man-to-man [defense] to stop them from getting three-point plays, but they got three-point plays the old-fashioned way. It was just one of those games. Mike [Brey] did a great job getting his offensive guys in the game.”
NOTRE DAME vs. SYRACUSE (March 4, 2003)
Mike Brey Postgame Quotes
On the game . . . .
“We played a very good basketball team with a great offense. We had our hands full, especially in the first half, but I’m proud of our guys for fighting back in the second half. If we haven’t learned our lesson after three losses, I don’t know what it will take.”
“After everything this team has done throughout season, they are not going to hang their hat on that. We have to be ready for battle. We did this at Rutgers the other night when we just didn’t close the gap. We have to be ready to start at the beginning of the game, and we have one more chance in the regular season to do that against a Georgetown team that is very challenging as well.”
On the crowd…
“Our crowd is fantastic. We really appreciate their efforts not only tonight, especially in the second half, but also all year at all of our home games. It’s really a great atmosphere to play basketball in, and hopefully, you’ll get to see some of them at the neutral sites where we’re going to play down the road.”
On Matt Carroll…
“What’s disappointing is that Matt deserved to have this win for his last home game. I’d like to thank Matt for everything he’s done, not just his performance this season, but for all he has done for this basketball program. I’m very proud of him. As I told his parents before [the game], we wouldn’t be in this position right now with regards to the postseason if he hadn’t done everything he has for us. He’s still got a lot of basketball left, and I still get to coach him for a while, which is good. I’m looking forward to that.”
On Notre Dame’s bench…
“Chris Quinn carried over from the Rutgers game as an excellent player. He had the flu and lost his legs a little bit, but he ended up giving us a great game. We’re going to need him. It’s hard for these players like Chris Quinn and Torrian Jones not knowing whether they’re going to play 11 or 22 minutes, and that’s what this team’s all about.”
NOTRE DAME vs. SYRACUSE (March 4, 2002)
Notre Dame Player Quotes
Senior guard Matt Carroll
On falling behind in the first half. . . .
” We’re not tired. Coach Brey has prepared us well, but there is just something about how we start the game. It’s our own fault. We don’t come out with a sense of urgency like we do in the second half.
On Notre Dame’s strong second half . . .
“I’m proud of how we played in the second half. I just wish that we would have done it the whole game. We’ve talked about playing the way we did in the second half for 40 minutes, but we didn’t and that’s our problem. Teams in the Big East jump on you from the start, and they’re too good offensively to be playing catch-up the whole time.”
Sophomore guard Chris Thomas
On the upcoming game. . .
“We’re going back to Georgetown and hopefully we will start something new in that gym. It doesn’t matter if we come out with a win or loss, as long as we get some of our old habits back and gain some confidence.”
Senior guard Dan Miller
On the loss . . .
” It’s disappointing that we’ve lost the last two games at home and that we lost on Senior Night. There’s a lot of basketball left, and we have a chance to make a great run.
Freshman guard Chris Quinn
On Notre Dame’s opponents…
“Our opponents are playing well right now, but when we start the game and give them a lot of the confidence, then they’re going to keep making those shots. We need to come out at the beginning of the game with the defensive intensity that we had in the second half, and maybe then they won’t have that confidence.”
NOTRE DAME vs. SYRACUSE (March 4, 2002)
Syracuse Player Quotes
Freshman guard Billy Edelin
On the game . . .
“I just wanted to try to be aggressive and come out here and do everything we could to seal our fate on winning the BIG EAST [West Division] championship. We knew we had to win and didn’t want to have to come back like we have been doing in the last games.”
On career-high 26-point performance . . .
“I always said that once I started to get a lot of minutes, I knew I could put up big numbers. If guys are going well, I always try to pick my spots. But tonight was a big game, and I knew what I had to do to help us get a win. Today, coach [Boeheim] just let me go loose a little bit more.”
Freshman forward Carmelo Anthony
On the play of Billy Edelin . . .
“He took advantage of his opponent. He said that Chris Thomas was too small for him so he took him inside.”
On his team’s play in the paint. . .
“We know a good offensive team doesn’t like to play tough defense. We took advantage of that, and we knew they weren’t going to play as physical with us.”
On the play of Notre Dame forward Dan Miller…
“Early on, he was trying to play tough defense, and I was just missing my shots. I just settled down late in the second half and got stuff easy.”
Senior guard Keith Duany
On playing a struggling Notre Dame team…
“They’re still tough. I didn’t see anything wounded. They just came back hitting three’s all over the place.”
On the difference in the second half . . .
“They were getting great ball movement and good shots. We had trouble finding their shooters, epecially Matt Carroll. He got open for a lot of good looks, and he just killed us with those.”
On scoring the game’s final free throws . . .
“I knew I was going to knock those down. It was just going up there and doing my same routine. It was good to be in that position.”
Freshman guard Gerry McNamara
On the difference in the game . . .
“We really took advantage of Billy [Edelin] inside; he got in the paint at will and kept everyone spread out.”
On Syracuse’s fast start …
“My eyes lit up when I saw the zone [defense].”