The Syracuse Orange defeated the South Florida Bulls 56-48 on Wednesday. Here are the quotes to prove it.
Scoop Jardine, on what USF coach Stan Heath said to him during the game:
"Wow. He gave me a great compliment," Jardine said. "He said he didn’t know I was that good and I’m really the best guard in the league and nobody even talks about it...He said my freshman year, they didn’t play me at all. They didn’t even try to play me. And he said I’ve grown as a player. I respect that."
Fab Melo, on whether or not he likes to take the charge:
"I like to take a charge. They get a foul and we get the ball. Whatever gets the stop is great."
Dion Waiters on the team's slow start:
"I was mad. I was kind of upset, you know? Five points in 10 minutes? That’s kind of a disgrace."
Melo on the slow start:
"Weird. Nothing was going in. You can’t figure it out. Things like that happen, I guess. But it was very weird."
Dion on whether or not it was the fault of the platinum uniforms:
"A lot of people might say the uniforms were a problem, but not me. How you come out and play has nothing to do with any uniform. Some people might think that, but they’re crazy if they do."
Why didn't Dion complete the uniform with the prescribed sneakers?
"I love the uniforms, man. You know, they’re a different flavor. Nice. But I didn’t go with the shoes. I went with the ‘Kobes.’ I gotta keep something basic. The jersey was nice enough, but I gotta keep my-socks-and-my-sneaks thing going on."
USF coach Stan Heath on watching the Orange make their run:
"We were pissed. We thought we just kind of let it get away...But you knew — they're so good — that they were going to make a run. You just hope it wasn't as long as what they did."
Jim Boeheim on how you win games like this:
"We've been in these games all year, and our veteran guys have made plays coming down the stretch for us. That's how you win these games."
Boeheim on the minutes his starters are getting:
"I think we’re playing those guys a little too much."
Boeheim on James Southerland, who continues to struggle:
"We’d like to get James going, there’s no question about that. I think he’s rebounding better. I think he’s playing better. I think he’s moving better. But, you know, we’d definitely like to get him going. I think it’d be important for us.’’
Boeheim on getting Southerland and Baye Moussa Keita more involved:
The next couple games we are going to get a little bit more time and try and to get James Southerland in there a little bit more. Try to get him going; he’s struggling, try to get him in there. Try to get Baye Keita in there and see if we can get him going a little bit, get a little rest for these guys.
Kris Joseph on his play against USF and the team's reliance on him when it matters:
"Basically, I was playing terrible the whole game. And they still had confidence in me to come down and make plays when it really counted. I got the iso, got my own rebound and a put-back, I think I did that two times in a row. That was big."
KrisJo on the value of wins like this:
"In situations like these, they’re tough enough wins. We would rather not be in situations like these, but if you look at this thing it could be a positive. We could be in this situation further down the road and we’ve been placed in this situation a few times this season. It will help us in the long run."
Boeheim on the upcoming UConn game:
Saturday night is the Connecticut game. They’re obviously much tougher there. I already told the players this is going to be the toughest game they had this year."