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Jim Boeheim’s radio show is on Thursdays from 7-9PM on ESPN Radio in Syracuse, which is AM1200 or FM 97.7 on the dial. The show originates from Delmonico’s Italian Steakhouse on Erie Boulevard in Syracuse. The first hour, hosted by Matt Park, the Voice of the Orange, is on their general network. The second hour, which begins with the Big East season, is hosted by Gomez, a local radio personality.
The first hour is eventually, (it can take weeks) podcasted on the SU Athletics website on this page:
http://suathletics.com/podcasts.aspx
You can call into the show locally at 315-424-8599 or nationally at 1-888-746-2873. For Gomez’s portion, use 315-437-7644. Or you can submit questions from this page:
http://www.suathletics.com/sb_output.aspx?form=4
I will be posting my rough transcript of the first hour the night of the broadcast and will do the second hour the following day.
MY QUESTIONS/COMMENTS
First hour:
Coach, we just played the last Big East game in the Carrier Dome and had this year’s Senior Day on a Wednesday at 6PM against a last place team. The parking lots were already in use by the employees of the school and the actual size of the crowd was similar to the exhibition games at the beginning of the season. The home season should have ended with a weekend game against Georgetown or Connecticut before 35,000. Can you tell us about the decision-making process that led the game being played when it was and why it wasn’t against a traditional rival?
Second hour:
Coach, I know the upcoming NCAA tournament figures to be challenging at every level. Historically, since you’ve been the coach, we’ve done very well in the first round, (20-4), pretty good in the second round, (15-9), poorly in the Sweet 16 (5-11) and well after that (7-4, with two close losses in the title game). Are our problems in the Sweet 16 just a fluke or is there something about that round of the tournament that presents some special difficulties?
COACH BOEHEIM
(I have, in some instances, put together statements from different parts of the broadcast on the same subject)
With Matt Park:
They discussed the ending of the three game losing streak. JB: “When you’ve lost 3 in a row you begin worrying about things and your thinking isn’t sharp. We were not much on offense but our defense was good enough. When you face a zone you are going to shoot 15-20 threes whereas against a man-to- man it will be more like 8-10. You need to get offensive rebounds, which we did. DePaul missed some free throws. They are a better team against a man-to-man than a zone. The Georgetown game and New York will be very important for us because we need to get our rhythm back and make shots.”
Matt mentioned that more and more teams are playing zones and that Syracuse is seeing more of them. JB: “Not only are teams playing it but it’s obvious they’ve been practicing it. We used to see zones that teams had just decided to play for that game and they didn’t play very well. But now they are better at it. Teams that never played zone, like Marquette, Pittsburgh and Georgetown are playing zone now.
They talked about the top teams that had suffered three game losing streaks- Michigan State, Louisville, Kansas. We are in good company.
I called in my question about having the last game of the season, the last home Big East game and our Senior Day played at 6PM Wednesday against a last place team. JB: “ Georgetown’s getting the home game this year. They’ve played last here several times. TV wanted Georgetown there. They had us start at 6PM due to the Monster Trucks, altho9ugh I don’t know what difference an hour makes. (SU basketball got moved back to they would have more time to dump dirt in the Dome for the Monster trucks: I thought the Dome was for MONSTER DUNKS). There’s been other teams, (Matt said he saw a couple of Rutgers teams on the slit of last home games). I don’t have any objection to who the opponent isI wanted a win for the seniors. You can’t always get a weekend home game. It seems like we’ve had a lot more than most teams.” Matt said “the Big East schedule is done by hand but it works out. It’s like the NFL. The best teams play the best teams. Last night was our 7th straight win on senior Night.”
Jim asked me to look up how often we’d had the last home game on a weekend and who we had played. Using the Media Guide, I came up with this: Since the Big East started in 1979-80, (the Dome was the next year), 21 of our 34 final regular season games have been in the Dome, including 14 in a row from 1987-2000. 24 times our last home game has been a weekend game, usually Sunday, including 15 in a row from 1986-2000. It’s alternated since. Our opponents have been: Georgetown 9 times, Pittsburgh 5 times, Boston College 4 times, Villanova 3 times, St. John’s, Connecticut, Rutgers and DePaul twice each and Notre Dame, Providence, Marquette and Louisville. Either we had more clout from 1986-2000 or our value and that of our rivalries was more recognized then than now. It will be interesting to see how much we are valued in the ACC.
Adam in Syracuse suggested that late surges by Cincinnati and Villanova will get them into the NCAA tournament. He wondered how many teams the Big East will get. JB: “I’m surprised we’ve gotten so many teams in over the years. Not that they didn’t deserve it. But it’s hard to do.”
John in Verona said that “the guys just don’t seem to be in the flow. Is it because of James being out and then come back? Did it affect our chemistry?” JB: “We’ve seen all zone defenses in the last 3-4 games. It’s not been a problem in the past. We’ve tightened up a little. Key guys haven’t made shots. When that happens, you aren’t going to have a flow. You are going to look out of sync when the ball isn’t going in the basket.” Matt suggested that all the fouls called in recent games affected the flow. JB: “I’d rather have them call it closer than let things go. That’s when things get physical.”
Gary in Baldwinsville wanted to know if we are going to be able to stop Otto Porter Saturday. JB: I think we’ll hold him to less than he got in the first game. We did a great job on the other guys. We were awful on offense. Porter is very clever-they move him around. We need to find him. In most of the games we’ve lost it’s been because we aren’t shooting well. I think we can make shots. That’s what we need to do. “
They discussed the Jerami Grant vs. James Southerland issue. “Jerami is better coming off the bench. James is needed vs. a zone and to create room for other people.” Matt noted James had scored a double-double. JB: “He’s never been a rebounder but is trying to do a better job. He had six offensive rebounds but I think they were all of his missed shots. He had three in one possession.”
Chris in Utica got technical: “Why do we use a high ball screen on elbow 3 rather than a high post dump down?” JB: CJ gets most of his points vs. zones from high post. But we have no effective low post scorer and we don’t get offensive rebounds down low, which we should be able to do because in a zone, it’s open.” Chris apologized for making a suggestion. JB: “Fans can make suggestions all they want. I don’t want them from the media. The fans have a clue.” He suggested CJ shoot more threes. JB: That’s a good thought. He’s our best percentage three point shooter.” Matt said “He’s not the type to miss 3-4 in a game. JB: “It’s unusual for one guy to get 10 shots like James. It’s also unusual for a “4” man to get a lot of three pointers.” Matt looked it up and CJ is 18 for 41 from the arc this year after being 7 for 27 in his first two years combined. JB: “It’s a threat. The defense has to honor it.”
A fan wished that Baye Moussa Keita could “catch the ball better at the hole”. He also wished that Rakeem Christmas was more aggressive and sue two hands on his dunks. JB: “We work with him 30 minutes a day and using two hands and tell him to just get it in the basket- it down’s always have to be a dunk. He doesn’t always go hard because he doesn’t always know where to go. He hasn’t been playing the game that long. He’s still learning. So does DaJuan. He’ll be fine but ti will take a lot of work over the summer. He’ll be a good player for us.”
Luke re-read some pre-season magazines. Gonzaga was ranked #26 and Miami #36. JB: Regarding Gonzaga?: People didn’t realize how good their big guy is. This is far and away their best team. They discussed Kentucky, which is losing tonight to Georgia and still has a home game against Florida. “Kentucky doesn’t look like a tournament team with Nerlens Noel. It will be close.” But North Carolina should be get in and Duke, with Ryan Kelly back, should be the favorite.”
Luke also wanted to know how the coaches monitored the player’s activities over the summer. JB: “We’re not allowed. We can now work with them two hours a week for six weeks during summer school. Otherwise they have to have their own schedule. We can’t even ask them to report what they’ve done. They can work with the strength and conditioning coach”.
George asked about insurance policies players can take out- who pays for them? Jim explained that they can get an insurance policy at a cost of $21,000, which they are expected to pay alter. But the policies stipulate that they can only pay if the player is so badly injured that he can never play again. “It’s not such a good deal.”
Matt ended his hour by asking what we need to do against Georgetown. JB: “We have to play better offensively and get the boards. The guards will not shoot as badly as they did here. We have to play good defense do a good job on Porter.”
Matt asked about the importance of getting a bye in New York. Jim said “It hasn’t helped us.” Matt suggested that an extra game in New York will help build momentum and “get us farther away from the slump.” Coach said “We are concerned with playing well. Even if we lose, we need to play well.”
The first hour is eventually, (it can take weeks) podcasted on the SU Athletics website on this page:
http://suathletics.com/podcasts.aspx
You can call into the show locally at 315-424-8599 or nationally at 1-888-746-2873. For Gomez’s portion, use 315-437-7644. Or you can submit questions from this page:
http://www.suathletics.com/sb_output.aspx?form=4
I will be posting my rough transcript of the first hour the night of the broadcast and will do the second hour the following day.
MY QUESTIONS/COMMENTS
First hour:
Coach, we just played the last Big East game in the Carrier Dome and had this year’s Senior Day on a Wednesday at 6PM against a last place team. The parking lots were already in use by the employees of the school and the actual size of the crowd was similar to the exhibition games at the beginning of the season. The home season should have ended with a weekend game against Georgetown or Connecticut before 35,000. Can you tell us about the decision-making process that led the game being played when it was and why it wasn’t against a traditional rival?
Second hour:
Coach, I know the upcoming NCAA tournament figures to be challenging at every level. Historically, since you’ve been the coach, we’ve done very well in the first round, (20-4), pretty good in the second round, (15-9), poorly in the Sweet 16 (5-11) and well after that (7-4, with two close losses in the title game). Are our problems in the Sweet 16 just a fluke or is there something about that round of the tournament that presents some special difficulties?
COACH BOEHEIM
(I have, in some instances, put together statements from different parts of the broadcast on the same subject)
With Matt Park:
They discussed the ending of the three game losing streak. JB: “When you’ve lost 3 in a row you begin worrying about things and your thinking isn’t sharp. We were not much on offense but our defense was good enough. When you face a zone you are going to shoot 15-20 threes whereas against a man-to- man it will be more like 8-10. You need to get offensive rebounds, which we did. DePaul missed some free throws. They are a better team against a man-to-man than a zone. The Georgetown game and New York will be very important for us because we need to get our rhythm back and make shots.”
Matt mentioned that more and more teams are playing zones and that Syracuse is seeing more of them. JB: “Not only are teams playing it but it’s obvious they’ve been practicing it. We used to see zones that teams had just decided to play for that game and they didn’t play very well. But now they are better at it. Teams that never played zone, like Marquette, Pittsburgh and Georgetown are playing zone now.
They talked about the top teams that had suffered three game losing streaks- Michigan State, Louisville, Kansas. We are in good company.
I called in my question about having the last game of the season, the last home Big East game and our Senior Day played at 6PM Wednesday against a last place team. JB: “ Georgetown’s getting the home game this year. They’ve played last here several times. TV wanted Georgetown there. They had us start at 6PM due to the Monster Trucks, altho9ugh I don’t know what difference an hour makes. (SU basketball got moved back to they would have more time to dump dirt in the Dome for the Monster trucks: I thought the Dome was for MONSTER DUNKS). There’s been other teams, (Matt said he saw a couple of Rutgers teams on the slit of last home games). I don’t have any objection to who the opponent isI wanted a win for the seniors. You can’t always get a weekend home game. It seems like we’ve had a lot more than most teams.” Matt said “the Big East schedule is done by hand but it works out. It’s like the NFL. The best teams play the best teams. Last night was our 7th straight win on senior Night.”
Jim asked me to look up how often we’d had the last home game on a weekend and who we had played. Using the Media Guide, I came up with this: Since the Big East started in 1979-80, (the Dome was the next year), 21 of our 34 final regular season games have been in the Dome, including 14 in a row from 1987-2000. 24 times our last home game has been a weekend game, usually Sunday, including 15 in a row from 1986-2000. It’s alternated since. Our opponents have been: Georgetown 9 times, Pittsburgh 5 times, Boston College 4 times, Villanova 3 times, St. John’s, Connecticut, Rutgers and DePaul twice each and Notre Dame, Providence, Marquette and Louisville. Either we had more clout from 1986-2000 or our value and that of our rivalries was more recognized then than now. It will be interesting to see how much we are valued in the ACC.
Adam in Syracuse suggested that late surges by Cincinnati and Villanova will get them into the NCAA tournament. He wondered how many teams the Big East will get. JB: “I’m surprised we’ve gotten so many teams in over the years. Not that they didn’t deserve it. But it’s hard to do.”
John in Verona said that “the guys just don’t seem to be in the flow. Is it because of James being out and then come back? Did it affect our chemistry?” JB: “We’ve seen all zone defenses in the last 3-4 games. It’s not been a problem in the past. We’ve tightened up a little. Key guys haven’t made shots. When that happens, you aren’t going to have a flow. You are going to look out of sync when the ball isn’t going in the basket.” Matt suggested that all the fouls called in recent games affected the flow. JB: “I’d rather have them call it closer than let things go. That’s when things get physical.”
Gary in Baldwinsville wanted to know if we are going to be able to stop Otto Porter Saturday. JB: I think we’ll hold him to less than he got in the first game. We did a great job on the other guys. We were awful on offense. Porter is very clever-they move him around. We need to find him. In most of the games we’ve lost it’s been because we aren’t shooting well. I think we can make shots. That’s what we need to do. “
They discussed the Jerami Grant vs. James Southerland issue. “Jerami is better coming off the bench. James is needed vs. a zone and to create room for other people.” Matt noted James had scored a double-double. JB: “He’s never been a rebounder but is trying to do a better job. He had six offensive rebounds but I think they were all of his missed shots. He had three in one possession.”
Chris in Utica got technical: “Why do we use a high ball screen on elbow 3 rather than a high post dump down?” JB: CJ gets most of his points vs. zones from high post. But we have no effective low post scorer and we don’t get offensive rebounds down low, which we should be able to do because in a zone, it’s open.” Chris apologized for making a suggestion. JB: “Fans can make suggestions all they want. I don’t want them from the media. The fans have a clue.” He suggested CJ shoot more threes. JB: That’s a good thought. He’s our best percentage three point shooter.” Matt said “He’s not the type to miss 3-4 in a game. JB: “It’s unusual for one guy to get 10 shots like James. It’s also unusual for a “4” man to get a lot of three pointers.” Matt looked it up and CJ is 18 for 41 from the arc this year after being 7 for 27 in his first two years combined. JB: “It’s a threat. The defense has to honor it.”
A fan wished that Baye Moussa Keita could “catch the ball better at the hole”. He also wished that Rakeem Christmas was more aggressive and sue two hands on his dunks. JB: “We work with him 30 minutes a day and using two hands and tell him to just get it in the basket- it down’s always have to be a dunk. He doesn’t always go hard because he doesn’t always know where to go. He hasn’t been playing the game that long. He’s still learning. So does DaJuan. He’ll be fine but ti will take a lot of work over the summer. He’ll be a good player for us.”
Luke re-read some pre-season magazines. Gonzaga was ranked #26 and Miami #36. JB: Regarding Gonzaga?: People didn’t realize how good their big guy is. This is far and away their best team. They discussed Kentucky, which is losing tonight to Georgia and still has a home game against Florida. “Kentucky doesn’t look like a tournament team with Nerlens Noel. It will be close.” But North Carolina should be get in and Duke, with Ryan Kelly back, should be the favorite.”
Luke also wanted to know how the coaches monitored the player’s activities over the summer. JB: “We’re not allowed. We can now work with them two hours a week for six weeks during summer school. Otherwise they have to have their own schedule. We can’t even ask them to report what they’ve done. They can work with the strength and conditioning coach”.
George asked about insurance policies players can take out- who pays for them? Jim explained that they can get an insurance policy at a cost of $21,000, which they are expected to pay alter. But the policies stipulate that they can only pay if the player is so badly injured that he can never play again. “It’s not such a good deal.”
Matt ended his hour by asking what we need to do against Georgetown. JB: “We have to play better offensively and get the boards. The guards will not shoot as badly as they did here. We have to play good defense do a good job on Porter.”
Matt asked about the importance of getting a bye in New York. Jim said “It hasn’t helped us.” Matt suggested that an extra game in New York will help build momentum and “get us farther away from the slump.” Coach said “We are concerned with playing well. Even if we lose, we need to play well.”
