Quin Snyder Press Conference
12/1/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 1, 2000
On results from Alaska
"We've spent the week kind of processing some of the lessons from Alaska and are excited to have a chance to play again. We're out the outset of what should be a very trying month and a, this is a good game to get us going I think. They run, they shoot threes and they crash the offensive boards. So a lot of things I think we need to improve on we'll get a chance to test ourselves on tomorrow."
On the Syracuse game
"The Syracuse game I think was a case study of who we are and who we need to be. Since the beginning of the year we've been emphasizing defensive rebounding, shot selection, quick shots and being able to tell the difference. I thought at the end of the first half and the beginning of the first half we took some bad shots."
On keeping Kareem Rush out of foul trouble
"Sometimes Kareem gets in positions that are not good for him. Like all of the players Kareem wears down defensively. When he is out of position he needs to have the discipline not to foul. That is a part of him understanding his place in the game. The other side of that is he needs to come with more intensity defensively. He puts himself in bad positions because he is not working hard off the ball, ten his man gets the ball and Kareem is in a bad position. Being in good position is a part of his game that he needs to improve."
On finding a secondary scorer behind Rush
"There are a lot of second options. Clarence Gilbert can score, TJ (Soyoye) can score and at time Rickey Paulding looks like a good secondary option. Some of that is a part of having a young team, to watch some of those guys surface in scoring at those times. I think we need something inside."
On Rickey Paulding
"He is very explosive, but he is not as good a ballhandler as Keyon Dooling. Rickey is learning and that is a part of his growth process is being able to create his own shot and driving the ball. At the beginning of the year he was content with his jump shot, but I believe he can be a kid that can attack the rim for us. He is a very intelligent kid. As the game becomes more instinctive to him, then he will make more plays for the team."
On the transfer of Pat Schumacher
"Decisions like that are always complex in nature. Pat is a terrific kid and it was a pleasure to be around him. At one point, Pat was content to be apart of the team, but there came a time when not contributing and sometimes not playing at all became tough for him. That is hard to ask any kid to do. Basketball is something that the players care about - very deeply. Hopefully he will get the opportunity to play somewhere else and that can be fulfilling."
On getting wins versus non conference opponents
"We play one heck of a schedule and those wins will be needed come March to get into the NCAA tournament. The tournament is a goal of ours. This is a team that has a long way to go, but it is a team that will make improvements. We will add Travon Bryant in the latter part of December. Alaska was comparable - in a small way - to what we will encounter in December."
