University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Postgame Quotes - UCLA 89, Stanford 73
UCLA 89, Stanford 73
Los Angeles, Calif. (Pauley Pavilion)
January 27, 2018
UCLA head coach Steve Alford
opening statement
โIโm really proud of the guys tonight. Thought our offense was really good with good ball movement. We played a team tonight that really prides themselves on getting to the line and we kept them off the line. We lost game one against them because we couldnโt make foul shots and today we were 23 for 25 so that was really good. We won the rebounding war and we havenโt done that in a while. This was a good game for us with 19 assists coming off a game against Cal where we had a lot of assists. A lot of guys played well which is good. We need a bye week as us and USC are the last teams to get a bye week so itโs a good time for us. Weโve had a tough week especially after coming off three losses. I thought our guys responded well and now weโve got a big week of preparation before a big game against a really good team here on Saturday.โ
on teamโs energy
โThey were having fun. We try to tell them that when you get stops itโs fun because then we can get out and run and we are a very good transition team. Our defense had so much slippage in those three games that we werenโt running because we were taking the ball out all the time. When you take the ball out the other guy gets to set his defense. I thought we got some really good looks and we defended well. All weekend we did a really good job defensively and now we are going to have a big time test next Saturday because they are a really good offensive team.โ
on Jaylen Hands having 10 assists
โThatโs what we got to have. I thought Jaylen didnโt shoot the ball as well as he normally does but he got to the free-throw line and had 10 assists with just one turnover. Thatโs what we want him to develop in to. I think heโs really hard to keep in front of. He has great speed and quickness and he used that to his advantage. He did a great job of breaking down the defense and making the right decision with it.โ
on Prince Aliโs performance
โI thought he did a really good job tonight and didnโt have any turnovers. Heโs a very good defender for us so when he can score the ball thatโs an added bonus and he should be a good scorer for us. Tonight he had 16 which was great. I thought Kris was very efficient with his 18 points. Tom [Welsh] leads the country in doubles-doubles with a mask on. He just finds a way to get it done.โ
on new starting lineup
โI thought our four guards were better in the lineup tonight than they were against Cal. Thatโs good to see because this team is bigger and more experienced than Cal was. I liked our efficiency. We got to the line, we executed our free throw attempts. We rebounded well with good rebounds out of our guards. Kris [Wilkes] had five and I think he didnโt have any at half. Jaylen [Hands] has three. That lineup just gives us something different. Doesnโt mean we are going to just stick with it. We are going through a league that has a lot of really good bigs and thatโs going to happen again next Saturday with USC. That does give us a little different dimension when we put it out there.โ
UCLA senior center Thomas Welsh
on Jaylen Hands and Aaron Holiday combining for 18 assists
โOh, itโs awesome. They make my life a lot easier when theyโre out there giving 18 assists per game. Iโm just trying to do my best to knock down the shots they find me for. Itโs really a pleasure. Theyโre just incredible guards to play withโฆโ
on if uptempo offense seen tonight is what they want to do
โDefinitely. I think thatโs kind of a key for us. When we can get stops defensively to put ourselves in a position to run and to make plays like that. I think thatโs one thing we can be really good at as a team. If we can get Jaylen and Aaron out there, leading the point off the stopโฆ I think weโll put ourselves in good shape on all positions.โ
on having 1967-68 championship team in attendance
โItโs incredible. Itโs one of the reasons why players like meโฆ play at a school like this. Itโs such an honor to wear those four letters across my chest. We have two of the best bigs to ever play the gameโฆ Itโs a pretty special environment. Just doing my best to follow in their footsteps. Itโs truly an honor.โ
UCLA freshman guard Jaylen Hands
on alley-oop pass to Kris Wilkes
โI remember I got the rebound, I saw Kris running and I remember I had a lot of space. So I [thought] Iโve got to do something crazy. I didnโt know what to do and it just came in my headโฆโ
on if he thinks 1967-68 players enjoyed the teamโs dunks
โI donโt see how you wouldnโt like it. I thought it was fun. I had fun when Kris did the windmill. I thought that was crazy. I donโt see how you wouldnโt like it. It was showtime.โ
on looking forward to USC
โI just think we want to keep building up, building on what weโve been doing. Early on in the season, before that Colorado loss, we were trending up. We took a step back. We just want to keep trending up. The next gameโs going to be really big. Really excited to come in here, bring a lot of energy like we did today [and] come out with a win.โ
UCLA redshirt sophomore guard Prince Ali
on if this is offense team has envisioned
โAbsolutely. Weโre starting to play together again, getting out in transition. We play four guards a lot now, so whoever gets the rebound just goes. It makes us a lot faster.โ
on teamโs performance tonight
โWe were hyped up to play this game. They beat us in double overtime last time, so we were pumped up to play this game. We were up at Stanford, so we feel like we owed them this game.โ
on if this was one of his better games and what his role is
โYeah, I think itโs one of my better games. I just bring energy, scoring and defense. I think itโs one of my better scoring games. I think I defended well and brought energy.โ
Stanford Head Coach Jerod Haase
opening statement
โWe really struggled defendingโUCLA has a ton of weapons and we really didnโt defend tonight. Our ineffectiveness on defense led to transition baskets.โ
on UCLAโs zone defense
โWe really got pushed up high up on the floor. We had a lot of sloppy passes and silly mistakes.โ
on three-game losing streak
โWe just stick to what we have been preaching and what we have been telling our guys all season. The message will be the same.โ
Stanford Guard Daejon Davis
on what went wrong tonight
โI felt like we could have competed harder, Coach told us it was going to be a dog fight. We knew that when we took care of business at home, these two [road] games were going to be tough. We just lacked the competitive edge that we had in our five-game winning streak. I just felt like they really got out in transition. Also on defense, I felt we were one step slow.โ
on his individual performance
โI really felt like I competed, my teammates really looked for me. I just donโt think we had the defensive effort tonight.โ
on where team goes from here
โWe just have to be able to keep it together. We had some highs and lows, we just have to go back to the lab and discover the recipe we had during the five-game winning streak.โ