University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Postgame Quotes: UCLA 107, Nicholls State 74
November 21, 2014 | Men's Basketball
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 107, Nicholls State 74
November 20, 2014
UCLA Head Coach Steve Alford
Opening statement…
“I was really pleased, especially with the first half. I thought we played really well in the first 20 minutes and then we got a little bit sloppy. I thought [Nicholls State] played really well in the second half and made a lot of plays. [Nicholls State] made shots and got in rhythm; a lot of that had to do with our start to the second half. When you get 28 assists in a basketball game, out-rebound your opponent by 16, you shoot 56 percent, you score 107 points, there's just an awful lot of good things. We had a lot of guys playing well, sharing the basketball and doing a lot of good things. This was a good 40 minute effort for us, and now we have our toughest test to date coming up Sunday against Long Beach State.”
On Bryce Alford's performance…
“He's been terrific. He at one point had 13 assists and no turnovers. When you get 13 assists, 28 points and get to the free-throw line again, he's just doing a really good job. He and Isaac [Hamilton] both played well. It wasn't his best shooting night, but Isaac [Hamilton] had five assists and one turnover; you have to find other ways. I thought Bryce controlled the game and dictated how we wanted to play offensively and defensively. It's becoming contagious; we have a lot of guys sharing the ball and moving the ball, and that starts with your point guard.”
On the rotation…
“The minutes have been pretty good so far. Had we extended the lead a little more in the second half, we might have rested a few of them. Thomas [Welsh], Noah [Allen], Gyorgy [Goloman] and Wanaah [Bail], that's our bench, and all of them were in double-figure minutes. The starters will have 28-34 minutes, that's what we're trying to condition them to. We are who we are, and that bench will continue to develop.”
On if there was an emphasis on going inside…
“We thought we could get the ball inside, [Nicholls State] is not a particularly big team. We wanted to make sure we got Tony [Parker] going. I thought that was a big key for the game, and he became that dominant center. He's coming off of a game where he had six turnovers. For him to respond, shows maturity and growth.”
Bryce Alford (Sophomore, Guard)
On the team's offensive performance…
“I just liked the way we played tonight on offense. I love to get guys open shots; I really love setting guys up for a shot. They do the hard part; I just like giving the ball to them in open opportunities so they can hit the shots. It's just a comfort level that we have, and we just play the way we play. There are not a lot of rules, we all come from different backgrounds, and we just play to our strengths. It makes it fun because the coaches trust us out there; it's just easy flowing basketball.”
Norman Powell (Senior, Guard)
On the difference from this last year's team to this year's team…
“It's pretty much the same. Our chemistry is high, but we are inexperienced. In the second half, we were sloppy, we just beat them by two points. What we did in the second half, we can't do again. Like I said, the biggest difference is our inexperience.”
Tony Parker (Junior, Center)
On his ongoing battle for rebounds with Kevon Looney…
“We were talking about that in the locker room. He took three away from me tonight. He is just everywhere; he came across the block and was snatching rebounds. He has that 7'5” wingspan, so it makes it impossible sometimes to get rebounds. What's funny about it is that he talks about it during the game, even during timeouts. I don't like sitting next to him because he reminds me how many rebounds he's gotten. It's fun joking with him.”
On if he was focused on his career high in points…
“Not really, I just wanted to get more rebounds. I'm not trying to get a lot of points; rebounds are the key for me. When we get rebounds and let the guards play, it's a great thing to watch.”
Nicholls State Head Coach J.P. Piper
Opening statement…
“I thought there were two big things early on. One, we were tentative offensively, which was a replay of our last game. We also stopped guarding for a minute. From the 16 minute to 12 minute stanza, we were horrendous. They looked like the Harlem Globetrotters out there, just toying with us. We addressed that and got better in the second half. But, that's where the game really slipped away.”
On what was working in the second half…
“We showed promise in the second half. We worked to defend and execute offensively in the manner that we have been coached.”
On Bryce Alford's performance…
“Bryce Alford is a talented player, and we made it too easy for him. All their players really played well in the first half. We made him work harder in the second half. They looked like a hot knife cutting through butter. I told the team that we have to defend at a level that will win our league and I thought we did that in the second half.”
On his team's youth…
“We are young with some experience, but our young players aren't used to playing under that kind of pressure. UCLA made it very tough on us, but we have to find a way to make plays anyway.”
