University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Postgame Quotes: Oklahoma 75, UCLA 65
November 27, 2014 | Men's Basketball
Oklahoma 75, UCLA 65
November 26, 2014
UCLA head coach Steve Alford
opening statement
"Our guys really battled. It was a very physical game, and we knew it was going to be a tough battle. I like the way our guys competed. This is new for our team, and we're seeing a lot of positive things. We didn't get the job done at the free throw line. We were able to out-rebound them, but we didn't have a good shooting night. In fact, that's back-to-back bad shooting nights for us. But the shooting will get corrected with this team. There are other things that might be greater concerns, but I thought that we showed some good things in this game, defensively. That was very good for us to see."
on his level of worry heading into this game, factoring in travel and a busy schedule
“We were very worried, and we still have two more games left. But, it's what has been thrown at us. We have to be able handle that. We are not a deep team yet. We've got a bench that is developing. Now, we get North Carolina in just about 24 hours. They are very deep. So, that is a challenge. Our guys will have to develop and mature through that. That is what this whole process is. It is a process for us. We know that we are not going to be the team that we'd like to be on Thanksgiving. But through the experiences that we're getting here and over our previous four games, those will help us get to where we would like to be.
“I like the pieces that we have. I'm seeing really good things from guys who have not had a lot of experience. Wanaah Bail and Noah Allen were not in our rotation last year. Isaac [Hamilton] is in his first year. You've got Kevon [Looney] putting up double-double after double-double and he is a freshman. Bryce is playing a completely different role this year and he has handled it unbelievably well through five games. Tony [Parker] doesn't have much experience being in the starting lineup. He has only started a handful of games for us in his career. Norman, as our senior now, has a new role. Those are not excuses, but that is who we are. It's going to be a process. It is not going to happen even when we leave the Bahamas. The experience that we have here in the Bahamas will be very beneficial.”
on whether the student-athletes grasp that it is a process
“We have talked about it in the locker room, that it is a process. North Carolina didn't think they would be in that bracket, and we didn't think we would be in that bracket. But, that is reality. That's what hits you, and you have to deal with it. The bottom line is that someone will get a win against a ranked opponent. That's a great opportunity. Tonight was a great opportunity. Oklahoma won that opportunity. Tomorrow, because of the quality of this field and of this tournament, we will get another opportunity. The opportunity tomorrow is against a ranked opponent.”
on juggling the team's rotation as UCLA got into foul trouble
“It's hard. That is what's difficult. We have some depth up front but we don't have much depth in the backcourt. The foul trouble is not easy. You're doing that with a lot of inexperience. I thought that our guys handled that about as well as they could. I thought that in the second half Thomas Welsh was really good. He settled down. We are just seeing a glimpse of what we will be like six weeks from now. He will be totally different with the experiences that he is getting. I couldn't get G.G. [Goloman] in the game, and that was a tough blow. I need to be able to get him some minutes. He will get a little more comfortable as we develop that bench. With three players in foul trouble, that definitely made things a little bit more interesting.”
on whether or not missed free throws are a developing pattern
“We are asking a lot of these guys. From the guy to my left and the guy to my right, we are asking a lot right now. I could not be more proud or more pleased at what both of them are doing. What more can Kevon do? He's a walking double-double, and it's not like it's 10 and 10. He is getting 16 and 14 for us. He is putting up huge numbers through the first five games of his career. If he misses a few free throws, that's OK. That will come. He is trying to learn how to play 33 or more minutes. A high school game is 32 minutes. He's learning all of that. While he's learning, he's doing amazing things for us. Bryce is the same way. He averaged about 23 minutes for us last year. He came off the bench and had a different role. If you talked to Oklahoma, I'm sure they really prepared for him. [Isaiah] Cousins had not guarded the point guard very often. It's usually been [Jordan] Woodward. I know that there was some preparation for him. I thought he was tremendous. As coaches, we have to be patient. It's a new team. We lost a lot. We just played a team that returned four starters. We lost four starters. We lost four guys to the NBA. So, it will be a process, and we have to be patient with this. I had no idea that one month ago that we'd be at the level we are at right now. If we can improve in the next month like these guys have improved as individuals and as a team in the next month, we will be a really good basketball team. That's encouraging. I think that we have a very high ceiling, including these two guys who are next to me."
Bryce Alford (sophomore, guard)
on what changed in the final minutes of the second half
"It's a credit to Oklahoma that they picked up their intensity in those last few minutes. We struggled with that. We had a few odd lineups in there, and we had a couple possessions in a row where we didn't make shots and didn't get key stops."
Kevon Looney (freshman, forward)
on controlling the second half adjustments
“I had more confidence and was being more aggressive. I felt that I was just playing harder.”
on how important rebounding is to him
“I know that a major part of my role is to rebound. I know that our team lost a lot of rebounding from last year, so I've really tried to take on that job.”
