University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Postgame Quotes: UCLA 88, Cal Poly 83
November 16, 2015 | Men's Basketball
POSTGAME QUOTES
Maui Jim Maui Invitational
UCLA 88, Cal Poly 83
November 15, 2015
UCLA Head Coach Steve Alford
“I'm really proud of our guys because we got in a very similar situation to Friday. We had a double-digit lead and we were playing really well, then they make a serious run to take the lead from us and we win. Getting a win after a loss, whether it's at home or on the road, I've always felt like that's the toughest thing to do. I think both Cal Poly and Monmouth are really good basketball teams. In their respective leagues, I think they're going to present a lot of problems. Cal Poly has a lot of seniors; a lot of guys that can shoot the basketball and play really hard. I thought Monmouth was the same way. You had one team that attacked the basket in transition [Monmouth] and this team [Cal Poly] shot the three in transition. We kind of got two different looks this weekend as we go into next week and Maui.”
On the guard play tonight
“A lot of good play; I hammered those guards over the last 48 hours. Aaron [Holiday], Isaac [Hamilton] and Bryce [Alford] combined for a 22 to 6 assist-to-turnover ratio. That's vastly different than what happened the other night, and the result was different. 22 assists and 11 turnovers, that's who we are, that's who we want to be and we need to develop that sort of consistency.”
On what Cal Poly was doing to give UCLA trouble
“The hard part about non-conference scheduling and teams such as Monmouth and Cal Poly, especially Monmouth, they have no four. They played seven guards and three centers. They have one center and four legit guards in the game. We're obviously trying to play big-big. Offensively it's been a handful for people. This has been back-to-back games where Tony [Parker] Tom [Welsh] have been a handful and looked great. On the flip side, it becomes difficult because we're asking Tony to do something he hasn't done in four years. He's been guarding centers and now he's not only not guarding a four, he's guarding a guard. Same thing tonight; they go with Luke Meikle, a Gonzaga transfer, who's a very good transfer that they got. He's really a big guard. He's a driver, he's a shooter and he can create his own shot. You don't see a whole lot of that in our conference.”
Senior center/forward Tony Parker
On the guards guarding him
"The last two nights they went small. I just had to make sure to keep them in front of me. It's just two games, so I have to get used to it.”
On the chemistry with Thomas Welsh
“Tom has really been playing great and it makes it easier for me out there. He only missed two shots.”
Sophomore center Thomas Welsh
On his overall performance
“Our guards found me in great spots and I was able to knock shots down.”
On guards guarding him
“It was different because I usually have Tony [Parker] or Jonah [Bolden] guarding me in practice. Also, in high school, I was always being guarded by guys who were 7-feet or 6'10”. It was great because Coach was calling plays for me down low.”
Junior guard Bryce Alford
On the last 48 hours with Coach Alford
"We knew, us three (Tony [Parker] and Thomas [Welsh]), had to play better. We knew that loss on Friday was on us and we knew we couldn't play like we did on Friday. I think we played better as a back-court.”
Cal Poly Head Coach Joe Callero
“I thought we showed up at UNLV and we knew it was a big game, so we came out with a lot more intensity. Tonight, we just didn't come out the same way. We only had a 90% effort. We went to a 1-3-1 trap that changed the game and set the tone. The first couple of plays, we just didn't do that. Our zone was very effective for us, as well.”
On his team's effort
“In the second half, we really showed what we were capable of doing. Our guys have to understand that we have to go 100%. Our style has changed, it's new. We push the ball and our guys have to realize how hard you have to play. We want to score and we want to run, whether we play UNLV or UCLA, it doesn't matter. I'm not going to call time outs to stop the run. Our guys just have to make the commitment to play hard. I think at the end of the game, I had two or three time outs left.”
About the team rotation
“I'm not really thinking about that, eleven guys playing, it just happens. I'm really thinking about practice on Tuesday. The guys are on their own tomorrow, to lift weights and get treatment. We can't play the name or the record. We just have to play the same way and this is the style we are going to play. This is a different style for our guys.”
Cal Poly senior guard Reese Morgan
On the team's performance
“I think we just had a slow start, but we had a competitive second half. The first half intensity just wasn't there. If we played like we played in the second half, we would have gotten the win.“
On where he goes from here
“I'm just going to work hard, get ready for Monterey Bay on Wednesday and compete. I'll lift weights tomorrow, on Monday, and get back in the gym.”
