Postgame Quotes
November 24, 2015 | Men's Basketball
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 77, UNLV 75
Maui Jim Maui Invitational
November 23, 2015
UCLA head coach Steve Alford
opening statement
"I'm really proud of my basketball team. I just felt they fought. This was a really good, big, athletic team that we were playing in UNLV, and I thought both teams came in playing pretty good basketball. I'm proud of my guys, because we took a pretty good punch to start the game. Never did get Tony Parker in any kind of rhythm. Isaac was out of rhythm. Jonah was out of rhythm. Those are pretty key players for us that never really got into rhythm. For us to beat a team like this to where I thought Bryce and Tom were just terrific all night. It was a game I couldn't give Bryce any kind of blow because of the pressure, so we've got some concerns moving forward with that. But I thought both of them showed a lot of toughness. Then our freshmen, Prince [Ali] and Alex [Olesinski]. Alex gave us some great minutes, and Aaron [Holiday] was terrific in the second half. But to go 23 for 24 at the line, that will win you a lot of basketball games. Obviously, we turned the ball over too many times. That's something we've got to continue to work on, but for an early season game, to win a game like this, this is really good for us."
on whether using one defense in the first half helped turn around the game
“Yeah, the one positive, I thought Jonah really helped us with was on the front of that 3-2 zone. He did a really nice job with it. He's long. That's a 7-foot-3 wing span up there. It's hard to see over, hard to pass over. We extended a little bit to where we're making them maybe take some 24, 25, 26-foot shots. I think that slowed them down, because they gave us a really good punch to start the game. They're an athletic bunch. The way they play, it's a scary bunch. I'm really proud of our team, because we took a really good shot from a really good team. It's the first time we've had to play against that pressure, and we're doing it with three freshmen. I thought those three freshmen were really good. Then what Bryce and Tom were able to do in the first half got us back in it.
on his thoughts about facing Kansas on Tuesday evening
“Well, yeah. I just got here for the last six or seven minutes of that game. Obviously, they're a premier team in the country, a top-five team. Coach [Bill] Self and his staff do an incredible job, and they're very deep and talented. But you want to get in that championship bracket, I think that's the biggest key when you're coming to a tournament like this. I told our team, we made strides. Last year, the tournament we were in in the Bahamas, we lost the first game. We went right in against a very good Oklahoma team, very similar to this game. We're ahead, then they would catch us. And we weren't able to beat them. So then we take a step forward now with this group. We get into the right side of the bracket. When you do that, you face teams like Kansas in a tournament like this. But this is why you're blessed to have an opportunity to play in a tournament like this. You know that you're going to play incredible competition. We learned a lot from this game. When we get back home, we'll be able to watch this tape, just like we'll watch Kansas and whoever we play on Wednesday. But we're going to get three really quality teams being on this right side now. We will get a really good test of who we are and what we need to work on. That's why you want to be here. We are looking forward to the opportunity, but we know it's a very tall task.
on whether UCLA will be able to count on successful free throw shooting
"I put 24 for 30 [as our goals]. We always like getting there 30 times. We didn't quite get there 30 times, but we almost made 24. If they're not going to get there 30, and they only get there 24, I like the fact they made 23. They did a really nice job of making foul shots all night. So, I've got to hammer my son, because an Alford can't be the only one to miss a free throw. That doesn't sit well in the household. Aaron got off to a slow start, but then was really good in the second half, made all his free throws down the stretch. You've got a 7-foot center that goes to the line and knocks down two free throws. I couldn't be more happy or proud for them. That was an intense basketball game. To go 23 for 24, I thought that was the difference in the game.”
on whether Monday's contest was a statement game in the West
“Well, we're just trying to get better. Whether it's a statement game, I think they're really good. I think if they stay healthy, I think they're going to have a really good year. I think we if we can stay healthy, we're going to have a really good year. This is a game where Tony comes in 16-16 [points, rebounds]. He plays 11 minutes. Jonah's not going to play 20 minutes very often and get one rebound. Isaac's not going to have many games where he has eight turnovers. So those are three high-quality players we had that had off nights, and we were able to beat a team like this. It's not so much a statement in the West to me, as it is a statement to me as a coach that these freshmen are pretty good – that they're hard-nosed, tough kids who are getting better. All of a sudden we have some vets that have off nights, and we can hang in there and get a win. Last year, we couldn't do that. Last year, we played seven guys. This year we can go nine deep, and we've got G.G. [Goloman] who will hopefully be back in about three weeks. I like our depth. This is a big test for us and they passed it. More than a statement, it's a good feeling as a coach, because I think this team has a chance to be pretty good if we keep working.”
sophomore center Thomas Welsh
on whether he was in a rhythm, making 9 of 12 shots
“I think so. I think the guards did a phenomenal job of finding me when I was open too. The coaches tell me to be ready whenever the guards go to the basket. This is a great shot blocking team. Whenever they drove, they drew the help and kicked it to me. I just wanted to be ready and try to knock down my shot.
on whether this game seemed liked a transition game and if that suits UCLA's style
“That's a good question. I think our transition defense is one of the things that we've struggled with for these first couple of games. This was a great test for us too in that matter, because they fly up and down the court. So I think we made a lot of progress tonight and we've got to keep moving forward with that.
junior guard Bryce Alford
on being able to hang in there and play so many minutes in a fast-paced game
“Yeah, it was good to have somebody like Aaron. Last year, we didn't have a guy like Aaron, so I was bringing it up pretty much every time with Isaac. So it's good to have a guy like Aaron who can ake a lot of pressure off of me. It got me to get some breaks on offense and not have to go against that kind of pressure for 40 minutes, and I had to play that tonight.”
on how much making 23 of 24 free throw attempts helped UCLA
“That's huge, it's something we talk about a lot as a team. Our goal is to shoot 80 percent as a team every game. We haven't been doing that exactly. So for us to come into tonight in a close game like that and shoot 23 for 24, you can make the argument that that's what won us the game. So it's a huge job for the guards and for everybody to get to the line and make free throws.
