Postgame Quotes
January 21, 2016 | Men's Basketball
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA head coach Steve Alford
January 20, 2016
opening remarks
“Other than the final couple minutes, I thought that we were really good, defensively. I think that we gave up 17 in the last four minutes, playing the wonderful NFL prevent defense. But other than that, I thought we guarded the way that we wanted to guard. We executed our offense. We really did a good job of getting the shots that we wanted, and we made those shots. So, that was a very, very good road win for us.”
on what made the difference for UCLA on defense
“Well, I think that their attention to detail in the last six days. They have practiced well. It doesn't always work that way. You can practice well and still play bad at times. But, we practiced well and we've had a great demeanor. They've listened. They've watched way more tape than they ever have. I think they know. I think it's been all over everywhere that we're giving up 86 points per game in Pac-12 play. They know that. It's starting to affect them a little bit and hurt them. And that's good. Outside of those last four minutes, we had held them in the 50s. We just gave them easy buckets protecting that lead. But I thought we really responded. I don't think that it was any one individual. It was great to have G.G. [Goloman] in there, because he gives us a presence having been with us one year ago. He understands how to play. He's always in the right position defensively, and he did a good job handling the middle of the zone like we wanted. So, if there was an individual who really helped, it's him. We got some really good stuff out of our bench. That helped us a lot.”
on how much the coaches “hammered” the players during the week
“There was some hammering. They had Thursday off, but on Friday and Saturday, we got on them really good. I mean, it was two hours and 15 minutes and we really don't ever go that long at this time of year. We gave them Sunday off. But practices on Friday and Saturday were very intense. And then we came back on Monday and Tuesday, and it was intense again. It just wasn't as long. It was four very intense practices. We had a good, very intense shootaround today. I just think that they were excited to get back on the court after the loss at home and prove themselves again.”
sophomore center Thomas Welsh
on what helped key UCLA's victory
“The intensity for us was huge on the defensive end tonight. That is something that we've been lacking. But tonight, we really brought our intensity. I think that was huge for us. We definitely want to continue that this Saturday at Oregon.”
on whether practices were any more challenging prior to Wednesday's game
“Yeah, they were definitely pushing us hard. They needed to, too. We were not playing as hard as we needed to in order to get wins in the Pac-12. I think that they really helped us out with that and coached us extremely hard. They showed us what we need to do in order to win ballgames.”
on UCLA's scoring balance this season
“I think that it's huge. We have, I think, all five starters averaging at least 10 points per game. It just shows that you can't just stop one guy, like Bryce or Isaac. It just makes us a lot more versatile on the offensive end. With that, too, we do have a guy on offense who can just pour it in every night, so if we're able to get more consistent with our defense, that'll be huge for us.”
on Noah Allen's role against Oregon State
“He was fighting hard all week long, playing so well on the defensive side. That's what our coach wants, really. That's what we need from everybody. But he was really bringing it defensively tonight. That was huge for us. We need him to continue to do that for us this Saturday.”
on what was the biggest difference for UCLA, defensively
“I think that our talk was really big. It's a five-person game, and when you're not talking it makes it that much more difficult. You have to communicate to let people know where you are, to let people know where the help is. That just lets you know where to direct the ball, and it can let you or a teammate know to have your back if you do get beat off the ball or something like that.”
on how UCLA can keep up the intensity between tonight and Saturday's game
“I think that we just have to watch the film. We'll drive to Eugene tonight and then we'll get back in the gym tomorrow. We just have to bring it. There's really no remedy to that. It's just our effort, our intensity, and if we bring that on Saturday, I think we'll be in a good position.”
junior guard Isaac Hamilton
on what hitting his first shot can do for his rhythm
“Yeah, it just helps keep me in a groove. You see one go in and you just get that confidence to keep shooting because it feels good. That's kind of what I did. It went well for me.”
on the difference between this game and a loss at OSU last season
“Mainly, we just came in here with a mindset to run in transition and get defensive stops. We did that. We wanted to run and push as soon as we got that rebound. We wanted to get easy looks, and that's kind of what we did. It went well for us.”
on the keys for him to remain more consistent this season
“Just to keep shooting. That's my role. Our coach says that that's what I'm supposed to do. I have to just make plays and keep shooting. I need to have high confidence.”
on playing in the first half with two early fouls
“It's the typical don't foul, play solid defense. It was just about keeping my man in front of me. Coach kind of took me out the last two minutes of the first half to prevent me from getting a third one. And then, from then on, you just want to play. I always have that sense [to back off], but Coach will keep reminding me to back off a little bit and not be so aggressive on defense. That's what I did.”
