Postgame Quotes: UCLA 83, WSU 50
January 31, 2016 | Men's Basketball
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 83, Washington State 50
January 30, 2016
UCLA Head Coach Steve Alford
Opening Statement …
“This is much better. I'm very, very pleased and happy with our team. Obviously when you get a tough loss like we had on Thursday, you show up today and could be tighter and really play passive, but I thought the guys did a really good job. I think that was the best 40 minutes that we've had all year, offensively and defensively. A lot of that has to do with getting G.G. [Goloman] back healthy and being able to play where we're not big-big. We're quicker and more athletic, and we've been getting beat by athletic teams. The sub pattern of being able to play one big at a time, meaning Tony [Parker] and Tom [Welsh], I think it really helps what we're trying to do offensively and defensively. I appreciate Tony. There were a lot of pluses in this game, but when your senior goes to the bench for the betterment of the team and comes in and plays the way he played, I really appreciate that. I thought he was terrific tonight defensively and really productive offensively. As I wrote on the board, Tony Parker - 5-for-5 from the line and took a charge. That hadn't happened all year. I'm very, very pleased with him, and I thought it was a really good team win.”
On if the new lineup is permanent …
“We have to wait and see. I don't think anything is permanent. But the more that we can play that way, it helps. If we can play stretch fours instead of two centers … if you look at our 22 games, that's been our weakness – dealing with really athletic fours. We're asking either Tom or Tony to guard three-point shooter drivers, very athletic guys. That's not their strength. We had to do that a lot because of Alex [Olesinski] being very young and G.G. being out. Now G.G.'s starting to get in a little bit of a rhythm, which I think will help. And I like what I'm seeing out of Jonah. His activity is going up. He missed some shots, but I thought he took some really good ones, and they were right there. He had no turnovers, had seven rebounds and really defended well. We did a good job on [Josh Hawkinson] tonight, and Jonah was a big part of it.”
On Tony [Parker] taking the news of not starting …
“We told him it wasn't punishment. We just had to try something different. We're getting off to slow starts, for one, and we're really getting exposed playing two centers at once. We have to get more athletic, we have to be able to play the way we like playing with our ball screen motion and create some space for guards to drive and for Tom or Tony to post. I thought he handled (the news) very well. He's had a terrific attitude the last two days. With a minute and a half to go, and he's in there, he's a got a layup and he throws it to Noah [Allen]. That's a big play in my eyes. He's not in there trying to get stats; he's trying to be a really good teammate. Tonight he was as good a teammate as I've seen.”
On more players playing double figure minutes …
“I thought Prince [Ali] was really good off the bench. If he can come in each half and give Bryce [Alford], Aaron [Holiday] and Isaac [Hamilton] two to three minutes each half, that would be terrific. And G.G., his minutes can increase as well. He got 14 tonight, Jonah 26. But if I can get those two guys to where they are sharing that position, that's huge. Tony and Tom's minutes were down, but their production was up. That lineup and the way we played tonight allows us to be more efficient. We still need to be able to prove that consistency, but tonight was a good start.
UCLA sophomore center Thomas Welsh
On the new starting lineup …
“As players, we were told about the decision yesterday. We are more athletic, especially on the defensive and offensive end [with this lineup].”
On the change in the post …
“I think it helps us because I have more area in the post. Tony [Parker] is a terrific post player, but Jonah [Bolden] can shoot the three, and he stretches the defense.”
On the USC game…
“I just think that we have to bring it. We have to start with energy.”
UCLA sophomore forward Jonah Bolden
On starting today …
“It definitely helps out with my comfort level, especially with me starting instead of coming off the bench. It also helps defensively.”
On playing USC …
“We have to come out and play with energy and poise.”
UCLA junior guard Isaac Hamilton
On Jonah Bolden starting …
“He is more agile; Tony guards mostly low-post guys. Offensively, it keeps the lanes open for us.”
On the loss to Washington
“Coach emphasized playing with passion. We have to have a sense of urgency, and we have to come out and play hard. This is a tough league.”
On the USC game
“We have to play with effort. We played against big teams, so we know how to play. We just have to come out with poise and energy.”
Washington St. Head Coach Ernie Kent
Opening statement …
“I thought the game got away from us in the first half. Defensively, I thought we were pretty good in the first half. The turnovers hurt us. Obviously, with 10 turnovers and we gave them 13 second chance points in the first half, that, coupled with us shooting the ball poorly, was hard to come back from. They shot close to 50%, and we couldn't make baskets. We got all the shots we needed. It would have made a big difference in the game if we could have knocked down some of those shots we had wide open in the first half. Unfortunately we weren't able to do it. UCLA had great confidence and really took control in the second half.
On turnovers …
“I don't think [the turnovers] had anything to do with the communication on the court. Communication is most important on the defensive end, and that's where we have gotten better. We turned the ball over on the offensive end by being sloppy more than anything else. That wasn't communication. That was more about poor ball-handling. In regards to the hole we got in, it was [the turnovers] coupled with the bad shooting start to the game really hurt. We could have lived with the turnovers if we were able to knock down shots.”
