POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 66, Washington 64
January 2, 2020
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
on the team’s performance
“It’s like I told them at halftime, Washington’s gonna come strong, but if we just keep fighting and scrapping and do the things that we’re trying to do to build our program, I can live with the results. I could actually chew food, talk to the people in my life that I love that I haven’t talked to in two weeks, I could actually sleep more than two hours, I could live with myself whether Jake makes or misses that shot. Sometimes you have to go through despair to come out on the other side. The group has to experience pain. They kept thinking they’re just going to win because of our [recruit] rankings or you’re at UCLA, whatever. You win because you grind out wins, so I was really proud of them today. No matter what the result would have been, I was proud of them.”
on Jake Kyman
“I told him after the North Carolina game, ‘you’ve gotta make me play you.’ I think Jake loves UCLA so much the way he grew up with his Mom being a great volleyball player at UCLA. Part of Jake’s plan was he might get in as a freshman, he might not. We don’t have that luxury, we need someone who can shoot the ball. His effort and his energy in practice has been great and it showed tonight. Gotta give him credit, he believes he’s making every shot.”
on the game-winning shot
“I could sit here and tell you that’s how we drew it up, but we put him in the high post trying to slide him out hoping they would lose him. The guys did a great job, their zone is hard, it’s hard to dictate who’s going to be open. You can once in a while. The guys kept trying to probe the zone, and we finally got to where we could get that one more pass where we could get a great look. I think it was Chris Smith who passed it out.”
on playing four guards for a large portion of the game
“It’s hard against them. I thought our best chance was getting the ball to Chris or Jaime in the high post. They’re our best two players in the high post. That was really our thought.”
on the team’s buy-in
“The things I told them and said to them, I hope it humbled them. Sometimes the truth hurts. People sometimes think I’m intense or I’m the big bad wolf. You’ve gotta tell guys the truth now, the truth will set you free. You can get back to work and start grinding and try to make yourself a player instead of just thinking you’re a player because someone said you’re really good or some guy who lives in his mom’s basement gave you four stars.”
on changes from the Cal State Fullerton game
“We didn’t wear UCLA stuff all week. We were in blanks all week, coaching staff included.”
UCLA freshman guard/forward Jake Kyman
On if he knew he was going to have a special night…
“No, just kept doing the same thing. Just open shots, keep taking them. The next one comes, shoot it. The next one comes, shoot it again. My teammates get me the ball if I’m in the right spot, and hopefully just keep shooting it.”
On the last play
“It was supposed to move around to the top and then flare out to the corner or the wing and then move it back to Tyger. Then Tyger found me in the corner and I was open and it went in.”
On hitting the game-winner
“It felt great, putting us over and giving us a chance to win at the end. There are 100 things I could say about everyone else that helped us win. It wasn’t just my shot at the end. But I’m really proud of everyone on the team.”
On the post-game scene in the locker room
“It was amazing. I came in and everyone was splashing water on me. I was just so happy about it. Getting this win tonight really means a lot to us. We were struggling, so this really helps us out.”
UCLA junior guard Chris Smith
On recording a steal to close out the game
“It felt amazing. It was only 1.1 seconds left, so I figured I just gotta get the ball in. Worse case, we get fouled and hit some free throws to win the game. I feel that loose ball sealed the game.”
On bouncing back from the Fullerton game
“I was telling the guys, since this is my third year, that conference is basically a new season. No matter what happens in non-conference, league is totally different. It’s guys that we’re going to see the rest of the season, and they’re games we can win. It’s the most competitive part of the season other than postseason, obviously.”
On celebrating with Jake Kyman in the locker room
“It was great. It was the best feeling I’ve had since I got here other than the Oregon comeback. I only tell him two words all the time: keep shooting. I tell him every time he’s open, I’m gonna kick it to him so just be ready to shoot because that’s his job. We’ve been trying to find out what everyone’s role on the team is, and he’s solidified that. That guy’s got a stroke. Tell people to keep doing what they do best and, for Jake, that’s to keep shooting.
UCLA 66, Washington 64
January 2, 2020
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
on the team’s performance
“It’s like I told them at halftime, Washington’s gonna come strong, but if we just keep fighting and scrapping and do the things that we’re trying to do to build our program, I can live with the results. I could actually chew food, talk to the people in my life that I love that I haven’t talked to in two weeks, I could actually sleep more than two hours, I could live with myself whether Jake makes or misses that shot. Sometimes you have to go through despair to come out on the other side. The group has to experience pain. They kept thinking they’re just going to win because of our [recruit] rankings or you’re at UCLA, whatever. You win because you grind out wins, so I was really proud of them today. No matter what the result would have been, I was proud of them.”
on Jake Kyman
“I told him after the North Carolina game, ‘you’ve gotta make me play you.’ I think Jake loves UCLA so much the way he grew up with his Mom being a great volleyball player at UCLA. Part of Jake’s plan was he might get in as a freshman, he might not. We don’t have that luxury, we need someone who can shoot the ball. His effort and his energy in practice has been great and it showed tonight. Gotta give him credit, he believes he’s making every shot.”
on the game-winning shot
“I could sit here and tell you that’s how we drew it up, but we put him in the high post trying to slide him out hoping they would lose him. The guys did a great job, their zone is hard, it’s hard to dictate who’s going to be open. You can once in a while. The guys kept trying to probe the zone, and we finally got to where we could get that one more pass where we could get a great look. I think it was Chris Smith who passed it out.”
on playing four guards for a large portion of the game
“It’s hard against them. I thought our best chance was getting the ball to Chris or Jaime in the high post. They’re our best two players in the high post. That was really our thought.”
on the team’s buy-in
“The things I told them and said to them, I hope it humbled them. Sometimes the truth hurts. People sometimes think I’m intense or I’m the big bad wolf. You’ve gotta tell guys the truth now, the truth will set you free. You can get back to work and start grinding and try to make yourself a player instead of just thinking you’re a player because someone said you’re really good or some guy who lives in his mom’s basement gave you four stars.”
on changes from the Cal State Fullerton game
“We didn’t wear UCLA stuff all week. We were in blanks all week, coaching staff included.”
UCLA freshman guard/forward Jake Kyman
On if he knew he was going to have a special night…
“No, just kept doing the same thing. Just open shots, keep taking them. The next one comes, shoot it. The next one comes, shoot it again. My teammates get me the ball if I’m in the right spot, and hopefully just keep shooting it.”
On the last play
“It was supposed to move around to the top and then flare out to the corner or the wing and then move it back to Tyger. Then Tyger found me in the corner and I was open and it went in.”
On hitting the game-winner
“It felt great, putting us over and giving us a chance to win at the end. There are 100 things I could say about everyone else that helped us win. It wasn’t just my shot at the end. But I’m really proud of everyone on the team.”
On the post-game scene in the locker room
“It was amazing. I came in and everyone was splashing water on me. I was just so happy about it. Getting this win tonight really means a lot to us. We were struggling, so this really helps us out.”
UCLA junior guard Chris Smith
On recording a steal to close out the game
“It felt amazing. It was only 1.1 seconds left, so I figured I just gotta get the ball in. Worse case, we get fouled and hit some free throws to win the game. I feel that loose ball sealed the game.”
On bouncing back from the Fullerton game
“I was telling the guys, since this is my third year, that conference is basically a new season. No matter what happens in non-conference, league is totally different. It’s guys that we’re going to see the rest of the season, and they’re games we can win. It’s the most competitive part of the season other than postseason, obviously.”
On celebrating with Jake Kyman in the locker room
“It was great. It was the best feeling I’ve had since I got here other than the Oregon comeback. I only tell him two words all the time: keep shooting. I tell him every time he’s open, I’m gonna kick it to him so just be ready to shoot because that’s his job. We’ve been trying to find out what everyone’s role on the team is, and he’s solidified that. That guy’s got a stroke. Tell people to keep doing what they do best and, for Jake, that’s to keep shooting.