POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 69, Arizona 64
February 29, 2020
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening remarks
“Just like we drew it up. Trailed the entire game. I think we got, it was 62-58, from that point on, I think we got like seven or eight straight stops, I’m not sure… but it was a lot in a row. So, we were finally able to get some consecutive stops to where we could actually get the lead. Guys did a good job with their late-game defense. We had fouls to give, so we were trying to be aggressive… we forced some key turnovers late in the fame. So, it was Chris (Smith) and Jaime (Jaquez Jr.) and Tyger (Campbell) and those guys getting up and really trying to be aggressive, trying to pressure so they couldn’t, obviously, trying to get Nico (Mannion) as much as we can try to get the ball… [Nico] worked to bring it up… He’s a great young player and he had been struggling, so he was due to have a shot-making game, which he did. Whenever you can shoot 33 percent and beat a team that’s, I think 14th in the KenPom or 15th in the KenPom. It’s because we took care of the ball. I think in the second half, I think we might have only had one turnover. We either had six or seven at half. We ended with eight. We got, obviously, a key for us was the foul line. The way that [the Wildcats] were defending us, we had to just keep trying to attack them.”
on Tyger Campbell’s go-ahead basket after missing first 10 shots
“Yeah, I think he thinks I’m nuts, which he would be correct and I’ve been certified a while ago as crazy, but I’m yelling at him to attack the guy. Use his speed. Use his speed and I didn’t want a jumpshot. We had been in the bonus the last 10 minutes, the game was being officiated a certain way, you’ve got to attack. The last thing I want to do is another kick-out shot. Obviously, we weren’t lighting it up from the perimeter. We were getting everything going at the rim [and] getting to the free-throw line. You’ve also got a better chance to rebound it if you attack. But Tyger needs, like, a couple days off. God bless him. The guys extremely, extremely tired. You sit there and say, well, the guy’s a freshman, but they didn’t sit out last year. He didn’t just sit out. He tore his ACL, so he didn’t start light jogging until June, dummy stuff in August, live playing around October 1. He’s been through a lot this year. For me to have to put him… is just the situation that we’re in… We’ve got to get him rested up for next Saturday.”
on how it feels to be in first place
“We’ve come a long way, obviously. Like I told the guys this afternoon, we’re an underdog tonight. A lot of people still don’t believe in us and we’ve got to continue to play one-game tournaments. We cannot change our mentality.”
UCLA junior guard Chris Smith
on what it felt like to celebrate with the UCLA students after the win
“It was great, man. To have such a crowd like we did today, it was great. We were feeding off of them. They were screaming, they were there the whole time for us, so it was only right that we went and celebrated with them. It was a great feeling for sure.”
on how he turned things around in the second half and maintained his confidence, especially shooting from the 3-point line
“Just worrying about the next play. That’s all it is. You can’t be worried about the last play or the last half, whatever it is. Just looking forward to the next play and just trying to be there for my teammates is all it was.”
UCLA freshman guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.
on if today felt any different for him after shooting the game-winner last game and if it felt special hearing the fans chant his name while he was at the free-throw line during the final seconds
“To he honest, when I’m in the zone like that I can’t really hear anything. Everything just goes quiet. Today was another game. You can’t really think about that or go on that. You’ve got to come out and play this game. My focus was this game. I didn’t really care about anything that happened before or anything coming up ahead. I just focus on the now and getting the W versus Arizona.”
on how the load between he and Tyger Campbell is managed and how they stay fresh
“We practice hard no matter what, but it’s on a lot of us to take care of our bodies, make sure we’re eating right, getting enough sleep – sleep is a big one, drinking a lot of water, staying hydrated, and getting in the cold tub, so getting in the cold tub is something we do a lot.”
UCLA redshirt sophomore forward Cody Riley
on how big going seven of eight from the free-throw line was for his confidence
“It was great to go seven-for-eight. I wish I was eight for eight, but I missed one of them. My teammates just have confidence in me, the coaches, everybody. I work on my game a lot and I work on my free-throws a lot, so I know sooner or later they’re going to start falling, it’s just a matter of confidence and seeing it go in and making it a continuous thing.”
on what it was like to see Tyger Campbell have the confidence to take the shot to take the lead after starting zero for his first 10
“I was super excited for him. I was happy. Something happened with his hand or something. He was a little injured, so I was just so surprised. At the end of the day, we all had confidence in him. Like Chris (Smith) said, we don’t worry about what happened in the past. We all look to the next play, so we’re all just extremely excited for him.”
Arizona assistant coach Jack Murphy
opening statement
“We really had a nice start at the beginning of the game. The guys guarded really well and they were really into it. We were just not able to execute late in the game. We played great for 34 minutes and when you play like that in Pauley Pavilion, you usually get the win.”
on the end of the game
“The guys were great. I just have to call better sets for the guys. I have to do a better job at that. The last two minutes we just kind of fell apart.”
on the play of Nico Mannion
“Offensively, I thought it was his best game of the season for Nico. He had six assists against one turnover.”
on tonight’s performance versus Thursday’s performance
“We were just a different team. We passed the ball and the guys really gave great effort. We were up by four with two minutes to go. We have to bring that one home.”
on where they go from here
“We just have to keep with the same intensity. We have to keep defending. The defense has really gotten better.”
Arizona freshman guard Nico Mannion
on his performance
“I felt good. It really felt great to get some shots.”
on his recent slump
“I’m here and sticking with the process.”
on where they go from here
“Just have to practice. Just going to practice one day at a time and get prepared for Washington State.”