POSTGAME QUOTES
Hofstra 88, UCLA 78
November 21, 2019
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening remarks
“Well, I give a lot of credit to (Hofstra head coach) Joe (Mihalich) and Hofstra. They did an excellent job offensively tonight, exposing our weaknesses, which we have, and they did a great job of exposing them.”
on forward/center Jalen Hill having a nice game but not getting enough support from the other players
“Yeah, they’re obviously not a big team, so we knew we could score the ball in the paint. We struggled mightily early in the game turning the ball over. They made it a game when they started pinching off the paint a little bit. We missed some wide-open looks, but offense wasn’t our problem. They had 22 assists. We scored three more baskets than them. They shoot 30 free throws, they don’t post up one time all night. So, beat off the dribble, beat off the dribble. We just couldn’t guard them off the bounce. We tried changing defenses, our guys got confused at that. We’re a work in progress as far as being able to change defenses.”
on if there was something about Hofstra’s defense that caused his team’s turnovers
“No, gosh no. Our turnovers are all self-inflicted. It’s ridiculous, some of our turnovers early in the game.”
on if the nine deflections were due to low energy from his team
“No, I’m upset, and I have to remind myself that this is going to be a process, but you’ve got to give the other kids credit. You’ve got to give the Hofstra kids credit. You have to. They came in, they played a good offensive game, they took care of the ball. Like I said, we’re getting beat off the dribble but they’re the ones doing it, so you’ve got to give them credit.”
UCLA redshirt sophomore forward/center Jalen Hill
on how frustrating loss was despite strong personal performance
“Coming from last year, I [had] seen that a lot. So, I knew what was happening. I can see what that team was like. They shoot 3s, they’re always going to stay in the game, veteran players. It’s tough seeing it unfold, but I was mad on the 3 (foul in second half) because it’s just unforced and we just had a lot of that tonight.”
on what went into team’s lack of deflections
“Not enough energy. We weren’t mentally tough enough. We’ve got to be better on defense, get our hands out, but I’m pretty sure we’ll correct that tomorrow.”
on what needs to be done to rally the team
“We don’t need to rally the team. We all want to win. There’s no doubt about that. Just got to make the corrections, get in the gym, get better. That’s it.”
UCLA junior guard Chris Smith
on if he feels he has to take loss on his shoulders as upperclassman
“I played terrible tonight. Whether I be an upperclassman or a freshman, I played terrible tonight. I feel like I let my team down today. I didn’t bring the same energy, everything I’ve been bringing the previous four games. But I’ve definitely got to pick it up for the remainder of the season. I wouldn’t necessarily say that I’ve got to put anything on my shoulders. I just really feel like I let my team down tonight.”
on team’s defense
“We went from man to a matchup zone and neither of them were we really matching up. That was on our shoulders. We need to talk to each other more and we needed to stay in front of the ball a lot more. We tried to switch so we could help each other and not get beat off the dribble, but everybody tonight got beat off the dribble way too much.”
Hofstra head coach Joe Mihalich
opening statement
“I couldn’t be more proud of these two guys (Desure Buie and Jalen Ray). These two guys are not going to let us lose. I’m really proud of these guys. I feel like we really earned it. That team over there played just as well.”
on their three-point shots and free throw shooting
“That’s what we do. We can shoot. These guys have the courage and the guts. When we get to the foul line, we don’t miss. I feel very confident when we get to the free-throw line.”
on UCLA’s start of the game
“It was 32-22 and that point we just kept our composure. We knew there was a lot of game left, so we knew we had a chance.”
on UCLA’s rebounding
“Rebounding has been our Achilles’ heel. They say you have to play good teams like this to prepare for league. I think our team does that for our non-conference schedule.”
on tonight’s win
“It’s almost hard to put into words. We are kind of numb right now. We respect this team so much. Mick’s a great coach and he has those guys going in the right direction, but I think they might have been thinking about Maui. It’s probably the biggest win in Hofstra history.”
Hofstra junior guard Jalen Ray
on their overall play tonight
“We just feed off each other. That’s just the way we play.”
on the win in Pauley Pavilion
“This is a legendary win. This building is very legendary. We are a first-rate team and we kept our composure.”
on if they prepare differently for different teams
“I treat every game the same. I just keep shooting and feel like I won’t miss.”