POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 71, UNLV 54
November 15, 2019
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening remarks
“We had talked about getting off to a much better start tonight. The guys did a much better job with that. We tried to emphasize our energy early in the game, we talked about that a lot today at practice and that carried over into the game. They’re a hard team to play because they spread you out and they get guys that play one-on-one. We had to play smaller lineups most of the night. We’re just trying to keep getting better. When we don’t turn the ball over, we’re a pretty decent offensive team. We’re just still trying to break habits of turning the ball over, that’s the one negative of the night. For the most part, I thought our effort was great. We held them to 38 percent (shooting), they scored twice late to break 50 (points), so if you hold teams down that like that, you’re going to win a lot of games.”
on Chris Smith’s performance
“We have different shot-makers on this team … If you were to ask what I’m happiest about with Chris, I’d say he had seven deflections and eight rebounds. If he takes good shots and takes his time, he’s a good offensive player. Offensively, we went small so it limited the stuff we could run. That made it tough on us. I’d like to see us get to the foul line a little more than we did. For most of these guys, my big change for them is their intensity, Chris especially. He’s one of the nicest guys of all-time. Laid back doesn’t cut it between the lines.”
on Prince Ali’s performance
“I told Prince he’s gotta give us leadership. Him and Alex have to give us leadership. I’m a big believer that, in the great programs, you’ve gotta have a veteran, somebody leading you. Not leading in scoring, but leading in focus, toughness, competitiveness, lead us in helping your teammates getting to the right spot, making the game easier on younger players. That’s really been my message to him and Alex since I got here.”
on if he experimented with the big lead
“The playbook got shrunk because we were playing small. There were times when we had Chris at the four. I’d like us to have more player movement probably.”
UCLA junior guard Chris Smith
On his defensive play…
“I should have had more [than seven deflections], I only had one deflection in the second half. I try to get in the passing lane. In practice, we reinforce that all the time. So today, I tried to read a couple passes and be solid on defense and I ended up with the ball a couple times. I’m just trying to keep that up.
On what he attributes his hot start to…
“Due diligence and effort. Tyger found me on probably three of my baskets in the first half, so I credit those to him. On defense I got a couple steals and deflections, and my teammates were setting good screens and moving the ball. So credit to my teammates and defensive effort.
On rebounding…
“That was one of the major points of this game. This is the most athletic team we’ve played so far. Their big man is top-five, top-10 in the country in rebounds so we had to make sure we boxed him out. They had big guys crashing every time just like us. We just had to box out and defense, and balls bounce your way when you do both.”
UCLA freshman guard Jaime Jaquez Jr.
On the game…
“It felt really good to get out there and play a significant amount of minutes. Being able to contribute to the team, it felt really good.”
On in he knew he was going to play more minutes…
“I think it was more of an in-game decision. He never told me anything. I kind of just go every game ready to play. So I’ve got to be prepared for anything. Whether I play a lot a little, I’ve got to be prepared.”
UCLA redshirt freshman guard Tyger Campbell
On the offense’s hot start…
“We just didn’t come out flat. Last couple of games, we came out flat. We came out and hit a couple threes in the beginning. We were driving and looking for each other. We were playing unselfish.”
On the team’s three-point shooting performance…
“It’s great, it just means that I have options when I drive or I’m in transition. It really opens up the court because if I drive and have someone to kick to, their man can’t help. So either they’ll help and I kick or they don’t help and I’ll get a layup, so it’s just reading it.
UNLV head coach T.J. Otzelberger
Opening statement …
“Our defense was not where it was supposed to be. We didn’t have the energy, and I felt like we got overwhelmed in the beginning. We got off to a slow start; we just can’t do that. I just felt that the first six or eight minutes we really dug ourselves in a hole. UCLA really has the length and size, and they switch often. We have to do a better job of moving the ball and finding guys open.”
On the rotation …
“We’re going to go with our first group of guys, and those guys need to be playing at their best. We’re going to be playing eight guys. There are going to be some guys who earn opportunities, but we’re going to stick to what we have now. Guys will have the opportunity to step up in practice.”
On the flow of the game …
“I’m really impressed our guys kept fighting. We went on a 14-2 run to end the first half. Our guys just kept competing, but we have to hit a shot.”
On where the team goes from here …
“I have a lot of respect for Coach Cronin and what he’s been doing over there. We wanted to play a powerful schedule. For us, we wanted to be challenged. The last three games we played against Power 5 teams, and now we get to go home and play in front of our fans.”
UNLV junior forward Donnie Tillman
Opening statement …
“UCLA has a really great defense. They have a really great body of work over there.”
On if the team did anything differently out there …
“No, we didn’t really do anything different; we just can’t get give up that many layups.”
On how he felt out there …
“I’m in great shape right now. I’ll take tomorrow off and get back to work on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and get ready for our three-game homestand.”
On the team’s third consecutive loss …
“This really makes us better. We haven’t even had our home schedule yet.”back at it on Tuesday.”
UNLV junior guard Amauri Hardy
Opening statement …
“We really can’t come out like we did. We have to throw the first punch. I just felt that we got a little bit overwhelmed. Guys have to stay confident; you can’t get discouraged. You just have to move the ball, and when we get the chance, we have to hit the open shot.”
On the scheduling …
“These games bring us together. Definitely playing teams like this is going to be better for us in the long run.”
On the upcoming games …
“We really can build from this; we have a lot of games ahead of us.”
UCLA 71, UNLV 54
November 15, 2019
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening remarks
“We had talked about getting off to a much better start tonight. The guys did a much better job with that. We tried to emphasize our energy early in the game, we talked about that a lot today at practice and that carried over into the game. They’re a hard team to play because they spread you out and they get guys that play one-on-one. We had to play smaller lineups most of the night. We’re just trying to keep getting better. When we don’t turn the ball over, we’re a pretty decent offensive team. We’re just still trying to break habits of turning the ball over, that’s the one negative of the night. For the most part, I thought our effort was great. We held them to 38 percent (shooting), they scored twice late to break 50 (points), so if you hold teams down that like that, you’re going to win a lot of games.”
on Chris Smith’s performance
“We have different shot-makers on this team … If you were to ask what I’m happiest about with Chris, I’d say he had seven deflections and eight rebounds. If he takes good shots and takes his time, he’s a good offensive player. Offensively, we went small so it limited the stuff we could run. That made it tough on us. I’d like to see us get to the foul line a little more than we did. For most of these guys, my big change for them is their intensity, Chris especially. He’s one of the nicest guys of all-time. Laid back doesn’t cut it between the lines.”
on Prince Ali’s performance
“I told Prince he’s gotta give us leadership. Him and Alex have to give us leadership. I’m a big believer that, in the great programs, you’ve gotta have a veteran, somebody leading you. Not leading in scoring, but leading in focus, toughness, competitiveness, lead us in helping your teammates getting to the right spot, making the game easier on younger players. That’s really been my message to him and Alex since I got here.”
on if he experimented with the big lead
“The playbook got shrunk because we were playing small. There were times when we had Chris at the four. I’d like us to have more player movement probably.”
UCLA junior guard Chris Smith
On his defensive play…
“I should have had more [than seven deflections], I only had one deflection in the second half. I try to get in the passing lane. In practice, we reinforce that all the time. So today, I tried to read a couple passes and be solid on defense and I ended up with the ball a couple times. I’m just trying to keep that up.
On what he attributes his hot start to…
“Due diligence and effort. Tyger found me on probably three of my baskets in the first half, so I credit those to him. On defense I got a couple steals and deflections, and my teammates were setting good screens and moving the ball. So credit to my teammates and defensive effort.
On rebounding…
“That was one of the major points of this game. This is the most athletic team we’ve played so far. Their big man is top-five, top-10 in the country in rebounds so we had to make sure we boxed him out. They had big guys crashing every time just like us. We just had to box out and defense, and balls bounce your way when you do both.”
UCLA freshman guard Jaime Jaquez Jr.
On the game…
“It felt really good to get out there and play a significant amount of minutes. Being able to contribute to the team, it felt really good.”
On in he knew he was going to play more minutes…
“I think it was more of an in-game decision. He never told me anything. I kind of just go every game ready to play. So I’ve got to be prepared for anything. Whether I play a lot a little, I’ve got to be prepared.”
UCLA redshirt freshman guard Tyger Campbell
On the offense’s hot start…
“We just didn’t come out flat. Last couple of games, we came out flat. We came out and hit a couple threes in the beginning. We were driving and looking for each other. We were playing unselfish.”
On the team’s three-point shooting performance…
“It’s great, it just means that I have options when I drive or I’m in transition. It really opens up the court because if I drive and have someone to kick to, their man can’t help. So either they’ll help and I kick or they don’t help and I’ll get a layup, so it’s just reading it.
UNLV head coach T.J. Otzelberger
Opening statement …
“Our defense was not where it was supposed to be. We didn’t have the energy, and I felt like we got overwhelmed in the beginning. We got off to a slow start; we just can’t do that. I just felt that the first six or eight minutes we really dug ourselves in a hole. UCLA really has the length and size, and they switch often. We have to do a better job of moving the ball and finding guys open.”
On the rotation …
“We’re going to go with our first group of guys, and those guys need to be playing at their best. We’re going to be playing eight guys. There are going to be some guys who earn opportunities, but we’re going to stick to what we have now. Guys will have the opportunity to step up in practice.”
On the flow of the game …
“I’m really impressed our guys kept fighting. We went on a 14-2 run to end the first half. Our guys just kept competing, but we have to hit a shot.”
On where the team goes from here …
“I have a lot of respect for Coach Cronin and what he’s been doing over there. We wanted to play a powerful schedule. For us, we wanted to be challenged. The last three games we played against Power 5 teams, and now we get to go home and play in front of our fans.”
UNLV junior forward Donnie Tillman
Opening statement …
“UCLA has a really great defense. They have a really great body of work over there.”
On if the team did anything differently out there …
“No, we didn’t really do anything different; we just can’t get give up that many layups.”
On how he felt out there …
“I’m in great shape right now. I’ll take tomorrow off and get back to work on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and get ready for our three-game homestand.”
On the team’s third consecutive loss …
“This really makes us better. We haven’t even had our home schedule yet.”back at it on Tuesday.”
UNLV junior guard Amauri Hardy
Opening statement …
“We really can’t come out like we did. We have to throw the first punch. I just felt that we got a little bit overwhelmed. Guys have to stay confident; you can’t get discouraged. You just have to move the ball, and when we get the chance, we have to hit the open shot.”
On the scheduling …
“These games bring us together. Definitely playing teams like this is going to be better for us in the long run.”
On the upcoming games …
“We really can build from this; we have a lot of games ahead of us.”