University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Postgame Quotes: Utah 71, UCLA 39
No. 10 Utah 71, UCLA 39
January 4, 2015
UCLA head coach Steve Alford
on his initial reaction to the game and Utah’s performance
“They are very, very good and are very good defensively. Their numbers show that. They are playing a team that is a bit offensively challenged right now. We have a lot of guys who are struggling to shoot the basketball and don’t have a lot of confidence. This has been a long stretch for us and a tough stretch for such a young team. To have this much travel and to play three top-10 teams during this stretch, other than Gonzaga, away from home, it has not been easy. We’ve got to get home, practice and get some confidence before we play on Thursday.”
on UCLA’s recent struggles
“We got smacked pretty good in the face against Kentucky after having lost at home to Gonzaga. After getting hit pretty hard by Kentucky in that first half, I thought we settled down in that second half. And then we break for Christmas, and then we played at Alabama over the break. We did not score very well there and did not score very well at Colorado, and then obviously didn’t score well here. We have not been able to get any momentum making shots. To be honest with you, I thought over the last three or four games, we have played really hard defensively. As a bright spot, defensively, we are getting better and we are seeing something things that are improving, defensively. I really feel for the guys. We are trying and they are trying. We’ve just got a lot of guys who are just not making a lot of shots. It would be different if it were just one or two. We run pick and roll and hit the roll guy and if we finish we miss free throws or if we get fouled we miss free throws. If we get good looks, we just made one three [pointer] today. It has been a really difficult stretch shooting the basketball, and hopefully we can get home, get some practices and get some confidence there.
on being mentally tough, offensive execution and shot selection
“I think that at Colorado, it was more with shot selection. I thought that today that we were much better with shot selection, and we talked about that. I thought that our guys worked a lot harder to get better shots today. We just did not make any. I’m not taking anything away from Utah. They were good defensively, and all their numbers speak that way. When you are struggling offensively, this is the last team that you want to see on the road. We had to endure that today and it’s not easy. I appreciate the efforts that our guys are giving. They’re trying and playing hard. But at some point in this game, it gets pretty frustrating when you are not making anything. I don’t care if you are the point guard, or the shooting guard, the swing or big, we just don’t have anybody making anything and that gets frustrating. The guys keep fighting, and as long as they’ll keep doing that, hopefully we can break out and make some shots and start to feel good about ourselves again.
on whether or not Utah’s student section affected the Bruins
“There are student sections everywhere we go. I don’t think that is any part of it. This has been long-standing, as we’ve been on the road for five games. I don’t think that had anything to do with it.”
on the team’s confidence and frustration level
“Those are big issues and we have to do everything we can as coaches to try to help them and get them out of it. We are better than this. We did some good things at Colorado and we did some things at Alabama. We were not very good today. It has been a long journey and a long trip with all these games with the way they have fallen. We did not get many breaks that way, and this is a really good basketball team. They are deep. They can shoot it. They execute things very well. They’ve got a swag to them. They feel good about themselves. They really defend. This is a tough game for us, obviously wounded mentally, and we’ve got to figure those things out mentally.”
on resetting and getting back to the court
“Day by day, game by game. Got to get back tonight and get them a day off. This has been some brutal travel and being on the road. It’s one thing to be playing on the road, but it’s another to have it against really good teams. That is what we are facing. Utah and Colorado were picked [to finish] two and three in this league, and that’s our first two opponents. This has been a very difficult stretch ending the non-league the way that we did and now the first two league games. We are only two games into it. We are 0-2 in league. We have to get home and try to get well mentally. The guys are fighting. It would be different [and] I’d have more concerns if they were not fighting. From a coaching standpoint, you feel for them. I think they are fighting, but they cannot make a shot and you so desperately want them to make a shot. If you have one or two of them making a shot, I think that everybody else will feel better too.”
on potentially having some walk-ons contribute in games
“No, I don’t think we are to that point. That won’t help the confidence of others who are playing. Those walk-ons are working hard and they’re busting their tails in practice. We have had good practices. We have practiced hard on the road trip and guys have done a lot of good things. It’s not the effort and it’s not about guys not playing hard. I’ve appreciated those things.”
on UCLA’s rebounding effort against Utah
“We are probably going to get out-rebounded when we shoot 25 percent or so. There were some loose balls rebounds in the first half that would have helped us, had we got those. But, this [Utah] is a very good rebounding team. They are about plus nine on the year. So, they’re a good rebounding team. And when you play a team that is plus nine and you miss just about everything, they are going to get a lot of rebounds.”
UCLA senior guard Norman Powell
on UCLA’s loss to Utah
“Shots just are not falling. It’s just tough. Some days are like that. I got a lot of good looks and took just one tough shot, where I drove middle for a fadeaway. But the rest of my shots were good looks that I normally make. It’s just about staying with it and staying confident so that they go in. I think that everyone on the team, a lot of us are thinking about offense and our energy is coming from whether we make or miss shots and it really gets on us. Coach said that we have to wipe it out. When we miss a shot, if it’s a good shot, and we miss it, he doesn’t care. It’s an open shot and we make those 60 percent of the time. It’s just about playing hard. We have to let our defense help build our confidence. I feel like that’s happening. Our defense is picking up, but it’s just making shots in this game, we did not hit anything.”
on any major reasons for low shooting percentages
“Honestly, I could not tell you what it is. It’s just a long season. Some players are going to have tough games. Not everybody is going to have great shooting performances, and not everybody is going to score 20 points. But it’s just about finding a way to win. If you have to win ugly, then you have to win ugly. You’ve got to just grind it out. We have to get offensive rebounds and do the little things that can increase your chances of having a good game and in this case, winning.”
on having multiple players struggling to hit shots
“It’s really about picking it up on defense. When your shots aren’t falling and you’re getting open looks, or open threes, layups at the basket, free throws not going in, it’s about picking up your defense and turning it over to get layups in transition and getting those easy buckets. Once you get those, your confidence builds and your offense starts to flow. Then you start to feel better about yourself. We did not do that in this game. We didn’t get in transition and that is something that needs to change for our offense to flow better. I feel like a lot of us are pressing in the half court because we aren’t getting anything in transition.”
on Bryce Alford
“I always stay in Bryce’s head to tell him to stay confident, to keep shooting and to get to the free throw line. It’s going to happen. He’s a tough-minded kid. The fans don’t bother him. The outside noise doesn’t bother him. He just needs to stay with it. He has knocked down big shots for us in the past and in some recent games. It’s just about staying with it. His shot is going to fall. With me, him and Isaac, we shoot too good of a percentage and we are too good of shooters and we have made big shots, so it’s just about staying with it and staying confident. Those shots are going to fall. There’s no way those shots won’t start to fall.”
on returning to Los Angeles and getting home
“Yeah, I think that this homestand we’re about to have is going to be very big for us. It’s been a tough stretch playing three top-10 teams in a month, with Gonzaga, Kentucky and now Utah. It will be a good feeling to get back home and play in front of the fans and hopefully that will build our younger guys up and getting some confidence so that we can pick up these two home wins and go from there.”
on UCLA’s losing streak stretching to five games
“With me, I’m just hungry. I want to get a win. And this is big for us, you know, a five game losing streak is tough. It’s just about coming out with some grit and determination and saying that you are not going to be denied and that you are going to get a win, doing whatever it takes. What is really hurting us in these losses, you see us coming out sluggish and not working with pace and not working our offense. Our defense is there, but with our offense, you can get stops all you want but if you don’t score, they are going to score eventually. It’s just our pace on offense is what is really hurting us.”