University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Postgame Quotes - UCLA 82, Nebraska 71
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 82, Nebraska 71
at Cal State Fullerton (Titan Gym)
November 25, 2016
ย
UCLA head coach Steve Alford
opening remarks
โI told the team that we needed this game. We havenโt had a game like that this year where adversity hit us. We played awfully well in the first half defensively and felt we got comfortable and satisfied. It was a great lesson for us. Nebraska is a well-coached team and they guarded us well. I liked how we handled adversity, especially after their guard hurt us. The backboard hurt us in the second half a lot. We had adversity, Lonzo [Ball] fouled out and we havenโt had to deal with that yet. We havenโt had to deal with getting punched in the face like we got punched, and I liked how we responded. We did the things we had to do with a near three to one assist to turnover ratio. I was pleased in a lot of ways with our team tonight.โ
ย
on outside speculation of UCLA winning a national title
โThatโs not my place to say. Thatโs LaVar [Ball] and thatโs what makes LaVar special. Itโs what he has demanded out of all three of his boys and thatโs excellence. Thatโs what we are at UCLA โ we are trying to achieve excellence and doing everything we can to get to that point. This is a fun team but we have a long way to go. We are a good team and we are trying to become a great team. I love this team. They are very coachable, they are good people to begin with and they love the game. If that means one day down the road it leads to something special, these kids are deserving of that.โ
ย
on advancing to the Wooden Legacy championship game
โIt means a lot for a lot of reasons. Coach Woodenโs name is on it and what he means to our institution and his legacy of creating excellence both in the classroom and on the basketball court. That is something our guys take seriously. Secondly, we have talked about this as a team and itโs our first chance to win a championship. It doesnโt mean that youโll have postseason success but the Final Four teams last year all won an exempt tournament. If that is a goal of ours, as it is, we want to take those steps towards trying to get to that point. Knowing that this championship could have Coach Woodenโs name on it is an extra bonus.โ
ย
on being able to play in the national spotlight this Sunday
โAt UCLA, we are on national television every game and national exposure happens at UCLA whether it is primetime or not. Texas A&M played early today and has gotten a lot of rest, and we need to let our guys get their rest because we are playing a very good team who is really well-coached regardless of what time it is. Regardless if there is anyone watching, itโs about how can we get to be a great basketball team. Right now, we are good and we are truly after greatness.โ
ย
UCLA senior guard Bryce Alford
on his play down the stretch
โAs a basketball player, those are the kind of moments you live for. That is something I have always prided myself on as being someone who can make smart plays down the stretch to help our team win games. โ
ย
UCLA freshman guard Lonzo Ball
on his play against Nebraska
โI think I played alright, but obviously I fouled out tonight and donโt want that to happen. Bryce stepped up and the rest of the team had my back, and thatโs what is great about this team. Everybody plays for each other and not for themselves.โ
ย
on his fatherโs encouragement
โIโm thankful thatโs how he is, loud. Iโm his son, so why wouldnโt he want the best from me?โ
ย
Nebraska head coach Tim Miles
opening remarks
โUCLA is an excellent team. Coach Alford has a lot of weapons on that team, a lot of guys that can hurt you. I thought we were tentative in the first half and that is not like us โ second half is more of a snapshot of what weโre like. But every time we got the game down to two or three points, they answered. Alford made some tough shots, Holiday made some shots and they hurt us. We didnโt get enough outside shooting, quite frankly. Outside of Glynn and Tai, the other guys were 1 for 14. You canโt beat a ranked team semi on the road with that kind of production, or lack thereof.โ
ย
on overcoming the teamโs shooting in the first half
โI donโt think I had them moving around enough. We were kind of trying to space the floor, and see if we could get some guards out then to create ball movement from there. I think I had to get our guys moving more, we did that more in the second half but probably didnโt make that adjustment quick enough first half. And we missed some really easy shots; I think we missed one or two dunks and layups. And UCLA made some good blocks at the rim and did some good things. I think I counted seven maybe eight missed shots and they had one block Iโm pretty sure was a goaltend, but thatโs just how it goes. You canโt have that many missed outside shots and miss that many inside too.โ
ย
on Tai Webster
โTai is kind of out of line; heโs our only senior surrounded by seven freshmen and sophomores. I think heโs done a great job of showing them how to lead and how to play with the correct mindset. Some guys are figuring that out and some guys are feeding off of it, sometimes, some are feeding off it all the time. I think heโs a really good role model for our young guys and Iโm just so impressed with how heโs gotten better and better each year.โ
ย
on the teamโs development over the past two days
โWe told them before that it was going to be amazing the growth we were going to see in three days win, lose, or draw. And I believe that it will continue. Virginia Tech is going to be a whole new set of circumstances. They are a tough, gritty, energetic, physical team. Theyโre going to throw multiple defenses at you. And they will play with high, high energy. We have to bounce back, we canโt hang our heads. Tomorrow we can go mope around and hang out with Goofy, Minnie, and Mickey, thatโs fine. But on Sunday, we need to be ready to go in and go to battle.โ
ย
Nebraskaโs Tai Webster
on feeling frustrated and going into Sunday
โI feel encouraged more than anything. This is a great learning curve for our young guys. I think this will really stay in the back of their minds, and we will only move forward from here.โ
ย
on playing UCLA
โObviously they are a really talented team, and they do what they do well on transitions. I think they get a lot of buckets just on their athleticism. Overall, I think theyโre a tough team and hard to match up against but, at the same time, I donโt think we gave them our best shot. In the second half, we gave them good 15 minutes and we canโt afford only 15 minutes of anything.โ
ย
ย
UCLA 82, Nebraska 71
at Cal State Fullerton (Titan Gym)
November 25, 2016
ย
UCLA head coach Steve Alford
opening remarks
โI told the team that we needed this game. We havenโt had a game like that this year where adversity hit us. We played awfully well in the first half defensively and felt we got comfortable and satisfied. It was a great lesson for us. Nebraska is a well-coached team and they guarded us well. I liked how we handled adversity, especially after their guard hurt us. The backboard hurt us in the second half a lot. We had adversity, Lonzo [Ball] fouled out and we havenโt had to deal with that yet. We havenโt had to deal with getting punched in the face like we got punched, and I liked how we responded. We did the things we had to do with a near three to one assist to turnover ratio. I was pleased in a lot of ways with our team tonight.โ
ย
on outside speculation of UCLA winning a national title
โThatโs not my place to say. Thatโs LaVar [Ball] and thatโs what makes LaVar special. Itโs what he has demanded out of all three of his boys and thatโs excellence. Thatโs what we are at UCLA โ we are trying to achieve excellence and doing everything we can to get to that point. This is a fun team but we have a long way to go. We are a good team and we are trying to become a great team. I love this team. They are very coachable, they are good people to begin with and they love the game. If that means one day down the road it leads to something special, these kids are deserving of that.โ
ย
on advancing to the Wooden Legacy championship game
โIt means a lot for a lot of reasons. Coach Woodenโs name is on it and what he means to our institution and his legacy of creating excellence both in the classroom and on the basketball court. That is something our guys take seriously. Secondly, we have talked about this as a team and itโs our first chance to win a championship. It doesnโt mean that youโll have postseason success but the Final Four teams last year all won an exempt tournament. If that is a goal of ours, as it is, we want to take those steps towards trying to get to that point. Knowing that this championship could have Coach Woodenโs name on it is an extra bonus.โ
ย
on being able to play in the national spotlight this Sunday
โAt UCLA, we are on national television every game and national exposure happens at UCLA whether it is primetime or not. Texas A&M played early today and has gotten a lot of rest, and we need to let our guys get their rest because we are playing a very good team who is really well-coached regardless of what time it is. Regardless if there is anyone watching, itโs about how can we get to be a great basketball team. Right now, we are good and we are truly after greatness.โ
ย
UCLA senior guard Bryce Alford
on his play down the stretch
โAs a basketball player, those are the kind of moments you live for. That is something I have always prided myself on as being someone who can make smart plays down the stretch to help our team win games. โ
ย
UCLA freshman guard Lonzo Ball
on his play against Nebraska
โI think I played alright, but obviously I fouled out tonight and donโt want that to happen. Bryce stepped up and the rest of the team had my back, and thatโs what is great about this team. Everybody plays for each other and not for themselves.โ
ย
on his fatherโs encouragement
โIโm thankful thatโs how he is, loud. Iโm his son, so why wouldnโt he want the best from me?โ
ย
Nebraska head coach Tim Miles
opening remarks
โUCLA is an excellent team. Coach Alford has a lot of weapons on that team, a lot of guys that can hurt you. I thought we were tentative in the first half and that is not like us โ second half is more of a snapshot of what weโre like. But every time we got the game down to two or three points, they answered. Alford made some tough shots, Holiday made some shots and they hurt us. We didnโt get enough outside shooting, quite frankly. Outside of Glynn and Tai, the other guys were 1 for 14. You canโt beat a ranked team semi on the road with that kind of production, or lack thereof.โ
ย
on overcoming the teamโs shooting in the first half
โI donโt think I had them moving around enough. We were kind of trying to space the floor, and see if we could get some guards out then to create ball movement from there. I think I had to get our guys moving more, we did that more in the second half but probably didnโt make that adjustment quick enough first half. And we missed some really easy shots; I think we missed one or two dunks and layups. And UCLA made some good blocks at the rim and did some good things. I think I counted seven maybe eight missed shots and they had one block Iโm pretty sure was a goaltend, but thatโs just how it goes. You canโt have that many missed outside shots and miss that many inside too.โ
ย
on Tai Webster
โTai is kind of out of line; heโs our only senior surrounded by seven freshmen and sophomores. I think heโs done a great job of showing them how to lead and how to play with the correct mindset. Some guys are figuring that out and some guys are feeding off of it, sometimes, some are feeding off it all the time. I think heโs a really good role model for our young guys and Iโm just so impressed with how heโs gotten better and better each year.โ
ย
on the teamโs development over the past two days
โWe told them before that it was going to be amazing the growth we were going to see in three days win, lose, or draw. And I believe that it will continue. Virginia Tech is going to be a whole new set of circumstances. They are a tough, gritty, energetic, physical team. Theyโre going to throw multiple defenses at you. And they will play with high, high energy. We have to bounce back, we canโt hang our heads. Tomorrow we can go mope around and hang out with Goofy, Minnie, and Mickey, thatโs fine. But on Sunday, we need to be ready to go in and go to battle.โ
ย
Nebraskaโs Tai Webster
on feeling frustrated and going into Sunday
โI feel encouraged more than anything. This is a great learning curve for our young guys. I think this will really stay in the back of their minds, and we will only move forward from here.โ
ย
on playing UCLA
โObviously they are a really talented team, and they do what they do well on transitions. I think they get a lot of buckets just on their athleticism. Overall, I think theyโre a tough team and hard to match up against but, at the same time, I donโt think we gave them our best shot. In the second half, we gave them good 15 minutes and we canโt afford only 15 minutes of anything.โ
ย
ย