Postgame Quotes - UCLA 74, Texas A&M 67
POSTGAME QUOTES – CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
UCLA 74, Texas A&M 67
at the Honda Center (Anaheim, Calif.)
November 27, 2016
UCLA head coach Steve Alford
opening remarks
“Really proud of these guys. Texas A&M is a great basketball team that we got a chance to play that is very well-coached. Another team that has a different style. This is our third game in the tournament, so we were not preparing for A&M a week ago – when we were home we were really preparing for our bracket. We couldn’t emulate them in practice [with] zone. I thought it got us a little stagnant. We stood around a little bit in the first half, but that is what early season stuff is all about. You learn more and more about different styles and the irony of what we came into this tournament [with] everyone talking about our offense, and yet what we probably learned the most going home is that we got some work to do with half-court offense because we have been in transition so much. I thought we made great strides this week, defensively. With five minutes left in the game, these guys learned how to go take the win. That is exciting, when you’re coaching a new group like that because we are still a new team. Down the stretch they were terrific, and these two [Lonzo Ball and Isaac Hamilton] were a big part of that. Very proud of the team it has been a fun team to coach."
on how Lonzo Ball bounced back in the second half
“I think that that’s what great players do. We call it ‘etch-a-sketch.’ You miss a couple shots [and] you have to forget about it. You make a couple bad plays, you have to forget about it. If you get a good stretch, you have to forget about it. You just have to keep playing the game you love. Again, this is new for him [Lonzo], and I was telling him you’re going to learn from this and this is great tape for you to watch because we haven’t played anyone with this kind of length yet. He can look back and see the things that were good and bad. He made tremendous plays, and I thought he played a way better second half. Isaac had a big scoring first half. What would get unnoticed, but not by me, is the job he did on Hogg. I thought he was tremendous.”
on Isaac Hamilton’s leadership role against Texas A&M
“I thought that that was pivotal for us today. It’s the first championship that this team is going through, and they’re going through it for the first time this season. If you just look at what happened throughout the game, Isaac was on fire in the first half. I think Bryce was scoreless in the first half, and then he makes big shots and ends up with 13 for the game. That’s what we want. I think a year ago, we could’ve won the Nebraska game or could’ve won tonight’s game. Isaac and Bryce were part of that. They have showed great growth and maturity. They have done a great job, in my mind, of telling Lonzo, TJ and Ike ‘Look, don’t wait, don’t think we are seniors thinking we don’t want you to do what you can do. No. We need you to do what you can do.’ That is what great leadership is. Tonight was another night where one guy does it for a while, and then another does it for a while. We share it well and that’s a positive."
on the role of Bryce Alford on this team
“Bryce has had a lot of pressure being a point guard. Bringing the ball up, get us into offense and, by the way, you have to score too. That pressure is off now, having not just Lonzo but Aaron’s progress has been tremendous. So that eases up and allow guys like Isaac and Bryce to run the floor and utilize what they are good at, and that’s the movement without the ball and shooting the ball. I go back to the Australia trip and there was a moment in game three where Lonzo brought the team together and chewed them a little bit. Isaac and Bryce were shaking their heads, saying ‘That’s exactly what we want.’ I have two incredible seniors in Bryce and Isaac and they know that these freshmen can help them get back that better taste in their mouth. Sometimes as seniors it’s all about you, but that is not what our team is. Our team is about sharing, learning and doing it together. Whether it’s good, bad or different, we are going to do this together. We are going to grow together, and we need each other doing their role the best they can.”
UCLA student-athlete Lonzo Ball
on what winning this tournament means to him
“It's great. Coach talked about how this is our tournament [and] it has our name on it. This is the first championship we were able to get, and we got it. It was a team effort and as far as being the MVP, it feels great."
on his in-game adjustments
"It helps listening to my teammates and coaches to keep me focused. I shook it off and we ended up winning."
UCLA student-athlete Isaac Hamilton
on how Lonzo Ball helps change the game for the Bruins
“It is amazing. The ball gets pushed ahead off the rebounds, and we can make secondary plays. Bryce and I can now shoot and score. Aaron makes plays and has a [great] tempo, and you’re bound to get the open shot when the ball is moving that way.”
on what he and Lonzo Ball have learned about each other
“As far as the team, we have to play together. It is a long season, but we are a family not just a regular team. We play for each other and as long as we keep pushing and we keep grinding out wins, we get better every day.”
Texas A&M head coach Billy Kennedy
opening remarks
"UCLA showed how good they really are. Alford, the three guards, Ball, Hamilton really gave us problems. Thought we had some bad possessions, offensively, but a lot of it had to do with UCLA. I was really impressed with their poise on the perimeter. We had a hard time guarding those guys."
on whether his team wanted more touches for Tyler Davis, Robert Williams
"We were just talking about that. He got 13 shots. They got him off the block, and he did a good job of helping off of our perimeter guys, and we have to do a better job of getting him the ball. I thought the pace was where we wanted it to be. We wanted to be in the low 70s. DJ Hogg has been shooting the ball really well for us, and he had some good looks, and unfortunately we weren’t able to put the ball in the hole enough. And again, UCLA is a big reason why."
on UCLA’s Lonzo Ball and his unselfish play
"Yeah and the big thing which made him special is he made big shots. He struggled shooting the ball in the first half, in the second half I mean – at the end of the first half he made some shots. But that big three that he took – that was a deep shot that most of the time, as a defense, you’re going to say he’s got to make it. He is a difference maker for them on the perimeter. I don’t know if they’ve had that the last year or two when he could go make a play for somebody else, and he can make a play for himself. He’s a really good player."
on how he felt about his team’s chances with three to four minutes left
"We felt good. We thought if we could keep it under five, then maybe the pressure would revert back to on them, and then Lonzo Ball hit a big shot. Thought we had a transition basket where we threw it behind when we had a chance to lay it up. And then we turned it over at the top where our post guy – Robert Williams and DJ [Hogg] gave them the ball. You can’t make those mistakes against a top 10, top 15 team, basically on the road. Again, UCLA is really good."
Texas A&M student-athlete Tyler Davis
on how UCLA guarded him and if they had a player who could match up against him
“No, they had nobody that could match up with me. But they did do a good job of what Coach Kennedy said, getting me off the block. I felt comfortable, but in our offense, me being on the block is where the money is at. And I have to do a better job of being in my position and creating angles for my guards to get me the ball."
UCLA 74, Texas A&M 67
at the Honda Center (Anaheim, Calif.)
November 27, 2016
UCLA head coach Steve Alford
opening remarks
“Really proud of these guys. Texas A&M is a great basketball team that we got a chance to play that is very well-coached. Another team that has a different style. This is our third game in the tournament, so we were not preparing for A&M a week ago – when we were home we were really preparing for our bracket. We couldn’t emulate them in practice [with] zone. I thought it got us a little stagnant. We stood around a little bit in the first half, but that is what early season stuff is all about. You learn more and more about different styles and the irony of what we came into this tournament [with] everyone talking about our offense, and yet what we probably learned the most going home is that we got some work to do with half-court offense because we have been in transition so much. I thought we made great strides this week, defensively. With five minutes left in the game, these guys learned how to go take the win. That is exciting, when you’re coaching a new group like that because we are still a new team. Down the stretch they were terrific, and these two [Lonzo Ball and Isaac Hamilton] were a big part of that. Very proud of the team it has been a fun team to coach."
on how Lonzo Ball bounced back in the second half
“I think that that’s what great players do. We call it ‘etch-a-sketch.’ You miss a couple shots [and] you have to forget about it. You make a couple bad plays, you have to forget about it. If you get a good stretch, you have to forget about it. You just have to keep playing the game you love. Again, this is new for him [Lonzo], and I was telling him you’re going to learn from this and this is great tape for you to watch because we haven’t played anyone with this kind of length yet. He can look back and see the things that were good and bad. He made tremendous plays, and I thought he played a way better second half. Isaac had a big scoring first half. What would get unnoticed, but not by me, is the job he did on Hogg. I thought he was tremendous.”
on Isaac Hamilton’s leadership role against Texas A&M
“I thought that that was pivotal for us today. It’s the first championship that this team is going through, and they’re going through it for the first time this season. If you just look at what happened throughout the game, Isaac was on fire in the first half. I think Bryce was scoreless in the first half, and then he makes big shots and ends up with 13 for the game. That’s what we want. I think a year ago, we could’ve won the Nebraska game or could’ve won tonight’s game. Isaac and Bryce were part of that. They have showed great growth and maturity. They have done a great job, in my mind, of telling Lonzo, TJ and Ike ‘Look, don’t wait, don’t think we are seniors thinking we don’t want you to do what you can do. No. We need you to do what you can do.’ That is what great leadership is. Tonight was another night where one guy does it for a while, and then another does it for a while. We share it well and that’s a positive."
on the role of Bryce Alford on this team
“Bryce has had a lot of pressure being a point guard. Bringing the ball up, get us into offense and, by the way, you have to score too. That pressure is off now, having not just Lonzo but Aaron’s progress has been tremendous. So that eases up and allow guys like Isaac and Bryce to run the floor and utilize what they are good at, and that’s the movement without the ball and shooting the ball. I go back to the Australia trip and there was a moment in game three where Lonzo brought the team together and chewed them a little bit. Isaac and Bryce were shaking their heads, saying ‘That’s exactly what we want.’ I have two incredible seniors in Bryce and Isaac and they know that these freshmen can help them get back that better taste in their mouth. Sometimes as seniors it’s all about you, but that is not what our team is. Our team is about sharing, learning and doing it together. Whether it’s good, bad or different, we are going to do this together. We are going to grow together, and we need each other doing their role the best they can.”
UCLA student-athlete Lonzo Ball
on what winning this tournament means to him
“It's great. Coach talked about how this is our tournament [and] it has our name on it. This is the first championship we were able to get, and we got it. It was a team effort and as far as being the MVP, it feels great."
on his in-game adjustments
"It helps listening to my teammates and coaches to keep me focused. I shook it off and we ended up winning."
UCLA student-athlete Isaac Hamilton
on how Lonzo Ball helps change the game for the Bruins
“It is amazing. The ball gets pushed ahead off the rebounds, and we can make secondary plays. Bryce and I can now shoot and score. Aaron makes plays and has a [great] tempo, and you’re bound to get the open shot when the ball is moving that way.”
on what he and Lonzo Ball have learned about each other
“As far as the team, we have to play together. It is a long season, but we are a family not just a regular team. We play for each other and as long as we keep pushing and we keep grinding out wins, we get better every day.”
Texas A&M head coach Billy Kennedy
opening remarks
"UCLA showed how good they really are. Alford, the three guards, Ball, Hamilton really gave us problems. Thought we had some bad possessions, offensively, but a lot of it had to do with UCLA. I was really impressed with their poise on the perimeter. We had a hard time guarding those guys."
on whether his team wanted more touches for Tyler Davis, Robert Williams
"We were just talking about that. He got 13 shots. They got him off the block, and he did a good job of helping off of our perimeter guys, and we have to do a better job of getting him the ball. I thought the pace was where we wanted it to be. We wanted to be in the low 70s. DJ Hogg has been shooting the ball really well for us, and he had some good looks, and unfortunately we weren’t able to put the ball in the hole enough. And again, UCLA is a big reason why."
on UCLA’s Lonzo Ball and his unselfish play
"Yeah and the big thing which made him special is he made big shots. He struggled shooting the ball in the first half, in the second half I mean – at the end of the first half he made some shots. But that big three that he took – that was a deep shot that most of the time, as a defense, you’re going to say he’s got to make it. He is a difference maker for them on the perimeter. I don’t know if they’ve had that the last year or two when he could go make a play for somebody else, and he can make a play for himself. He’s a really good player."
on how he felt about his team’s chances with three to four minutes left
"We felt good. We thought if we could keep it under five, then maybe the pressure would revert back to on them, and then Lonzo Ball hit a big shot. Thought we had a transition basket where we threw it behind when we had a chance to lay it up. And then we turned it over at the top where our post guy – Robert Williams and DJ [Hogg] gave them the ball. You can’t make those mistakes against a top 10, top 15 team, basically on the road. Again, UCLA is really good."
Texas A&M student-athlete Tyler Davis
on how UCLA guarded him and if they had a player who could match up against him
“No, they had nobody that could match up with me. But they did do a good job of what Coach Kennedy said, getting me off the block. I felt comfortable, but in our offense, me being on the block is where the money is at. And I have to do a better job of being in my position and creating angles for my guards to get me the ball."