Postgame Quotes - UCLA 89, Stanford 75
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 89, Stanford 75
Los Angeles, Calif. (Pauley Pavilion)
January 8, 2017
UCLA head coach Steve Alford
opening statement
“Really proud of the guys. I thought the first half was really good. We had a tough start to the second half but we settled down and figured some things out. Another game we shot it well and moved it well. A little too many turnovers as we forced some things. We have to continue to work on cleaning up the back board. We had some growth. It’s like I told them in the locker room, we are 16-1 and you can see an awful lot of growth ahead of us. We still have some things to work on and get better and that’s a positive. If we were 16-1 and can’t do things any better we can plateau out. I still think the ceiling for this team is very high and that’s exciting.”
on making second half adjustments compared to last game
“Well, the Cal game was really only the last five minutes. It became rec league by just putting your head down and driving like crazy and we didn’t defend that very well. But they were down 18 with four minutes to go and we still found a way to win the game by 10. Tonight, I thought they made a run in the second half but it was more us not executing what we wanted to do defensively and that carrying over to our offense. Once they settled down around the first five minutes of the second half, we responded very well. We just have to get back to having good starts to the second half. For the majority of the season we’ve had that and the last four games we haven’t. We have to do a better job coming out of the locker room there’s no question about that.”
on hot start to begin the game
“I thought the Cal game was the same way in that we established who we wanted to be right away. We score 48 points in the first half at a pace for Lonzo [Ball] that I don’t think any other player in the country can play at. Our guys enjoy playing that way because the ball moves and he makes sure that the ball moves because of the pace and pressure he puts on the defense. I thought make or miss he did a great job of pushing it and keeping the pace going, even in half court settings the pace continued. That’s something we really tried to work at on offense is the half-court game. Let’s push the pace full court and when they stop that and we play half court keep that pace going. Don’t become stagnant with one guy dribbling the ball five times. That’s easy to guard. I thought there were times, especially early in the first half, that the pace was good both full court and half court. ”
on the crowds at Pauley Pavilion
“I’m more happy for the guys because they deserve this great crowds. Whether its seniors like Isaac and Bryce, and Tom and G.G. who are juniors, they deserve it because they have worked awfully hard. Obviously the freshmen that have joined us have made for an exciting blend and style to watch. They are fun to watch because they work it and share it. We’re growing at both ends and that’s fun. To be 16-1, 17 games in and you’re only loss is a last-second shot, that’s been a lot of fun. The winning isn’t just the fun part, it’s who you do it with. When you’re going to go on a journey you want to do it with individuals you love respect and care for and our coaches feel that way about our team. We want to try to do everything we can to be successful. Sometimes that’s patting them on the back and sometimes that’s getting after them. It’s not fun doing that as a coach, but sometimes the accountability stick has to come out. I don’t play the game we are 15-1, 16-1, no I play are we getting better, are we growing. We are trying to become great because we have guys on our team who, individually want to be great, but they know if they want to be great the team has to be great. We aren’t there yet. We are 16-1 but we aren’t great. We still have a lot of room for growth. We have the opportunity to be great. Through this journey it’s a lot of fun doing it with these young men.”
on Isaac Hamilton’s play
“I’m pleased he got points on the board. He’s a scorer so that’s part I’m very pleased. He’s figuring it out. Guys that go through slumps like that have to just figure it out. He’s coming around and figuring those things out. It’s about trusting your teammates. Sometimes when you don’t play well you press. Some teams you have to do that. To Isaac’s defense, last year he had to do that. If Bryce was struggling he’d have to do those things. If you look at Bryce through the season and Isaac up to this point, they’re not forcing shots. They are making a higher percentage of shots because this is a team that’s full of teammates that you can trust. They’re going to help make you look good. Any time you’re struggling, maybe the first impulse is to press and try to do more but that’s no always the case. You almost have to release more and trust your teammates more. That’s not always easy. He is fighting through that and the more he can trust his teammates the better because they love playing with Isaac and they know the importance of Isaac because he is a great player. We fully expect him to do what he has done all year for us.”
UCLA Senior Guard Bryce Alford
on improving
“The good thing is we’ve seen ourselves get better in a lot of areas, from the start of the season until now. Even since conference play started, we are starting to get better in some areas. Our talking is getting better in terms of communication. The way we start games is getting better. It’s just figuring out different ways to get better. That’s the whole key to the college basketball season. It’s a long season. It’s a grind. We aren’t going to be perfect in January. The goal is to be perfect come March.”
on team’s improvement from last season
“Every time we step on the court it’s been a reminder of how hard we’ve worked in the off-season and how much the new guys have helped us. We’ve come a long way from last year. We’ve already won more games than last year. It’s been a blast. I’ve been saying it all year, it’s been awesome and we just look forward to continuing.”
UCLA Freshman Forward TJ Leaf
on areas for improvement
“There’s a lot [of potential] on the defensive end. We need to get better at talking. Sometimes we get a little bit complacent offensively. Sometimes it just feels easy for us when we are moving the ball so well with so many unselfish guys, that it can become second nature to make the extra pass. But sometimes it gets a little complacent throughout the game and we start standing a little bit and take more [isolation plays] than we should instead of moving the ball a little bit. We’re just going to get in the film room and see what the coaches have for us.”
on rebounding
“We have one or two guys every possession in the right spot for rebounding and boxing out. But every possession, myself included, we just have guys taking the possession off from rebounding. Once we make a stop, some of us have a habit of just standing a bit too long instead of getting a body on a guy and team rebounding.”
UCLA Freshman Guard Lonzo Ball
on gameplan
“This game was just about focus. Coach had a good game plan set up for us and we just had to go out and execute. ”
on potential for growth
“We have a tremendous area for growth. Like coach said, we are 16-1 and we still have a high ceiling. It starts defensively and obviously by rebounding and keeping the ball in front of us. We can get better on offense, too. Our pace keeps improving.”
Stanford Head Coach Jerod Haase
on the play of Robert Cartwright
“We were trying to make sure everybody was on the same page, and that’s the responsibility of the point guard. I thought he did a fine job. Sometimes he did not manage the game, but for the most part, he really led the team.”
on defending UCLA
“I thought we were decent. We have to get better defending their three-point shooting and the transition game. I felt like we did okay. We really have to have a sense of urgency, especially in the transition area. I want the guys to play freely and aggressively, but we can’t turn the ball over. You just can’t have that.”
on the team’s second-half success
“Candidly, I was more proud about the first half. Don’t get me wrong; we played well, but we made some mistakes. It really wasn’t about the half, it was more about the game, managing the game. I think that Cartwright did that. It started yesterday; he came into practice and started directing the team. He was making sure that we were all on the same page and that everybody was properly matched up.”
on the play of Michael Humphrey
“We started the game with two post-up plays to him. With him, it’s about balance. It all starts with that. Throughout the game, it’s really important how he stands and receives the ball.”
Stanford Sophomore Guard Robert Cartwright
on how it feels to play in Pauley Pavilion
“Obviously, for me, I’ve always wanted to play here. I grew up a Bruin fan, and it was a dream for me to play in Pauley Pavilion. As a kid, I came here to many games, so I really wanted to play well in front of my friends and family. I grew up in Pasadena, so I always grew up a Bruin fan.”
on where he goes from this performance
“I just have to keep working and try to get some wins. We’re 0-4 (in conference play) now. It’s really now about getting some wins.”
UCLA 89, Stanford 75
Los Angeles, Calif. (Pauley Pavilion)
January 8, 2017
UCLA head coach Steve Alford
opening statement
“Really proud of the guys. I thought the first half was really good. We had a tough start to the second half but we settled down and figured some things out. Another game we shot it well and moved it well. A little too many turnovers as we forced some things. We have to continue to work on cleaning up the back board. We had some growth. It’s like I told them in the locker room, we are 16-1 and you can see an awful lot of growth ahead of us. We still have some things to work on and get better and that’s a positive. If we were 16-1 and can’t do things any better we can plateau out. I still think the ceiling for this team is very high and that’s exciting.”
on making second half adjustments compared to last game
“Well, the Cal game was really only the last five minutes. It became rec league by just putting your head down and driving like crazy and we didn’t defend that very well. But they were down 18 with four minutes to go and we still found a way to win the game by 10. Tonight, I thought they made a run in the second half but it was more us not executing what we wanted to do defensively and that carrying over to our offense. Once they settled down around the first five minutes of the second half, we responded very well. We just have to get back to having good starts to the second half. For the majority of the season we’ve had that and the last four games we haven’t. We have to do a better job coming out of the locker room there’s no question about that.”
on hot start to begin the game
“I thought the Cal game was the same way in that we established who we wanted to be right away. We score 48 points in the first half at a pace for Lonzo [Ball] that I don’t think any other player in the country can play at. Our guys enjoy playing that way because the ball moves and he makes sure that the ball moves because of the pace and pressure he puts on the defense. I thought make or miss he did a great job of pushing it and keeping the pace going, even in half court settings the pace continued. That’s something we really tried to work at on offense is the half-court game. Let’s push the pace full court and when they stop that and we play half court keep that pace going. Don’t become stagnant with one guy dribbling the ball five times. That’s easy to guard. I thought there were times, especially early in the first half, that the pace was good both full court and half court. ”
on the crowds at Pauley Pavilion
“I’m more happy for the guys because they deserve this great crowds. Whether its seniors like Isaac and Bryce, and Tom and G.G. who are juniors, they deserve it because they have worked awfully hard. Obviously the freshmen that have joined us have made for an exciting blend and style to watch. They are fun to watch because they work it and share it. We’re growing at both ends and that’s fun. To be 16-1, 17 games in and you’re only loss is a last-second shot, that’s been a lot of fun. The winning isn’t just the fun part, it’s who you do it with. When you’re going to go on a journey you want to do it with individuals you love respect and care for and our coaches feel that way about our team. We want to try to do everything we can to be successful. Sometimes that’s patting them on the back and sometimes that’s getting after them. It’s not fun doing that as a coach, but sometimes the accountability stick has to come out. I don’t play the game we are 15-1, 16-1, no I play are we getting better, are we growing. We are trying to become great because we have guys on our team who, individually want to be great, but they know if they want to be great the team has to be great. We aren’t there yet. We are 16-1 but we aren’t great. We still have a lot of room for growth. We have the opportunity to be great. Through this journey it’s a lot of fun doing it with these young men.”
on Isaac Hamilton’s play
“I’m pleased he got points on the board. He’s a scorer so that’s part I’m very pleased. He’s figuring it out. Guys that go through slumps like that have to just figure it out. He’s coming around and figuring those things out. It’s about trusting your teammates. Sometimes when you don’t play well you press. Some teams you have to do that. To Isaac’s defense, last year he had to do that. If Bryce was struggling he’d have to do those things. If you look at Bryce through the season and Isaac up to this point, they’re not forcing shots. They are making a higher percentage of shots because this is a team that’s full of teammates that you can trust. They’re going to help make you look good. Any time you’re struggling, maybe the first impulse is to press and try to do more but that’s no always the case. You almost have to release more and trust your teammates more. That’s not always easy. He is fighting through that and the more he can trust his teammates the better because they love playing with Isaac and they know the importance of Isaac because he is a great player. We fully expect him to do what he has done all year for us.”
UCLA Senior Guard Bryce Alford
on improving
“The good thing is we’ve seen ourselves get better in a lot of areas, from the start of the season until now. Even since conference play started, we are starting to get better in some areas. Our talking is getting better in terms of communication. The way we start games is getting better. It’s just figuring out different ways to get better. That’s the whole key to the college basketball season. It’s a long season. It’s a grind. We aren’t going to be perfect in January. The goal is to be perfect come March.”
on team’s improvement from last season
“Every time we step on the court it’s been a reminder of how hard we’ve worked in the off-season and how much the new guys have helped us. We’ve come a long way from last year. We’ve already won more games than last year. It’s been a blast. I’ve been saying it all year, it’s been awesome and we just look forward to continuing.”
UCLA Freshman Forward TJ Leaf
on areas for improvement
“There’s a lot [of potential] on the defensive end. We need to get better at talking. Sometimes we get a little bit complacent offensively. Sometimes it just feels easy for us when we are moving the ball so well with so many unselfish guys, that it can become second nature to make the extra pass. But sometimes it gets a little complacent throughout the game and we start standing a little bit and take more [isolation plays] than we should instead of moving the ball a little bit. We’re just going to get in the film room and see what the coaches have for us.”
on rebounding
“We have one or two guys every possession in the right spot for rebounding and boxing out. But every possession, myself included, we just have guys taking the possession off from rebounding. Once we make a stop, some of us have a habit of just standing a bit too long instead of getting a body on a guy and team rebounding.”
UCLA Freshman Guard Lonzo Ball
on gameplan
“This game was just about focus. Coach had a good game plan set up for us and we just had to go out and execute. ”
on potential for growth
“We have a tremendous area for growth. Like coach said, we are 16-1 and we still have a high ceiling. It starts defensively and obviously by rebounding and keeping the ball in front of us. We can get better on offense, too. Our pace keeps improving.”
Stanford Head Coach Jerod Haase
on the play of Robert Cartwright
“We were trying to make sure everybody was on the same page, and that’s the responsibility of the point guard. I thought he did a fine job. Sometimes he did not manage the game, but for the most part, he really led the team.”
on defending UCLA
“I thought we were decent. We have to get better defending their three-point shooting and the transition game. I felt like we did okay. We really have to have a sense of urgency, especially in the transition area. I want the guys to play freely and aggressively, but we can’t turn the ball over. You just can’t have that.”
on the team’s second-half success
“Candidly, I was more proud about the first half. Don’t get me wrong; we played well, but we made some mistakes. It really wasn’t about the half, it was more about the game, managing the game. I think that Cartwright did that. It started yesterday; he came into practice and started directing the team. He was making sure that we were all on the same page and that everybody was properly matched up.”
on the play of Michael Humphrey
“We started the game with two post-up plays to him. With him, it’s about balance. It all starts with that. Throughout the game, it’s really important how he stands and receives the ball.”
Stanford Sophomore Guard Robert Cartwright
on how it feels to play in Pauley Pavilion
“Obviously, for me, I’ve always wanted to play here. I grew up a Bruin fan, and it was a dream for me to play in Pauley Pavilion. As a kid, I came here to many games, so I really wanted to play well in front of my friends and family. I grew up in Pasadena, so I always grew up a Bruin fan.”
on where he goes from this performance
“I just have to keep working and try to get some wins. We’re 0-4 (in conference play) now. It’s really now about getting some wins.”