Postgame Quotes - UCLA 72, Wisconsin 70
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 72, Wisconsin 70
Third-Place Game – Hall of Fame Classic
Nov. 21, 2017 (Sprint Center – Kansas City, Mo.)
UCLA head coach Steve Alford
opening remarks
“I’m pleased with our basketball team through a difficult stretch. We already have a win over a Big Ten team [Wisconsin] and an ACC team [Georgia Tech] and played a very good Big East team last night [Creighton], so I’m very proud of what our guys are doing. I think we are growing. I thought we lost the game last night, and grew some, especially offensively, and we carried that over tonight offensively. We turned the ball over a little bit more than we wanted, but this is a scrappy team [Wisconsin]. This is a very difficult team to score against. To shoot 54 percent, and to play the way we played offensively in the second half. We grew defensively in the second half as well. To come to this tournament and grow, that was something that was a big concern for us. Now, we go home for a four-game homestand. We are 4-1 and we’re growing. That is crucial. I couldn’t be more happy for this guy [Aaron Holiday] – he made big play after big play. I thought he really came up big in the end.”
on the first five minutes of the second half and how critical that time was
“We talked about it late in film. I thought during the Creighton game, we got beat in the last minute and a half, 7-0 in the first half. The first two minutes of the second half last night, we got beat 7-0. So that’s a 14-0 run in the last three and a half minutes. That is all we talked about, and we showed them the tape. At halftime, we had given up another run to Wisconsin to end the first half. If you want growth, you have to learn now and come out in the second half. I thought the start of our second half was outstanding. We did a really nice job of not just getting back in the game, but we were down seven at half. That seven-point game was almost four minutes in. We did a very good job coming out at half, and that is where we have grown a little bit.”
on UCLA’s final offensive play
“I wanted the ball in the hands of Aaron [Holiday]. We wanted to run a high ball screen and see how they were going to play. Sometimes, they like to weak it, like soft hedge it. And sometimes they switch it. I just wanted Aaron to have the ball in his hands to make the play. I knew he was either going to get the shot he wanted. And there was a mis-dribble going to the left. He is coming right at me, and I see him look right at the clock. His awareness, he is just a very special guard. Most guards would panic, pull up, and shoot a tough shot. I actually saw him look at the clock when he was dribbling with his right hand, and he knew he had time to get to the rim. Getting to the rim is one thing, but finishing over length is another thing. He made a tremendous play.”
on what he told his team at halftime and what were their key adjustments
“We were doing some good things [in the first half]. We got hurried up a little bit and turned the ball over. We were very fortunate. To turn the ball over 19 times and beat Wisconsin, that doesn’t happen very often. So we are very fortunate from that end. We talked about taking care of the ball, which we did for a while, then we got careless. But it was really about our defense. I thought we could defend a little nastier. We grew. In the second half, we got more defensive stops, and we were harder to play against. That is really were the focal point of the adjustment, it is just about challenging defensively.”
on Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ
“He is special. He is a handful, just one of those guys that is really hard to double. It is almost like we went into the game and said, ‘Make it hard on him’ because he’s probably going to get his number – which he did, 19 and 9, but you have to take away some of their other guys. Without doubling him, I don’t know if you can take away his numbers. When you double him, you give up a lot of assists. He’s a terrific big man passer. We were able to turn him over four times, and we were active. He is a load, one of the better bigs who we’re going to play.”
on the tenacity of Aaron Holiday
“We know what we got in Aaron. What I really appreciate in Aaron is that he has done a really good job trying to get his teammates to grow. He probably made a couple of passes that he shouldn’t have made. But, he’s making the right plays. And some of his teammates aren’t ready for that yet, and that is how you grow. His teammates will grow by watching what he does late game, and knowing that he is a go-to guy. As the season builds, and hopefully we continue to grow as a team, those passes that he makes, his teammates are going to be a little more confident and they’ll have the ability to make the plays from there. But that is what makes him so special is that, one, he is unselfish. I have said it since I saw him in high school. He is my pit-bull. You just turn him loose. I have all the confidence. He might not make the shot, but he is going to give me everything he has. And he is pretty good at making those shots.”
UCLA guard Aaron Holiday
on Tyus Edney’s buzzer-beater in 1995 (against Missouri) and how fitting it was for Aaron to have a buzzer-beater tonight (in the state of Missouri)
“It’s always fun to win. I am glad we got the win. That is all I care about, to be honest.”
on scoring UCLA’s final 10 points
“The first half, I didn’t play like I should have. I let my teammates down. So, in the second half I came out and tried to be aggressive and make the right plays, and that is what I did.”
on the final offensive play
“I dribbled left, came off the screen. They tipped the ball out. I got it back. I looked up, had two seconds, and just went to the cup.”
on how much he savors moments like that
“You just dream of it growing up. You dream of big moments, being there, and making the big play. I just try to be aggressive. My teammates and my coach gave me confidence and gave me the ball, and we came up with the win.”
Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard
opening remarks
“I am proud of our guys for how they battled – for the most part, we really competed for 40 minutes. We had not a great end to the first half. I thought we could have been more efficient down the stretch and went in with a bigger lead. In the start of the second half, I thought we let them get too many things at the rim, which allowed confidence to grow and they hit some threes. Usually that’s the case, when confidence grows, tougher shots become more makeable. We kept battling back, and we were able to regain the lead. It becomes possession per possession down the stretch and we didn’t do a good job in the last four minutes or so. I think the last eight possessions, we had a six-point lead. I think we were five points on eight possessions. That’s going to end up with these types of results. I am proud of my guys, how they battled, and how they have grown. We have been tested over a lot of ways in the last three games. Hopefully as time goes on we will continue to grow and learn and continue to improve. I think we have a pretty good team, we just to get over that hump. Mature to finish halves, finish possessions, finish out games, in the way that you need to.”
on moves made to begin the game
“We were pretty active, defensively. I saw a lot of jerseys diving on the floor. We were first to the ball. We had faces on the ball, as we like to call it. I thought we were active, and we will continue to evaluate that. It is not set in stone. We have to understand that you have to earn it to keep it and earn it to get it. If you get it, it doesn’t mean you are going to keep it, you are going to have to continue to earn it. I think that with such a variety of guys that are trying to find their way, that having an open mind about who it can be and who is playing well, what the match ups look like, but I thought they grew to begin with and did some good things defensively right up until the end of the first half. It was more or less on our offensive end that we didn’t execute, then he gets a layup at the end. I liked what I saw.”
on if he was more pleased with tonight’s total effort
“Yeah, the effort I thought was fine, and where it needed to be. Now it is execution, now we cannot turn the ball over three of our last eight possessions, and have five points in eight possessions. You don’t close out games with that type of statistic down the stretch. Part of it is the execution part of it is the maturity, part of it is guys that have been in those situations, and defensively too. At the start of the second half, they had 24 points on the first 11 possessions, that builds confidence. We were able to withhold that or battle back from that. That rush they had. We have to become more consistent. We play really well in stretches, we just have to be more efficient specifically down the stretch”
on this Wisconsin team “growing some calluses” five games into the season
“It’s hard to swallow now because they are competitive guys. They expect to win now, and so do I, we want to be where we are supposed to be, now. But we understand there are a lot of areas we have to grow in, and as long as we continue to approach it the right way, and the guys have the right mindset, we will learn from this. We already have. We are a better team in the last three games. We have just played some really good teams. Strength of schedule won’t be an issue with this group. We just have to mature and find a way to get over the hump.”
Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ
on the defense on UCLA’s final possession
“I just didn’t play very well. Brad poked it away, then it turned into a sporadic play for me. I wasn’t sure if he was going to stay or not. Once I was matched with him, I wasn’t sitting down like I should have been.”
UCLA 72, Wisconsin 70
Third-Place Game – Hall of Fame Classic
Nov. 21, 2017 (Sprint Center – Kansas City, Mo.)
UCLA head coach Steve Alford
opening remarks
“I’m pleased with our basketball team through a difficult stretch. We already have a win over a Big Ten team [Wisconsin] and an ACC team [Georgia Tech] and played a very good Big East team last night [Creighton], so I’m very proud of what our guys are doing. I think we are growing. I thought we lost the game last night, and grew some, especially offensively, and we carried that over tonight offensively. We turned the ball over a little bit more than we wanted, but this is a scrappy team [Wisconsin]. This is a very difficult team to score against. To shoot 54 percent, and to play the way we played offensively in the second half. We grew defensively in the second half as well. To come to this tournament and grow, that was something that was a big concern for us. Now, we go home for a four-game homestand. We are 4-1 and we’re growing. That is crucial. I couldn’t be more happy for this guy [Aaron Holiday] – he made big play after big play. I thought he really came up big in the end.”
on the first five minutes of the second half and how critical that time was
“We talked about it late in film. I thought during the Creighton game, we got beat in the last minute and a half, 7-0 in the first half. The first two minutes of the second half last night, we got beat 7-0. So that’s a 14-0 run in the last three and a half minutes. That is all we talked about, and we showed them the tape. At halftime, we had given up another run to Wisconsin to end the first half. If you want growth, you have to learn now and come out in the second half. I thought the start of our second half was outstanding. We did a really nice job of not just getting back in the game, but we were down seven at half. That seven-point game was almost four minutes in. We did a very good job coming out at half, and that is where we have grown a little bit.”
on UCLA’s final offensive play
“I wanted the ball in the hands of Aaron [Holiday]. We wanted to run a high ball screen and see how they were going to play. Sometimes, they like to weak it, like soft hedge it. And sometimes they switch it. I just wanted Aaron to have the ball in his hands to make the play. I knew he was either going to get the shot he wanted. And there was a mis-dribble going to the left. He is coming right at me, and I see him look right at the clock. His awareness, he is just a very special guard. Most guards would panic, pull up, and shoot a tough shot. I actually saw him look at the clock when he was dribbling with his right hand, and he knew he had time to get to the rim. Getting to the rim is one thing, but finishing over length is another thing. He made a tremendous play.”
on what he told his team at halftime and what were their key adjustments
“We were doing some good things [in the first half]. We got hurried up a little bit and turned the ball over. We were very fortunate. To turn the ball over 19 times and beat Wisconsin, that doesn’t happen very often. So we are very fortunate from that end. We talked about taking care of the ball, which we did for a while, then we got careless. But it was really about our defense. I thought we could defend a little nastier. We grew. In the second half, we got more defensive stops, and we were harder to play against. That is really were the focal point of the adjustment, it is just about challenging defensively.”
on Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ
“He is special. He is a handful, just one of those guys that is really hard to double. It is almost like we went into the game and said, ‘Make it hard on him’ because he’s probably going to get his number – which he did, 19 and 9, but you have to take away some of their other guys. Without doubling him, I don’t know if you can take away his numbers. When you double him, you give up a lot of assists. He’s a terrific big man passer. We were able to turn him over four times, and we were active. He is a load, one of the better bigs who we’re going to play.”
on the tenacity of Aaron Holiday
“We know what we got in Aaron. What I really appreciate in Aaron is that he has done a really good job trying to get his teammates to grow. He probably made a couple of passes that he shouldn’t have made. But, he’s making the right plays. And some of his teammates aren’t ready for that yet, and that is how you grow. His teammates will grow by watching what he does late game, and knowing that he is a go-to guy. As the season builds, and hopefully we continue to grow as a team, those passes that he makes, his teammates are going to be a little more confident and they’ll have the ability to make the plays from there. But that is what makes him so special is that, one, he is unselfish. I have said it since I saw him in high school. He is my pit-bull. You just turn him loose. I have all the confidence. He might not make the shot, but he is going to give me everything he has. And he is pretty good at making those shots.”
UCLA guard Aaron Holiday
on Tyus Edney’s buzzer-beater in 1995 (against Missouri) and how fitting it was for Aaron to have a buzzer-beater tonight (in the state of Missouri)
“It’s always fun to win. I am glad we got the win. That is all I care about, to be honest.”
on scoring UCLA’s final 10 points
“The first half, I didn’t play like I should have. I let my teammates down. So, in the second half I came out and tried to be aggressive and make the right plays, and that is what I did.”
on the final offensive play
“I dribbled left, came off the screen. They tipped the ball out. I got it back. I looked up, had two seconds, and just went to the cup.”
on how much he savors moments like that
“You just dream of it growing up. You dream of big moments, being there, and making the big play. I just try to be aggressive. My teammates and my coach gave me confidence and gave me the ball, and we came up with the win.”
Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard
opening remarks
“I am proud of our guys for how they battled – for the most part, we really competed for 40 minutes. We had not a great end to the first half. I thought we could have been more efficient down the stretch and went in with a bigger lead. In the start of the second half, I thought we let them get too many things at the rim, which allowed confidence to grow and they hit some threes. Usually that’s the case, when confidence grows, tougher shots become more makeable. We kept battling back, and we were able to regain the lead. It becomes possession per possession down the stretch and we didn’t do a good job in the last four minutes or so. I think the last eight possessions, we had a six-point lead. I think we were five points on eight possessions. That’s going to end up with these types of results. I am proud of my guys, how they battled, and how they have grown. We have been tested over a lot of ways in the last three games. Hopefully as time goes on we will continue to grow and learn and continue to improve. I think we have a pretty good team, we just to get over that hump. Mature to finish halves, finish possessions, finish out games, in the way that you need to.”
on moves made to begin the game
“We were pretty active, defensively. I saw a lot of jerseys diving on the floor. We were first to the ball. We had faces on the ball, as we like to call it. I thought we were active, and we will continue to evaluate that. It is not set in stone. We have to understand that you have to earn it to keep it and earn it to get it. If you get it, it doesn’t mean you are going to keep it, you are going to have to continue to earn it. I think that with such a variety of guys that are trying to find their way, that having an open mind about who it can be and who is playing well, what the match ups look like, but I thought they grew to begin with and did some good things defensively right up until the end of the first half. It was more or less on our offensive end that we didn’t execute, then he gets a layup at the end. I liked what I saw.”
on if he was more pleased with tonight’s total effort
“Yeah, the effort I thought was fine, and where it needed to be. Now it is execution, now we cannot turn the ball over three of our last eight possessions, and have five points in eight possessions. You don’t close out games with that type of statistic down the stretch. Part of it is the execution part of it is the maturity, part of it is guys that have been in those situations, and defensively too. At the start of the second half, they had 24 points on the first 11 possessions, that builds confidence. We were able to withhold that or battle back from that. That rush they had. We have to become more consistent. We play really well in stretches, we just have to be more efficient specifically down the stretch”
on this Wisconsin team “growing some calluses” five games into the season
“It’s hard to swallow now because they are competitive guys. They expect to win now, and so do I, we want to be where we are supposed to be, now. But we understand there are a lot of areas we have to grow in, and as long as we continue to approach it the right way, and the guys have the right mindset, we will learn from this. We already have. We are a better team in the last three games. We have just played some really good teams. Strength of schedule won’t be an issue with this group. We just have to mature and find a way to get over the hump.”
Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ
on the defense on UCLA’s final possession
“I just didn’t play very well. Brad poked it away, then it turned into a sporadic play for me. I wasn’t sure if he was going to stay or not. Once I was matched with him, I wasn’t sitting down like I should have been.”