Postgame Quotes - UCLA vs. NYIT (Exhibition)
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 125, NYIT 73 (October 27, 2018)
The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach Steve Alford
Opening Statement
“We really wanted to go into this and show some improvements, some strides coming out of the scrimmage, and I thought we did that. Some of the things that we had concerns with in the first run, I thought the guys did a really good of focusing and improving those areas. We got some guys back. Having [Kris] Wilkes back, having Cody [Riley] back—that really helped. I didn’t really want to play Kris past 20 [minutes], I didn’t Cody past 14 or 15 [minutes], but they were able to get on the floor and get some run in because they have not gotten a lot of run in since they’ve been out. All that said, I thought we really showed some improvement in a lot of areas and that was good. Now, we’ve got 10 days to get ready for the opening of our season. We’re excited to give the guys a day off tomorrow and get after it Monday. We have a full week of practice in preparation for [Purdue Fort Wayne].
On center Moses Brown’s performance
“He’s special, but what I think makes ‘Mo’ so special are a couple things. One, he really wants to be good. I mean, really wants to be good, so that’s first and foremost. At 7’2” with his wingspan, he’s got a physique that’s not thin. There’s nothing weak about Mo. [He has] a thick body at 7’2” that can move the way he can move. Several times tonight, he had blocks at one end and he’s at the rim first at the other end. You just don’t see a lot of guys who are 7’2” who can move like that and I think that’s what makes Mo special.”
On guard David Singleton’s perfect shooting and overall performance
“Yeah, and I haven’t been able to look at all of this, but then four assists and zero turnovers. Losing Tyger [Campbell] for the season, we’ve kind of had to see how that was going to work. Who could give Jaylen [Hands] a blow here and there and play backup [point guard]? David, over the last week, has really grown. He played in high school and the thing I like about David is he cares about doing it right. He’s not a guy who forces a lot of things. He just makes really good basketball plays. Tonight, he was really good—no turnovers, four assists, makes all of his shots. He can really extend defenses, which is going to be good for us. We can play him with Jaylen as well, so I think there’s been some good growth with what he’s been able to do in the last week playing a different position.”
On effectiveness of the bench unit and team’s depth
“A week ago, we were so banged up that with Cody [Riley] and Kris [Wilkes] out, it was hard to even practice. I like the reps that we’ve gotten in the last five to six days and then this was a good scrimmage for us just to get guys minutes and going up and down. I told them at halftime I thought a huge key to the first half was the second flow of guys that came in and did a very good job defensively. That’s huge for us because especially with two or three of those guys being really young, if we can do things like that—and again, that’s what the exhibition season is for. We’re trying to find what matchups on the floor work best for us, but I liked how the starters started and I really liked how that second wave came in and there was no tiring, there was no fatiguing. There was a lot of energy, especially defensively. I thought where we improved tonight was we turned some people over and that’s what we have to be able to do, and we took care of the ball. Those are two things I didn’t think we did a very good job with in the scrimmage.”
On guard Jaylen Hands’ performance
“Really good. Really good. I thought he took good shots. 15 [points], seven [rebounds], and seven [assists], one turnover. If ‘J’ can have four to one, assist to turnover ratio, that’s tremendous. Tonight, he was seven and one, so I thought he did a very good job of just running the show and running his team. We need for him to shoot the ball because he’s a good shooter, so I thought he did a good job of picking and choosing when he shot and we should pass, and that was good. When you look at how the shots were distributed, I thought he did a good job of making sure he got everybody involved.”
NYIT Head Coach Kevin Hamilton
Opening statement
“It was such an honor to play in such a historic facility and against a top team in the country. They are such a talented team. Moses (Brown) and I go way back. I’ve known him since he has been three. Our guys are gamers, but talent matters and those guys are talented.”
On where they go from here …
“It’s really early for us. We’ve only been practicing for ten days. We have a lot of young guys who need to learn how to play at the college level. We have two outstanding players, Jeffrey Hayden is very talented. (Kieran) Hamilton is a very high-caliber player. This is his first competition after having surgery six weeks ago. Like I said, it was an honor. I wish those guys a lot of luck.”
UCLA Freshman Center Moses Brown
On his debut game at Pauley Pavilion
“I had a lot of fun out there. Getting to play with some of my teammates and experiencing the court at Pauley Pavilion – it was a dream come true basically.
UCLA Sophomore Guard Jaylen Hands
On the team’s chemistry level in Saturday’s game
“I thought we did really well. We moved the wall and a lot of people were in double figures. I thought we did good defensively – everyone had a lot of energy.
On Moses Brown’s presence
“It makes my job a lot easier, because you just to the rim and throw it up and he dunks it. Even if he misses it, Mo is down there battling on the boards.”
UCLA Junior Guard Prince Ali
On the team’s depth
“Every year I’ve been here, we’ve been about seven or eight-deep. This is the first time the whole starting five was subbed out, so it’s good to have depth.”
UCLA 125, NYIT 73 (October 27, 2018)
The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach Steve Alford
Opening Statement
“We really wanted to go into this and show some improvements, some strides coming out of the scrimmage, and I thought we did that. Some of the things that we had concerns with in the first run, I thought the guys did a really good of focusing and improving those areas. We got some guys back. Having [Kris] Wilkes back, having Cody [Riley] back—that really helped. I didn’t really want to play Kris past 20 [minutes], I didn’t Cody past 14 or 15 [minutes], but they were able to get on the floor and get some run in because they have not gotten a lot of run in since they’ve been out. All that said, I thought we really showed some improvement in a lot of areas and that was good. Now, we’ve got 10 days to get ready for the opening of our season. We’re excited to give the guys a day off tomorrow and get after it Monday. We have a full week of practice in preparation for [Purdue Fort Wayne].
On center Moses Brown’s performance
“He’s special, but what I think makes ‘Mo’ so special are a couple things. One, he really wants to be good. I mean, really wants to be good, so that’s first and foremost. At 7’2” with his wingspan, he’s got a physique that’s not thin. There’s nothing weak about Mo. [He has] a thick body at 7’2” that can move the way he can move. Several times tonight, he had blocks at one end and he’s at the rim first at the other end. You just don’t see a lot of guys who are 7’2” who can move like that and I think that’s what makes Mo special.”
On guard David Singleton’s perfect shooting and overall performance
“Yeah, and I haven’t been able to look at all of this, but then four assists and zero turnovers. Losing Tyger [Campbell] for the season, we’ve kind of had to see how that was going to work. Who could give Jaylen [Hands] a blow here and there and play backup [point guard]? David, over the last week, has really grown. He played in high school and the thing I like about David is he cares about doing it right. He’s not a guy who forces a lot of things. He just makes really good basketball plays. Tonight, he was really good—no turnovers, four assists, makes all of his shots. He can really extend defenses, which is going to be good for us. We can play him with Jaylen as well, so I think there’s been some good growth with what he’s been able to do in the last week playing a different position.”
On effectiveness of the bench unit and team’s depth
“A week ago, we were so banged up that with Cody [Riley] and Kris [Wilkes] out, it was hard to even practice. I like the reps that we’ve gotten in the last five to six days and then this was a good scrimmage for us just to get guys minutes and going up and down. I told them at halftime I thought a huge key to the first half was the second flow of guys that came in and did a very good job defensively. That’s huge for us because especially with two or three of those guys being really young, if we can do things like that—and again, that’s what the exhibition season is for. We’re trying to find what matchups on the floor work best for us, but I liked how the starters started and I really liked how that second wave came in and there was no tiring, there was no fatiguing. There was a lot of energy, especially defensively. I thought where we improved tonight was we turned some people over and that’s what we have to be able to do, and we took care of the ball. Those are two things I didn’t think we did a very good job with in the scrimmage.”
On guard Jaylen Hands’ performance
“Really good. Really good. I thought he took good shots. 15 [points], seven [rebounds], and seven [assists], one turnover. If ‘J’ can have four to one, assist to turnover ratio, that’s tremendous. Tonight, he was seven and one, so I thought he did a very good job of just running the show and running his team. We need for him to shoot the ball because he’s a good shooter, so I thought he did a good job of picking and choosing when he shot and we should pass, and that was good. When you look at how the shots were distributed, I thought he did a good job of making sure he got everybody involved.”
NYIT Head Coach Kevin Hamilton
Opening statement
“It was such an honor to play in such a historic facility and against a top team in the country. They are such a talented team. Moses (Brown) and I go way back. I’ve known him since he has been three. Our guys are gamers, but talent matters and those guys are talented.”
On where they go from here …
“It’s really early for us. We’ve only been practicing for ten days. We have a lot of young guys who need to learn how to play at the college level. We have two outstanding players, Jeffrey Hayden is very talented. (Kieran) Hamilton is a very high-caliber player. This is his first competition after having surgery six weeks ago. Like I said, it was an honor. I wish those guys a lot of luck.”
UCLA Freshman Center Moses Brown
On his debut game at Pauley Pavilion
“I had a lot of fun out there. Getting to play with some of my teammates and experiencing the court at Pauley Pavilion – it was a dream come true basically.
UCLA Sophomore Guard Jaylen Hands
On the team’s chemistry level in Saturday’s game
“I thought we did really well. We moved the wall and a lot of people were in double figures. I thought we did good defensively – everyone had a lot of energy.
On Moses Brown’s presence
“It makes my job a lot easier, because you just to the rim and throw it up and he dunks it. Even if he misses it, Mo is down there battling on the boards.”
UCLA Junior Guard Prince Ali
On the team’s depth
“Every year I’ve been here, we’ve been about seven or eight-deep. This is the first time the whole starting five was subbed out, so it’s good to have depth.”