University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Postgame Quotes - UCLA vs. Hawai'i
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 80, Hawaiโi 61
November 28, 2018
Steve Alford, The Michael Price Family UCLA Menโs Head Basketball Coach
opening remarks
โA lot of positives and I told the guys that. I do think we relaxed a little bit in the second half and thatโs just something youโve got to continue to work on. Many more positives than negatives in the half. I thought we got Cody (Riley) in the flow a little bit in the second half, as well as Mo (Moses Brown). Jaylen (Hands) did a great job of running things. Eleven assists, two turnovers. What heโs capable of doing. I thought we did a good job on the guys we needed to do a good job on. Fifteen (Owen Hulland)โI donโt know how much heโs played, heโs played very, very littleโtheir leading scorer tonight, was a guy that wasnโt even on our depth chart. Thatโs a positive because the guys that we prepared for, I thought we did a really good job. We wanted to get 12 (Jack Purchase) and 3 (Eddie Stansberry) off the 3-point line and we did a good job of that and for the most part, I thought we kept the ball in front of us. Only 16 fouls against a team that really wants to drive the ball, so thatโs encouragement coming out of Vegas where our falls were up and we had a lot of issues. I thought we corrected some things tonight.โ
on Jaylen Hands
โHeโs had two halves now. Carolina first half and the half that he had here where heโs had seven and eight (assists). Heโs capable of huge-assist nights and tonight was great. I thought his second half wasnโt, obviously, as good as his first, but it was still solid. I thought he ran his team. He ran the show. He did a lot of good things. I think heโs concentrating more defensively. He makes his shots tonight like he normally does, youโre looking at probably a double-double out of him. How he moves the ball, it becomes contagious with the other guys. And I thought he did that really well tonight.โ
on Kris Wilkes
โHeโs our leading scorer and, I think, heโs going to get help now as Cody (Riley) gets into shape. Codyโs still not there yet. We did get 23 minutes out of Cody tonight. I think heโs starting to do some more things and I think thatโll help because Moโs just going to continue to develop and learn. Kris is a handful. I thought he did some really good things. Heโs really good in transition, he can post some, but heโs just a really good shooter. Heโs not shooting the 3-ball like he normally does or can and it was good to see Prince (Ali) come out tonight. I thought Prince had a really good game. Offensively and, other than about a five-minute stretch, defensively in the second half, I thought he was really good at that end, as well.โ
on if Prince Aliโs accuracy was product of ball movement
โI think that helps everybody. Weโve tried to tell the guys that. When the ball moves, itโs not just going to be one guy that itโs going to affect. Itโs going to affect everybody. I thought we missed some easy layups, in the first half in particular, where we could have made some more shots. Still got to work on concentration. Thatโs still something weโve got to continue to work on, but I thought, tonight, the ball moved and we got much, much better shots than what we did Vegas or even in the second half of the Presbyterian game. So hopefully the guys continue to trust one another. And thatโs part of being a young team. But I really liked the first half. I thought we guarded, the first half, the way we need to start games here at Pauley.โ
on decision to start Cody Riley
โYeah, like I said, it was nothing about J (Jalen Hill). It was really about getting some energy. Our starts have not been great. It wasnโt one player. It was really just trying something different. Tried to get Cody going. I think heโs somebody that, from a scouting standpoint, youโve got to prepare for because heโs a go-to guy in the post. Youโre trying to prepare for Hands and Wilkes and Big Mo, and all of a sudden youโve got Cody Riley in there that as he gets in shape, heโs a potential double-double guy. I didnโt get J. Hill as many minutes as Iโd like tonight. He got a little bit of foul trouble, but his minutes are going to stay up. I just didnโt get, because of the flow of this game, for whatever reason, I didnโt get the minutes Iโd normally get him. Wasnโt anything J did as much as just trying to get Cody a chance.โ
on presence of former UCLA players Ike Anigbogu, Lonzo Ball, Aaron Holiday and TJ Leaf
โObviously, itโs great, because our seasons donโt overlap the right way a lot. So to have Ike and TJ and Aaron and Lonzoโฆ three Lakers and one Pacerโฆ to have those guys in the locker room around the guysโthatโs fun. The odd part of it, thereโs not a lot of guys in our locker room that played with a lot of those guys. Lonzo and Ike and TJ walked in and I think we only had two guys in our locker room that played with them. Itโs odd when theyโve only been out a couple of years. Itโs a great game for tomorrow with the Lakers and Pacers and itโs great of them to come back when they get a chance to come back and share time with us. We obviously appreciate that.โ
on if he feels team is entering toughest stretch of season
โWell, we thought, as I said in yesterdayโs press conference, I really looked at this as, it was really going to be a stair step of games of really good competition moving forward, starting tonight with Hawaiโi. This is a team that had Utah down 20 on a neutral court and beat them double figures. And they played everyone, Seton Hall, Fresno, very, very well. I thought we needed to come out first half and do what we did. And thatโs a credit to the guys. Now youโre getting an LMU team thatโs undefeated, so high confidence, an LA-based school. Theyโre going to have a lot of energy coming in here on Sunday and then youโve got a week to get ready for a Notre Dame team thatโs playing really well and another week to get ready for a Belmont team whoโs outstanding and still undefeated. We knew this stretch was going to be a key stretch for us and had to start for tonight. So we passed the first test and now weโve got a big test on Sunday.โ
UCLA redshirt junior guard Prince Ali
on if he looked at former teammate Lonzo Ball after his last dunk
โYeah, I did. Thatโs my guy, so I had to do that in front of him. He gave me a nod.โ
on surpassing his career high in points
โIt feels good. Iโve been working on my game, and it showed tonight.โ
on Jaylen Handsโ 11 assists
โWe (he and Kris Wilkes) tell him all the time that when he passes the ball like that, itโs very hard to guard us. You see what happens when he does that.โ
on what he worked on during the off-season
โJust making shots obviously and making plays, really. I extensively worked with a few guys over the summer just getting up a lot of shots and just working out with different people and playing pick-up.โ
UCLA sophomore guard Jaylen Hands
on his career high 11 assists
โI was really focused on just trying to attack and make plays for myself and others, and tonight we were making shots.โ
on the upcoming opponents and if this is their toughest stretch coming up
โI feel like if we come out and do what weโre supposed to do every day, it doesnโt matter who we play. I donโt think we really worry about who we have; we just worry about what we can do night to night, and thatโs execute.โ
UCLA sophomore guard Kris Wilkes
on shutting Hawaiโi down from the three point line late in the game
โWe did shut them down a little bit, but I donโt think we did as great the second half as we did the first half. We just need to work on that, and weโll be better.โ
on the Bruinsโ play when Hands is passing the ball
โHeโs making moves and making good plays, and we just fall right behind him. Itโs real hard to beat us when everyoneโs working together.โ
on having Cody Riley play more
โItโs great. Heโs a big body, heโs a work-horse, heโs a hard person to guard. For him to come out there and do what he does, with seven rebounds and seven points, giving us a force like that helps us out.โ
Hawaiโi head coach Eran Ganot
opening remarks
โI really give them credit. They really set the tone early with their shooting and it was hard to be down 16-5. Iโm really happy with the way we fought back. Credit them, we canโt afford to get behind with a team like that. They really have good depth. Cody Riley is back. They really have the biggest team in the country. They are really long at all positions, especially at the wings. You just have to pick your poison. If we try to close out their wings, they beat you out over the top. If you try to guard them inside, theyโre going to hit the three-point shot.โ
โThis has been an eight-games in twenty days gauntlet of a trip for us, but itโs been good for us and it will be nice to get some practice time. We go back home and we have two days off and then weโll get back to work, so weโre excited about that. Like I said, credit them, they really opened up the floor with their shooting. I think the difference is how we started the game and how we started the second half.โ
Hawaiโi senior forward Jack Purchase
on difference between tonightโs game and losses to Seton Hall and Fresno State
โItโs definitely a difference. They (UCLA) have talent from positions one through eight and they have guys that come off the bench and thereโs no drop-off. Prince (Ali) came out and hit some big shots. Theyโre a top-25 team for a reason.โ