Postgame Quotes - UCLA vs. LMU
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 82, Loyola Marymount 58
December 2, 2018
Steve Alford, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening remarks
“We thought Batemon had to score at his average or more for them to have a legit chance of getting us [at home]. I thought Prince did a really good job on him at the start, and as we rotated people the bench did a really good job on him and made things really hard on him. I know that Mo had a double-double, I thought he was terrific. We really praised Prince for what he was able to do. Defensively, I thought he was a key for us. Jaylen, I thought he ran our show well again. He’s averaged 10 assists over the last three games, leading us. That’s huge when he’s doing that. Chris Smith gave us huge minutes. We got great minutes from our bench tonight. Kris Wilkes in the second half I thought played like Kris could play. Just a really good team effort for us. We beat a really good, well-coached team. I’m proud of what our guys were able to do for 40 minutes.”
on the team’s sustained effort
“I think sustained is a good word. There weren’t any lapses or any big runs that they threw at us. Maybe five or six points at the most. I thought our guys did a good job of attacking the basket, getting a layup or getting fouled. We did a good job of getting to the free throw line. We fouled a little bit too much in the second half. I felt the zone was really good the last eight, nine minutes of the game. We haven’t used it much, so to see us get some reps and using our zone gives us something to look at on tape.”
on the defensive effort
“I gotta watch tape obviously but I thought we did a really good job. One thing that we wanted to do was try to keep them off the free throw line and that’s not easy to do because they’re number one in the country at that. Bateman to me was the biggest key. We couldn’t let him get going. I was really pleased with our mindset as a team of trying to get to their best player and make things really hard on him.”
on game planning for LMU guard James Bateman
“We wanted to try and keep him out of the drive, keep him out of the paint, because he’s so good. He’s great at drawing fouls, I think he’s number one in the country in free throw makes. We obviously wanted to keep him off the line. We wanted him to be a jump shooter because I wasn’t as sold on his shooting as I was on his drive game. He can post you, there’s so many different ways that he can draw fouls. We wanted to put a lot of pressure on him. And we wanted to make him work on the [defensive] end. I liked our pace offensively. We had a lot of delays in the first half with timeouts, monitor checks, other things that slowed the tempo a little bit. In the second half, we got the tempo where we wanted it. I thought our press was pretty good and I just liked how we learned through the game - Moses staying back in our zone and protecting the rim. He blocked shots, he changed shots, he had a double-double.
on sharing the ball
“I think LMU is a really good defensive team. They’re well-schooled and well-taught. [LMU head coach, Dunlap] Mike does a really good job with them. We were more concerned our ability to score over defending them because after watching them on tape, they’re really sound defensively, they do a great job of loading the strong side which is something we’re constantly working on with our guys. For the last three days, it’s been about go downhill, attack. I thought Jaylen did a great job of that. We had three lobs to Mo in the first six, seven minutes of the game.”
on Jaylen Hands
“He’s listening. When you’ve got young players, there’s a huge difference between hearing what I’m saying and listening. I think he’s done a really good job of listening. He’s been such a better player when he’s been an assist-first guy, getting everyone involved and then letting his points come. I thought he drove the ball well. He got to the free throw line well. His teammates are loving playing with him right now because he’s finding everybody. He’s not just finding one or two guys, that’s a fun point guard to play with. He’s learning what he’s got to do defensively.”
UCLA sophomore Jaylen Hands
On increased assist totals and throwing lobs to Moses Brown …
“It’s really fun. I think I’m really finding out what I do well, so [I’m] just coming out and capitalizing on that every game. Just getting downhill and finding guys.”
On if tonight’s performance is an example for how the team can play moving forward …
“Yeah, I believe so. I think, today, we did a really good job of not letting up after half. I think we played well for long periods of time. I think we only hit five threes [in 21 attempts], so if we can get that going, we can be even better.”
On if there was a new defensive game plan implemented for tonight’s game …
“I just think we were listening more. The coaches go to work every night and they come and give us the scouting report, so just being able to listen and focus [was beneficial].”
UCLA freshman Moses Brown
On catching lobs from Jaylen Hands …
“It’s really hard. I try to work hard on defense so I can get rewarded on offense. I’m just trying to put myself in the right positions. Coach is telling me to stay on the box, so every time he drives, he can just throw it up and I’ll be right there to catch it.”
On learning from struggles against Michigan State and North Carolina …
“I definitely didn’t like how that felt. I just learned that I have to come out with more intensity. I learned that this is the next level. It’s not high school anymore, so I can’t play around with these teams.”
On playing against a big man closer to his size:
“It was definitely exciting. I think I had more fun playing against [Mattias Markusson] than anyone smaller.”
UCLA sophomore Chris Smith
On keys to team’s consistency …
“I think the consistency came from us playing together. When we are out there playing together, talking to each other, moving the ball, that’s when everything good was happening. I think putting emphasis on the team aspect is when we played well.”
On defensive game plan against James Batemon …
“Coach [Alford] told us to just pressure him 24/7. Whoever was on him, make sure that you don’t let him get the ball back if you can. If you’re switching off on him, make sure to pressure him; don’t make him feel good. We were just trying to get him out of his comfort zone that whole game. That’s what we did. Everybody who guarded him did a great job.”
LMU Head Coach Mike Dunlap
opening remarks
"Tonight's contest was a cocktail mixture. Hands did a really great job. He was very effective and controlled the tempo. He really got them out in transition. Offensively, we really broke ranks. We got impulsive. We didn't go inside-out. We were settling for shots on the outside when we should have been going inside."
on moving on after the team’s first loss
"We will do what all coaches do and look at film. We've got a quick turnaround because we play Fullerton on Wednesday. We just have to be more patient. We will focus on some of the bullet points and emphasize on what we call ‘building walls’. We really got nervous about the three, but that is not what got us, they (UCLA) shot 24%. It was the penetration that really got us."
LMU senior forward Petr Herman
on the team’s performance
"We really started off good, but we tried to shoot too much from the outside. We should have gotten the ball more to Mattias (Markusson). We just didn't go inside enough and that got us in trouble. They (UCLA) really got out in transition."
on moving forward
"We will look at film like we always do. We will look at what we did bad and what we did well. We have Fullerton on Wednesday, so it's a quick turn around."
UCLA 82, Loyola Marymount 58
December 2, 2018
Steve Alford, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening remarks
“We thought Batemon had to score at his average or more for them to have a legit chance of getting us [at home]. I thought Prince did a really good job on him at the start, and as we rotated people the bench did a really good job on him and made things really hard on him. I know that Mo had a double-double, I thought he was terrific. We really praised Prince for what he was able to do. Defensively, I thought he was a key for us. Jaylen, I thought he ran our show well again. He’s averaged 10 assists over the last three games, leading us. That’s huge when he’s doing that. Chris Smith gave us huge minutes. We got great minutes from our bench tonight. Kris Wilkes in the second half I thought played like Kris could play. Just a really good team effort for us. We beat a really good, well-coached team. I’m proud of what our guys were able to do for 40 minutes.”
on the team’s sustained effort
“I think sustained is a good word. There weren’t any lapses or any big runs that they threw at us. Maybe five or six points at the most. I thought our guys did a good job of attacking the basket, getting a layup or getting fouled. We did a good job of getting to the free throw line. We fouled a little bit too much in the second half. I felt the zone was really good the last eight, nine minutes of the game. We haven’t used it much, so to see us get some reps and using our zone gives us something to look at on tape.”
on the defensive effort
“I gotta watch tape obviously but I thought we did a really good job. One thing that we wanted to do was try to keep them off the free throw line and that’s not easy to do because they’re number one in the country at that. Bateman to me was the biggest key. We couldn’t let him get going. I was really pleased with our mindset as a team of trying to get to their best player and make things really hard on him.”
on game planning for LMU guard James Bateman
“We wanted to try and keep him out of the drive, keep him out of the paint, because he’s so good. He’s great at drawing fouls, I think he’s number one in the country in free throw makes. We obviously wanted to keep him off the line. We wanted him to be a jump shooter because I wasn’t as sold on his shooting as I was on his drive game. He can post you, there’s so many different ways that he can draw fouls. We wanted to put a lot of pressure on him. And we wanted to make him work on the [defensive] end. I liked our pace offensively. We had a lot of delays in the first half with timeouts, monitor checks, other things that slowed the tempo a little bit. In the second half, we got the tempo where we wanted it. I thought our press was pretty good and I just liked how we learned through the game - Moses staying back in our zone and protecting the rim. He blocked shots, he changed shots, he had a double-double.
on sharing the ball
“I think LMU is a really good defensive team. They’re well-schooled and well-taught. [LMU head coach, Dunlap] Mike does a really good job with them. We were more concerned our ability to score over defending them because after watching them on tape, they’re really sound defensively, they do a great job of loading the strong side which is something we’re constantly working on with our guys. For the last three days, it’s been about go downhill, attack. I thought Jaylen did a great job of that. We had three lobs to Mo in the first six, seven minutes of the game.”
on Jaylen Hands
“He’s listening. When you’ve got young players, there’s a huge difference between hearing what I’m saying and listening. I think he’s done a really good job of listening. He’s been such a better player when he’s been an assist-first guy, getting everyone involved and then letting his points come. I thought he drove the ball well. He got to the free throw line well. His teammates are loving playing with him right now because he’s finding everybody. He’s not just finding one or two guys, that’s a fun point guard to play with. He’s learning what he’s got to do defensively.”
UCLA sophomore Jaylen Hands
On increased assist totals and throwing lobs to Moses Brown …
“It’s really fun. I think I’m really finding out what I do well, so [I’m] just coming out and capitalizing on that every game. Just getting downhill and finding guys.”
On if tonight’s performance is an example for how the team can play moving forward …
“Yeah, I believe so. I think, today, we did a really good job of not letting up after half. I think we played well for long periods of time. I think we only hit five threes [in 21 attempts], so if we can get that going, we can be even better.”
On if there was a new defensive game plan implemented for tonight’s game …
“I just think we were listening more. The coaches go to work every night and they come and give us the scouting report, so just being able to listen and focus [was beneficial].”
UCLA freshman Moses Brown
On catching lobs from Jaylen Hands …
“It’s really hard. I try to work hard on defense so I can get rewarded on offense. I’m just trying to put myself in the right positions. Coach is telling me to stay on the box, so every time he drives, he can just throw it up and I’ll be right there to catch it.”
On learning from struggles against Michigan State and North Carolina …
“I definitely didn’t like how that felt. I just learned that I have to come out with more intensity. I learned that this is the next level. It’s not high school anymore, so I can’t play around with these teams.”
On playing against a big man closer to his size:
“It was definitely exciting. I think I had more fun playing against [Mattias Markusson] than anyone smaller.”
UCLA sophomore Chris Smith
On keys to team’s consistency …
“I think the consistency came from us playing together. When we are out there playing together, talking to each other, moving the ball, that’s when everything good was happening. I think putting emphasis on the team aspect is when we played well.”
On defensive game plan against James Batemon …
“Coach [Alford] told us to just pressure him 24/7. Whoever was on him, make sure that you don’t let him get the ball back if you can. If you’re switching off on him, make sure to pressure him; don’t make him feel good. We were just trying to get him out of his comfort zone that whole game. That’s what we did. Everybody who guarded him did a great job.”
LMU Head Coach Mike Dunlap
opening remarks
"Tonight's contest was a cocktail mixture. Hands did a really great job. He was very effective and controlled the tempo. He really got them out in transition. Offensively, we really broke ranks. We got impulsive. We didn't go inside-out. We were settling for shots on the outside when we should have been going inside."
on moving on after the team’s first loss
"We will do what all coaches do and look at film. We've got a quick turnaround because we play Fullerton on Wednesday. We just have to be more patient. We will focus on some of the bullet points and emphasize on what we call ‘building walls’. We really got nervous about the three, but that is not what got us, they (UCLA) shot 24%. It was the penetration that really got us."
LMU senior forward Petr Herman
on the team’s performance
"We really started off good, but we tried to shoot too much from the outside. We should have gotten the ball more to Mattias (Markusson). We just didn't go inside enough and that got us in trouble. They (UCLA) really got out in transition."
on moving forward
"We will look at film like we always do. We will look at what we did bad and what we did well. We have Fullerton on Wednesday, so it's a quick turn around."