Postgame Quotes - UCLA vs. Notre Dame
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 65, Notre Dame 62
December 8, 2018
Steve Alford, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening remarks
“Well that’s why we wanted the rivalry back – games like that. Learning lessons in a win can really help us moving forward. We came out of Vegas and had one of those lessons coming out of a loss. I thought we were terrific in the first half. Second half, I thought our inability to make shots affected us a little bit. Both teams played really, really hard, but neither team made a lot of shots. I give our guys a lot of credit - for a young and inexperienced group to have a big lead to start the second half, lose it, be down five inside three minutes, and then find a way to win. That’s growth, and that’s what we want to see. I thought for the most part offensively we got some good looks but we missed a lot of things in the paint, at the rim, and we missed a lot of open jumpshots. Really proud of how the guys clawed and found a way to win.”
on Kris Wilkes’s game-winning shot
“It’s a huge shot. Players like that live for that. It wasn’t a great shooting night for him. I thought Prince Ali was really good in the last 10 seconds. We got a stop, and Prince showed a lot of poise getting the ball to the frontcourt and doing a good job of making sure we got a good look. Obviously, Kris got a good look and a great credit to him for making a huge shot. What set up that shot was we got huge stops inside a minute. I think in the first half we had 15 consecutive trips with a stop to end the half, which is incredible. That’s growth defensively. Then to end the game they didn’t score in the last minute. We did a very good job in that last three minutes of defending and getting stops and that’s good to see.”
on Jaylen Hands
“I told him the same thing today as I did last year [on his attempted between-the-legs alley-oop pass]: ‘if you’re gonna do that, it better end up on Sportscenter like it did last year because it was successful.’ That’s why I don’t like the play – you make the simple play and that’s how we grow. But I don’t like taking personalities away from players. I’ve never been one to do that. But I still have to teach. The right play there was just to throw a lob. It cost him an assist and us two points. I thought Jaylen overall did a lot of good things. This was a very good opponent, a well-coached opponent. For us to get this win, a lot of that is a credit to Jaylen. That’s his job – to run the show offensively and defensively. He had to log a lot of minutes. I thought he did some really good things. A double-double in a game like this is special. He made big plays when we had to have them, and that’s a credit to him.”
on Jaylen Hands’s 11 assists
“That’s huge for us. He’s averaging 10.5 assists in the last four games. Now the growth has gotta continue. It got a little sticky tonight, especially when they went in zone. Give them credit, when they went zone about the fourth or fifth time in the game, we weren’t making any shots. All of a sudden, when you’re not making anything, and somebody’s in a 2-3 zone, it can really mess with you. I thought it really messed with us over a 6-7 minute stretch in the second half. A really good credit to our guys for figuring it out and making some big baskets. Prince Ali has not shot the free throw well to start the season, he’s been working very hard on it. He starts this game by not making free throws then he steps up and makes huge free throws. That’s a credit to him and that’s what you want your upperclassmen to be able to do. We found a way to do it. Our assists have got to continue to climb – we had 17 tonight so that’s better. But Jaylen has done a really good job of facilitating.
UCLA sophomore Kris Wilkes
on game-winning three-pointer
“It was a great shot. I told the guys before I shot it—or at least Shareef [O’Neal]. I told him I was going to hit the next shot and I hit it. I took my time. It was just a regular shot and I’m glad I hit it.”
on dealing with calf cramps
“Yeah, I have to learn to start getting hydrated more. I think they offered me some stuff earlier to help me off the court. I don’t remember, but I have to take better precautions in hydration. That will help me out.”
on home-court advantage when Pauley Pavilion gets loud
“Oh man, it’s great. I think it was the shirts that really it set off. Everybody wanted to get those shirts. It was just terrific. It’s always great to have a home crowd with you.”
on if team is starting to click at this point in the season
“Most definitely. From what I saw in the first half and some of the second half when I was there, I think we were rolling well. I don’t think our offense was as good as it usually is, but I think, [defensively], we made huge steps. We have to continue to grow.”
UCLA sophomore Jaylen Hands
on reaction to Kris Wilkes’ game-winner
“It was amazing. It was like slow, happened all slow. I think the best part was I went to celebrate with him, and he was on the ground like, ‘No, get off me! My leg!’ That was probably the best part.”
on playmaking ability and lack of success on between-the-legs pass
“I felt we needed some scoring plays. I thought we needed someone to make plays, so I was just trying to get downhill, get my shot off, or [give] someone else a shot. The pass didn’t work out, so it’s cool.”
on if increased assist totals are due to more big men to find in the post
“You know, our bigs do a great job. Cody [Riley] does a great job finishing, ‘Mo’ [Moses Brown], ‘J-Hill’ [Jalen Hill], all of them. We have really good shooters. It’s really all my teammates making shots and making me look good.”
on facing Notre Dame’s zone defense
“I think it’s something we definitely need to work on. I think, when they went zone, it affected us a lot. I think it affected me not being able to get down in the paint and make plays. It’s something we can always go back in film and look at. I think Coach [Alford] said at the end it’s always better to look over film in a win, rather than a loss. It happens.”
UCLA redshirt freshman Cody Riley
on learning from pulling out a win despite giving up a lead in the second
“At the end of the day, it’s just good to have games like that, come out with the win and get the experience. [Assistant] Coach [Murry] Bartow [and I] are big on film, so we can go back, watch film, and see what we can do better.”
on holding Notre Dame scoreless for eight straight minutes in first half and overall defensive performance
“That’s something that we put a lot of emphasis on in practice—defensive stops. For us to go out there and guard like that, for that time and spurt, is really good for us. That’s an improvement for us.”
Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Brey
opening statement
“We have a frustrated room, an emotional room. It’s a tough way to finish, but we took some steps forward. I’m really proud of our team. We took some big punches on the road. I’m glad we gave ourselves a chance to win. We have to give credit to UCLA. They made so many big plays at key times, but I think we got better this week even though we don’t have a win to show for it.”
on Dana Point native Rex Pflueger
“Our senior Rex Pflueger had a lot of people who came to see him tonight. He really stepped up. Usually when you bring a guy at home, he is usually a mess. He was a warrior the whole night. He is very disappointed because he wanted his team to get a win tonight. Rex Pflueger is a big-time winner. His friends and family members came out, and he played his backside off.”
on John Mooney’s rebounding
“John keeps getting better and better. He is becoming a key player for us; he has a big body, and he scores for us.”
on the close loss
“It stings like heck, but we got better this week. We don’t have anything to show for it, but we got better. We just have to keep preparing. We are going to get older, and we are going to get more experienced, but I’m very proud of our team to come out here and have a chance to win.”
Notre Dame junior forward John Mooney
on his overall performance
“They really got on us in the first half. We made some adjustments at halftime, and we felt good being up by five at the three-minute mark. But we fought. We have to give them credit; they just outplayed us in the last three minutes. It really stings, especially after losing a close game this week to Oklahoma.”
on what they learned from these tough losses
“Coach said that we’re getting better; we just have to get a win. We were hoping to get a win this week, but we know we’re getting better. After a while, moral victories don’t mean much. But we’ve got Purdue coming, so we’ve got to get ready for that.”
UCLA 65, Notre Dame 62
December 8, 2018
Steve Alford, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening remarks
“Well that’s why we wanted the rivalry back – games like that. Learning lessons in a win can really help us moving forward. We came out of Vegas and had one of those lessons coming out of a loss. I thought we were terrific in the first half. Second half, I thought our inability to make shots affected us a little bit. Both teams played really, really hard, but neither team made a lot of shots. I give our guys a lot of credit - for a young and inexperienced group to have a big lead to start the second half, lose it, be down five inside three minutes, and then find a way to win. That’s growth, and that’s what we want to see. I thought for the most part offensively we got some good looks but we missed a lot of things in the paint, at the rim, and we missed a lot of open jumpshots. Really proud of how the guys clawed and found a way to win.”
on Kris Wilkes’s game-winning shot
“It’s a huge shot. Players like that live for that. It wasn’t a great shooting night for him. I thought Prince Ali was really good in the last 10 seconds. We got a stop, and Prince showed a lot of poise getting the ball to the frontcourt and doing a good job of making sure we got a good look. Obviously, Kris got a good look and a great credit to him for making a huge shot. What set up that shot was we got huge stops inside a minute. I think in the first half we had 15 consecutive trips with a stop to end the half, which is incredible. That’s growth defensively. Then to end the game they didn’t score in the last minute. We did a very good job in that last three minutes of defending and getting stops and that’s good to see.”
on Jaylen Hands
“I told him the same thing today as I did last year [on his attempted between-the-legs alley-oop pass]: ‘if you’re gonna do that, it better end up on Sportscenter like it did last year because it was successful.’ That’s why I don’t like the play – you make the simple play and that’s how we grow. But I don’t like taking personalities away from players. I’ve never been one to do that. But I still have to teach. The right play there was just to throw a lob. It cost him an assist and us two points. I thought Jaylen overall did a lot of good things. This was a very good opponent, a well-coached opponent. For us to get this win, a lot of that is a credit to Jaylen. That’s his job – to run the show offensively and defensively. He had to log a lot of minutes. I thought he did some really good things. A double-double in a game like this is special. He made big plays when we had to have them, and that’s a credit to him.”
on Jaylen Hands’s 11 assists
“That’s huge for us. He’s averaging 10.5 assists in the last four games. Now the growth has gotta continue. It got a little sticky tonight, especially when they went in zone. Give them credit, when they went zone about the fourth or fifth time in the game, we weren’t making any shots. All of a sudden, when you’re not making anything, and somebody’s in a 2-3 zone, it can really mess with you. I thought it really messed with us over a 6-7 minute stretch in the second half. A really good credit to our guys for figuring it out and making some big baskets. Prince Ali has not shot the free throw well to start the season, he’s been working very hard on it. He starts this game by not making free throws then he steps up and makes huge free throws. That’s a credit to him and that’s what you want your upperclassmen to be able to do. We found a way to do it. Our assists have got to continue to climb – we had 17 tonight so that’s better. But Jaylen has done a really good job of facilitating.
UCLA sophomore Kris Wilkes
on game-winning three-pointer
“It was a great shot. I told the guys before I shot it—or at least Shareef [O’Neal]. I told him I was going to hit the next shot and I hit it. I took my time. It was just a regular shot and I’m glad I hit it.”
on dealing with calf cramps
“Yeah, I have to learn to start getting hydrated more. I think they offered me some stuff earlier to help me off the court. I don’t remember, but I have to take better precautions in hydration. That will help me out.”
on home-court advantage when Pauley Pavilion gets loud
“Oh man, it’s great. I think it was the shirts that really it set off. Everybody wanted to get those shirts. It was just terrific. It’s always great to have a home crowd with you.”
on if team is starting to click at this point in the season
“Most definitely. From what I saw in the first half and some of the second half when I was there, I think we were rolling well. I don’t think our offense was as good as it usually is, but I think, [defensively], we made huge steps. We have to continue to grow.”
UCLA sophomore Jaylen Hands
on reaction to Kris Wilkes’ game-winner
“It was amazing. It was like slow, happened all slow. I think the best part was I went to celebrate with him, and he was on the ground like, ‘No, get off me! My leg!’ That was probably the best part.”
on playmaking ability and lack of success on between-the-legs pass
“I felt we needed some scoring plays. I thought we needed someone to make plays, so I was just trying to get downhill, get my shot off, or [give] someone else a shot. The pass didn’t work out, so it’s cool.”
on if increased assist totals are due to more big men to find in the post
“You know, our bigs do a great job. Cody [Riley] does a great job finishing, ‘Mo’ [Moses Brown], ‘J-Hill’ [Jalen Hill], all of them. We have really good shooters. It’s really all my teammates making shots and making me look good.”
on facing Notre Dame’s zone defense
“I think it’s something we definitely need to work on. I think, when they went zone, it affected us a lot. I think it affected me not being able to get down in the paint and make plays. It’s something we can always go back in film and look at. I think Coach [Alford] said at the end it’s always better to look over film in a win, rather than a loss. It happens.”
UCLA redshirt freshman Cody Riley
on learning from pulling out a win despite giving up a lead in the second
“At the end of the day, it’s just good to have games like that, come out with the win and get the experience. [Assistant] Coach [Murry] Bartow [and I] are big on film, so we can go back, watch film, and see what we can do better.”
on holding Notre Dame scoreless for eight straight minutes in first half and overall defensive performance
“That’s something that we put a lot of emphasis on in practice—defensive stops. For us to go out there and guard like that, for that time and spurt, is really good for us. That’s an improvement for us.”
Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Brey
opening statement
“We have a frustrated room, an emotional room. It’s a tough way to finish, but we took some steps forward. I’m really proud of our team. We took some big punches on the road. I’m glad we gave ourselves a chance to win. We have to give credit to UCLA. They made so many big plays at key times, but I think we got better this week even though we don’t have a win to show for it.”
on Dana Point native Rex Pflueger
“Our senior Rex Pflueger had a lot of people who came to see him tonight. He really stepped up. Usually when you bring a guy at home, he is usually a mess. He was a warrior the whole night. He is very disappointed because he wanted his team to get a win tonight. Rex Pflueger is a big-time winner. His friends and family members came out, and he played his backside off.”
on John Mooney’s rebounding
“John keeps getting better and better. He is becoming a key player for us; he has a big body, and he scores for us.”
on the close loss
“It stings like heck, but we got better this week. We don’t have anything to show for it, but we got better. We just have to keep preparing. We are going to get older, and we are going to get more experienced, but I’m very proud of our team to come out here and have a chance to win.”
Notre Dame junior forward John Mooney
on his overall performance
“They really got on us in the first half. We made some adjustments at halftime, and we felt good being up by five at the three-minute mark. But we fought. We have to give them credit; they just outplayed us in the last three minutes. It really stings, especially after losing a close game this week to Oklahoma.”
on what they learned from these tough losses
“Coach said that we’re getting better; we just have to get a win. We were hoping to get a win this week, but we know we’re getting better. After a while, moral victories don’t mean much. But we’ve got Purdue coming, so we’ve got to get ready for that.”