Postgame Quotes - UCLA vs. Stanislaus State
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 87, Stanislaus State 57
October 30, 2019
Audio file: https://soundcloud.com/ucla-athletics
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening remarks
“[Stanislaus State] spread us out. It was great practice for us to move our feet around the 3-point line and their back cutting. But as time went on, I thought our athleticism, our defense picked up. It was the difference in the game because we obviously didn’t shoot the ball very well. We were 5-for-22 from three, but I thought our passing was great for the most part tonight. We had 19 assists and if we’d shot the ball better, we would’ve been in the 20s. If you average 19, it gets you in the top five in the country in Division I. Nine steals. We had 44 deflections, which for us is a personal thing that we do. It’s a UCLA stat now. Was really, really happy with Chris Smith tonight. He had nine rebounds and seven deflections. Trying to work hard to give Chris an identity as a player. He struggled to find what his identity is as a player and I told him if I had his size and athleticism, my identity would be deflections, defense, blocked shots, rebounds. Scoring will come in time. He can do that. I think he’s trying to embrace that. He’s really trying to embrace what I’m asking him to become in his identity as a player. When guys start doing that, other guys follow. As we’re trying to build our culture, that’s really, really important.”
on how team responded to adversity
“I think what helps is when you play a team that comes out and take care of the ball. They did a great job with their fast break. They used their speed, they used their lack of size. And anything that they had that would have given them some advantage was their quickness and their speed. I like that because they forced us to play. In games like this, if you don’t have to play and you don’t have to execute on offense, if you don’t have to guard the other team, they just come down and give you the ball, you don’t really get anything out of it. The more they passed and cut, the more I was happy because it was putting pressure on our defense. It became a tremendous practice at that point, but for us to have to deal with their passing and cutting, their spacing. I was happy that they helped us. And then I don’t look at the final score. I thought the things that they were doing as far as trying to push the ball, we obviously got to do a better job coaching transition defense… We were trying to pick them up full court, so part of the problem is our guards were trying to come up into the press [and] big guys were struggling to get back. But I give them credit for that.”
on Tyger Campbell
“First of all, I think it’s great that he’s back on the floor. I went through it. Obviously, he’s a lot better player than I ever was, but a knee injury is tough mentally, not just physically. The physical rehab’s way harder than people know, having gone through it myself, but the mental part is a big hurdle for him and Shareef (O’Neal). Obviously, Shareef’s a lot more serious from the fact that it was his heart, but it’s great to see those guys back on the floor. I think Tyger is a guy that, certain guys play better in practice. I got a feeling he’s one of those guys that’s better in games, which is a good thing.”
on Cody Riley’s role in second half
“Well, we made a concerted effort to get him some touches deep in the post. I thought the game—there was a lot of fouls and he was taking a lot of contact. But he’s got to really work on getting on balance. He and Jalen (Hill) are second year and you can tell that they didn’t get a lot of touches in their last year here. They didn’t have a lot of [opportunities] where they had to take their time, read the defense, so they both tend to get in a hurry. I thought he did a great job once we got him the ball and got him some space to operate. I’m a big believer in player development. My career, I’m not used to getting polished guys. I’m used to taking guys like that and turning them into scorers as time goes on, because both those guys work really hard. Just got to get them to take their time.”
UCLA redshirt freshman guard Tyger Campbell
on being involved early in the game
"My teammates really did it all. They just got open, and I was really just hitting the open person and not really worrying about what I needed to do or anything like that, or assist or anything. It was really just my team."
on being aggressive from outside
"It was just [me] taking the open shot. They gave me a lot of open looks today, and hopefully the next game I can hit more."
on being back in a game after sitting out last year
"It felt great. Obviously being sidelined last season due to my injury I've been itching to get back out there. Obviously tonight I just felt great out there. It was just a great night for me; exciting."
UCLA junior guard Chris Smith
on rebounding and deflections
"It was all just hustle for me and using my length. He (Coach Cronin) always says that effort is something you can control, the only thing that you can control. I made sure I controlled my effort and gave it my all every time the ball was in the air."
on the team's depth
"Coach says our biggest weapon is depth. With the depth that we have, anybody that starts, you come off the bench, there's no lag. Everybody who subs in is just as good or even better than the starters. We just make sure we put it all on the floor when we're out there because whenever you sub in there's no drop in anything."
UCLA redshirt senior forward Alex Olesinski
on playing with new coach and players
"It was good; we had a little bit of jitters at first, but I think we got better as we got through the game. We talked about defensively we've got some things to work on, but I think overall we talked well, we moved the ball on offense, which was big - no one was standing and dribbling the whole time, so that was good. We have a lot to work with and we have a lot of room for improvement, but I think we can do it."
Stanislaus State Head Coach Paul Trevor
opening remarks
“It was a great experience. It was an honor to play at this great facility. I want to thank UCLA and I’m very grateful for the opportunity. Tonight it was competition on a high level. It was a very good experience for our team. We just couldn’t compete physically on the glass. Their length really bothered us. I’d like us to have better execution in the half-court. Overall, I was very pleased. Our post play was solid. Just like I said, I was pleased with our play.”
on where team goes from this experience
“Box out drills. We have to go home and prepare. We have UOP on Tuesday. After that we have to gear up for our Division II schedule.”