Postgame Quotes - UCLA vs. Oregon
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 90, Oregon 83
February 23, 2019
Murry Bartow, UCLA interim head coach
opening remarks
“Kind of a tale of two halves. Oregon obviously really, really outplayed us in the first half and we just didn’t have an answer. They shot it well, we didn’t defend great. They came in here and just popped us. And then, second half, we played about as well as we can play. Obviously, Jaylen Hands was spectacular. Kris Wilkes, I thought, was really, really good. Jules Bernard is Jules Bernard. I don’t love any player more on this team than I love Jules because he’s just an incredible competitor. So we stuck with the five that we were going with and I want to give incredible props to Jalen Hill. Jalen Hill, in the last game, had a minute or two and was obviously very frustrated. Tonight, we don’t have any chance to win this game without the production he gave us. Second half, we went to more of a 3-2 zone as opposed to the 2-3 and when Moses [Brown] is out, the 3-2 gives us a better look. I thought Jalen Hill was incredible. It was a great win. The crowd was incredible and really got behind the team and the energy. Again, we’ve just got to figure out how can we package that second half and if we can figure out how to tie a ribbon around the second half as we move forward, we’re a pretty good basketball team. Oregon certainly had our attention coming in. Dana Altman’s a great coach and they really put it on us in the first half. Fortunately, we just made a lot of plays in the second half. Played about as well as we can. Then I thought the energy in the building kind of took over and really helped our guys.”
on if he has ever seen a player score 27 points in a half of a college game
“I don’t know, I don’t know. Wasn’t any magical sets we were running. He just made some incredible shots with some incredible plays. He’s a very gifted guy. He’s got incredible speed. He’s got incredible athleticism. He’s got NBA speed and he can make shots and he can get to the rim. I’m on him a lot defensively; I want him to be better at that end. But offensively, I think he’s been really good for the most part the whole Pac-12 season. And then tonight, he made some incredible shots and incredible plays.”
on where that second half performance ranks among teams he has coached
“I can’t remember. I told the guys it’s about as much fun as I’ve had in a half in a long, long, long time. Again, the first half we weren’t very good. Then the second half, the guys turned it up, played incredible. It’s really twofold for us. Offensively, we’ve got to make plays. I thought in the first half, we got to the rim a lot, we got to the paint a lot. We just didn’t finish, we didn’t make plays. Second half, we made those plays and then we made a lot of 3s. And then defensively, we were much, much better in the second half. I thought J. Hill’s energy really sparked us a lot. And I thought Alex [Olesinski] – Alex is just a really solid player, a veteran player, knows how to be in the right spot, make the right play at the right time. I thought a lot of that second half, it was Alex and Jalen on the back line of that 3-2 [zone]. Pretty effective.”
on his energy during 17-0 run
“I do have a lot of energy and I think the guys – I’m pretty animated in practice – when they’re animated and feeling good, I like to show them that I’m feeling good, too, and I’m animated. I think, at times hopefully, it helps them when they see my enthusiasm and my energy and my passion. Our guys just made incredible plays in the second half, certainly led by Jaylen.”
on UCLA’s excitement level after the 90-83 win
“They were pretty excited, a pretty animated locker room. Pretty animated locker room. It was a great celebration. I thought we celebrated a lot after our first Pac-12 win, when we beat Stanford in here. Certainly this rivals that. The guys, I thought they came in the other night and were not very excited about beating a really good Oregon State team. We were pretty somber and we talked a little bit about it. But tonight, they were really ecstatic, really excited. It was a great celebration in the locker room.”
UCLA sophomore Jaylen Hands
on his hot scoring streak in the team’s second half
“It felt good. I have to give the credit to my teammates for it. They were setting good screens, the bigs got the ball out after rebounds, and Jules [Bernard] and Kris [Wilkes] stepped up when I got off the ball. It was really a product of my teammates helping me get there.”
on if he has ever been that dialed during a stretch like that before
“I don’t think so, no. That was a little different. It was fun though.”
on the team’s mindset at halftime after not scoring in the first half
“I think our team just really got together and really picked each other up. Jules [Bernard] was talking to us, Kris [Wilkes] was talking, J. Hill, even Prince [Ali], who was out. I think we all lifted each other up and we just played better. [We just wanted] to come out there and put our best foot forward. Jules really energized us at the top [of the zone]. Kris followed and then it just turned into something special.”
UCLA sophomore Kris Wilkes
on the team’s mindset after going down 19 points early in the second half
“When we went up [to Oregon], we were down by a lot and the game wasn’t over. We knew to keep fighting … We just started talking to each other and came out in the second half and we were fired up. [Jaylen] Hands got hot, he got everybody hyped. I think our defense stepped up too with that three [zone]. We switched it and that three zone really worked out, and we were able to scramble a lot and just keep them from hitting shots.”
on if the comeback victory versus Oregon earlier this season helped fuel the comeback tonight
“Most definitely. That’s really what we said. We said that we were down 17 or something like that at halftime and we had a whole 20 minutes left. I know when we were up [at Oregon], we were down about 17 with about four or five minutes left, so we knew for sure we were going to play hard and come back. I’m just glad we did that.”
on pumping up the crowd on defense during 17-0 run
“You know what, it was fun. You always see on TV everybody pumping up the crowd, everybody gets hyped. It felt good to be that guy.”
on if team feels any momentum after back-to-back wins
“Most definitely. I think these last two games – that’s when you get it, at home with the crowd supporting us too. I think we started talking a little bit more than we’ve ever talked. We talked a lot at halftime. When we talk to each other, find out our mistakes, and fix them, that’s really good. We’ll keep moving forward. Hopefully, we’ll have a hard week and practice really well this upcoming week and get ready for USC, go beat them, and move on to the road – get those last two.”
UCLA freshman Jules Bernard
on setting the tone on defense in the second half at the top of UCLA’s 3-2 zone
“That first half, I didn’t have as much energy on defense, so when I came back in the second half, I just wanted to bring that energy. I wanted to talk to the other team, get them riled up. I try to do that. I like to talk, talk to the other players. Just bringing that energy and that fight is something that we needed and when we started getting that going, we picked up momentum.”
on the overall energy when Jaylen Hands was on scoring streak in second half
“It was amazing. The crowd was unbelievable tonight. Every single shot we made, every single play we made—the crowd, it was the loudest I’ve experienced so far. I really thank the fans for coming out tonight, supporting us, and we had a great win.”
on how impressive shooting numbers tonight show potential for how team can perform going forward
“We have great players who have unbelievable talent and we have the confidence to make plays. If you combine that with the energy and the crowd, our bench was unbelievable. Even our coach, Coach Bartow, was going a little crazy on the sidelines. We just had a lot of energy and when you have energy with such great kinds of players, you’re going to do some special things.”
Oregon head coach Dana Altman
opening remarks
“Well, a lot of things went wrong. You give up 16 second-chance points and six turnovers that led to 12 points, and we had no turnovers in the first half. They really hurt us in transition. Hands really got them going. When he starts shooting like that and getting points, it’s hard to win. We scored 83 points and shot 50 percent and 36 percent from the three [point line], that should be enough. Like I said, points off turnovers, second-chance points and they got hot from the three, you can’t win games like that.”
on what went wrong for Oregon
“Points off turnovers and second-chance points flipped on us during the second half. We scored 83 points. That should be enough, but you can’t give up 62 points in the second half. You just can’t do that and expect to win.”
Oregon redshirt senior Paul White
opening remarks
“That was really a tough one. We gave them some easy looks. It was a snowball effect, [Jaylen] Hands really got going. [Jalen] Hill really got going and Jules [Bernard] got penetration.”
comparing this game against UCLA to the one at Oregon back on Jan. 10
“I wasn’t thinking about the last game [against UCLA]. Hands was on fire, that really opened up everything for the rest of the team. The first half, we really felt good about ourselves. We came in here and wanted to ride a wave, but give credit where credit is due. They just found something that was working for them tonight. They were hitting on all cylinders. It seemed like he [Hands] couldn’t miss, especially on that shot that was from almost half court. I’m not sure what he shot from the field, but this is a tough loss. This will test our character.”
UCLA 90, Oregon 83
February 23, 2019
Murry Bartow, UCLA interim head coach
opening remarks
“Kind of a tale of two halves. Oregon obviously really, really outplayed us in the first half and we just didn’t have an answer. They shot it well, we didn’t defend great. They came in here and just popped us. And then, second half, we played about as well as we can play. Obviously, Jaylen Hands was spectacular. Kris Wilkes, I thought, was really, really good. Jules Bernard is Jules Bernard. I don’t love any player more on this team than I love Jules because he’s just an incredible competitor. So we stuck with the five that we were going with and I want to give incredible props to Jalen Hill. Jalen Hill, in the last game, had a minute or two and was obviously very frustrated. Tonight, we don’t have any chance to win this game without the production he gave us. Second half, we went to more of a 3-2 zone as opposed to the 2-3 and when Moses [Brown] is out, the 3-2 gives us a better look. I thought Jalen Hill was incredible. It was a great win. The crowd was incredible and really got behind the team and the energy. Again, we’ve just got to figure out how can we package that second half and if we can figure out how to tie a ribbon around the second half as we move forward, we’re a pretty good basketball team. Oregon certainly had our attention coming in. Dana Altman’s a great coach and they really put it on us in the first half. Fortunately, we just made a lot of plays in the second half. Played about as well as we can. Then I thought the energy in the building kind of took over and really helped our guys.”
on if he has ever seen a player score 27 points in a half of a college game
“I don’t know, I don’t know. Wasn’t any magical sets we were running. He just made some incredible shots with some incredible plays. He’s a very gifted guy. He’s got incredible speed. He’s got incredible athleticism. He’s got NBA speed and he can make shots and he can get to the rim. I’m on him a lot defensively; I want him to be better at that end. But offensively, I think he’s been really good for the most part the whole Pac-12 season. And then tonight, he made some incredible shots and incredible plays.”
on where that second half performance ranks among teams he has coached
“I can’t remember. I told the guys it’s about as much fun as I’ve had in a half in a long, long, long time. Again, the first half we weren’t very good. Then the second half, the guys turned it up, played incredible. It’s really twofold for us. Offensively, we’ve got to make plays. I thought in the first half, we got to the rim a lot, we got to the paint a lot. We just didn’t finish, we didn’t make plays. Second half, we made those plays and then we made a lot of 3s. And then defensively, we were much, much better in the second half. I thought J. Hill’s energy really sparked us a lot. And I thought Alex [Olesinski] – Alex is just a really solid player, a veteran player, knows how to be in the right spot, make the right play at the right time. I thought a lot of that second half, it was Alex and Jalen on the back line of that 3-2 [zone]. Pretty effective.”
on his energy during 17-0 run
“I do have a lot of energy and I think the guys – I’m pretty animated in practice – when they’re animated and feeling good, I like to show them that I’m feeling good, too, and I’m animated. I think, at times hopefully, it helps them when they see my enthusiasm and my energy and my passion. Our guys just made incredible plays in the second half, certainly led by Jaylen.”
on UCLA’s excitement level after the 90-83 win
“They were pretty excited, a pretty animated locker room. Pretty animated locker room. It was a great celebration. I thought we celebrated a lot after our first Pac-12 win, when we beat Stanford in here. Certainly this rivals that. The guys, I thought they came in the other night and were not very excited about beating a really good Oregon State team. We were pretty somber and we talked a little bit about it. But tonight, they were really ecstatic, really excited. It was a great celebration in the locker room.”
UCLA sophomore Jaylen Hands
on his hot scoring streak in the team’s second half
“It felt good. I have to give the credit to my teammates for it. They were setting good screens, the bigs got the ball out after rebounds, and Jules [Bernard] and Kris [Wilkes] stepped up when I got off the ball. It was really a product of my teammates helping me get there.”
on if he has ever been that dialed during a stretch like that before
“I don’t think so, no. That was a little different. It was fun though.”
on the team’s mindset at halftime after not scoring in the first half
“I think our team just really got together and really picked each other up. Jules [Bernard] was talking to us, Kris [Wilkes] was talking, J. Hill, even Prince [Ali], who was out. I think we all lifted each other up and we just played better. [We just wanted] to come out there and put our best foot forward. Jules really energized us at the top [of the zone]. Kris followed and then it just turned into something special.”
UCLA sophomore Kris Wilkes
on the team’s mindset after going down 19 points early in the second half
“When we went up [to Oregon], we were down by a lot and the game wasn’t over. We knew to keep fighting … We just started talking to each other and came out in the second half and we were fired up. [Jaylen] Hands got hot, he got everybody hyped. I think our defense stepped up too with that three [zone]. We switched it and that three zone really worked out, and we were able to scramble a lot and just keep them from hitting shots.”
on if the comeback victory versus Oregon earlier this season helped fuel the comeback tonight
“Most definitely. That’s really what we said. We said that we were down 17 or something like that at halftime and we had a whole 20 minutes left. I know when we were up [at Oregon], we were down about 17 with about four or five minutes left, so we knew for sure we were going to play hard and come back. I’m just glad we did that.”
on pumping up the crowd on defense during 17-0 run
“You know what, it was fun. You always see on TV everybody pumping up the crowd, everybody gets hyped. It felt good to be that guy.”
on if team feels any momentum after back-to-back wins
“Most definitely. I think these last two games – that’s when you get it, at home with the crowd supporting us too. I think we started talking a little bit more than we’ve ever talked. We talked a lot at halftime. When we talk to each other, find out our mistakes, and fix them, that’s really good. We’ll keep moving forward. Hopefully, we’ll have a hard week and practice really well this upcoming week and get ready for USC, go beat them, and move on to the road – get those last two.”
UCLA freshman Jules Bernard
on setting the tone on defense in the second half at the top of UCLA’s 3-2 zone
“That first half, I didn’t have as much energy on defense, so when I came back in the second half, I just wanted to bring that energy. I wanted to talk to the other team, get them riled up. I try to do that. I like to talk, talk to the other players. Just bringing that energy and that fight is something that we needed and when we started getting that going, we picked up momentum.”
on the overall energy when Jaylen Hands was on scoring streak in second half
“It was amazing. The crowd was unbelievable tonight. Every single shot we made, every single play we made—the crowd, it was the loudest I’ve experienced so far. I really thank the fans for coming out tonight, supporting us, and we had a great win.”
on how impressive shooting numbers tonight show potential for how team can perform going forward
“We have great players who have unbelievable talent and we have the confidence to make plays. If you combine that with the energy and the crowd, our bench was unbelievable. Even our coach, Coach Bartow, was going a little crazy on the sidelines. We just had a lot of energy and when you have energy with such great kinds of players, you’re going to do some special things.”
Oregon head coach Dana Altman
opening remarks
“Well, a lot of things went wrong. You give up 16 second-chance points and six turnovers that led to 12 points, and we had no turnovers in the first half. They really hurt us in transition. Hands really got them going. When he starts shooting like that and getting points, it’s hard to win. We scored 83 points and shot 50 percent and 36 percent from the three [point line], that should be enough. Like I said, points off turnovers, second-chance points and they got hot from the three, you can’t win games like that.”
on what went wrong for Oregon
“Points off turnovers and second-chance points flipped on us during the second half. We scored 83 points. That should be enough, but you can’t give up 62 points in the second half. You just can’t do that and expect to win.”
Oregon redshirt senior Paul White
opening remarks
“That was really a tough one. We gave them some easy looks. It was a snowball effect, [Jaylen] Hands really got going. [Jalen] Hill really got going and Jules [Bernard] got penetration.”
comparing this game against UCLA to the one at Oregon back on Jan. 10
“I wasn’t thinking about the last game [against UCLA]. Hands was on fire, that really opened up everything for the rest of the team. The first half, we really felt good about ourselves. We came in here and wanted to ride a wave, but give credit where credit is due. They just found something that was working for them tonight. They were hitting on all cylinders. It seemed like he [Hands] couldn’t miss, especially on that shot that was from almost half court. I’m not sure what he shot from the field, but this is a tough loss. This will test our character.”