University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Postgame Quotes - UCLA vs. Colorado
POSTGAME QUOTES
Colorado 84, UCLA 73
February 6, 2019
Murry Bartow, UCLA interim head coach
opening remarks
โFrustrating loss. Colorado played really well. [Shane] Gatling was incredible. Obviously, our zone had some holes in it and Gatling found them. I thought Moses Brown was a star for us tonight. He had 17 [points] and eight [rebounds], four blocks and four steals. He was great. We cut our turnovers to 12, which is encouraging. We got off to a bad start, so we spotted them a 12-point lead right out of the blocks. Thought we made a nice run to end the half. Second half, we looked fine for a while, but then they kind of stretched it out. Like I said, I thought Moses was outstanding. We did some good things in the game, but obviously we didnโt do enough good things.โ
on if he considered coming out of zone defense as Colorado repeatedly made 3-pointers
โI considered it, but Iโm going to say thisโno one knows this team better than I do, so I know what weโre good at, I know what weโre bad at. I know what defense to play because I know these guys, I know our team. I just know where weโre good and I know where our weaknesses are and weโre a lot better in either a 2-3 or a 3-2 right now than we are in man now. If we try to invest our time in man, then certainly Iโll give that some thought. Defensively, Iโll do whatever we need to do to try to win the game, but based on tape, based on numbers, based on stats, based on reality, weโre better inโฆ what we call the 3-2, which we played in some tonight. But yeah, I did give it some thought. I did give it some thought because they got into a pretty good rhythm and, like I said, Gatling was really good. We just didnโt do enough good things tonight to win.โ
on decision to start Chris Smith over Kris Wilkes in second half
โKris [Wilkes] was just not feeling well. That was all that was. He was back in the locker room, in the restroom. Just wasnโt feeling well. We looked up and he wasnโt out there with about a minute to go on the clock. We put Chris Smith in the game.โ
on not having Moses Brownโs defensive presence on the court late
โProbably a mistake. Probably a mistake. Moses just gives us a dimension that we donโt have when heโs not in the game. If weโre in, whether itโs the 3-2 or really more of the 2, he just gives us a whole different look. Probably a mistake having him outโฆ as long as we did. I thought, again, 17 points, eight rebounds, four blocks, four steals. He did a lot of great things for us tonight.โ
on what part of loss makes him most frustrated
โIโm just, like anyone in the room, Iโm a competitor. And when youโve got a game at home, you need to figure out a way to line up and win it. In the end, we just didnโt get it done. Thatโs what my frustration is. I love these guys, I love coaching these guys. Theyโre great guys. Weโre really young. Weโre an incredibly young team. A lot of times when things start going badly for us, a two-point deficit turns to four and a four-point deficit turns to six and then to eight and then to 10 and before you even blink youโre down eight or 10. Just a frustrating loss. I thought this was a game if we played great, we think we can beat anybodyโespecially when weโre here at Pauley. And Iโll say this about Coloradoโand I tried to tell the team this repeatedlyโwe played Colorado twice last year, we were 0-2. They came in here and beat us a year ago. They beat us there a year ago. And theyโre coming off an 18-point win over Oregon. We knew what we were getting into. We knew it was going to be a really hard game. They just played better than we did.โ
on if Kris Wilkes just felt off tonight
โIโm not sure. I donโt think so. He just wasnโt feeling well.โ
UCLA sophomore Jaylen Hands
on where the team is at heading into the second half of the Pac-12 regular season
โWeโre just going to keep pushing the ball forward, getting better day by day. Weโll get better at what we need to get better at. Weโre not where we want to be, but weโre just going to keep working.โ
on what Colorado did to get open looks from the perimeter
โThey swung [the ball] well. Some of them were tough shots. [Shane] Gatling was seven-for-nine. That was part of it.โ
on Chris Smithโs increased production tonight
โWeโre 11 or 12 guys deep, so we want everyone to play well. To see your friend, your teammate do well out here after a rough slide is always good. So, that felt really good for me. I can say that.โ
UCLA freshman Moses Brown
on using the jump hook in his offensive game
โIโm starting to get to it more. Coach [Bartow] told me before the game that [Colorado was] going to trap me. Knowing that, I just saw the direction they were coming to trap me from and thatโs when I decided I was going to hook.โ
on disappointment of losing on home floor to open the second half of Pac-12 play
โIโm just trusting the process. Iโm listening to everything Coach [Bartow] says. I have 100 percent faith in him and what he tells me and what my teammates do. We work as hard as we can every day in practice, so I have faith that we will do well this season. A loss like this shouldnโt really keep us down or have us discouraged in any type of way. We just have to go out there swinging next time.โ
Colorado head coach Tad Boyle
on beating UCLA on its home court
โIt feels fantastic. Thatโs a talented group of guys over there. They were explosive offensively. Iโve never seen a team average 70 points and 17 turnovers. We had 22 assists and we really shot the ball well. Itโs really time for our guys to have the success in shooting.โ
on DโShawn Schwartzโs shooting
โI knew it was going to really happen as long as he just took some good shots.โ
on holding their overall composure
โThe last media timeout of the first half we just couldnโt get that many stops. At the last media timeout we got five straight shots.โ
on Shane Gatlingโs shooting
โHe has really figured out how to affect the game when youโre not shooting the ball well. He has figured out there is more than shooting to affect the game.โ
on the teamโs mental toughness
โWe kind of wilted at halftime when we had the lead by one. I like how our toughness has been during the last couple of games. The guys are really dialed in right now.โ
on what he liked about the game
โWhat I liked tonight was the ball didnโt stick. We really had good ball movement. Itโs truly about getting better every day. We canโt do that tonight because we are going to eat, but tomorrow when we wake up, we have to get better and be prepared to beat SC. This is how our mindset has to be.โ
Colorado sophomore DโShawn Schwartz
on his performance tonight
โIโm at the point where Iโm just going to have to shoot it. Iโve been in the gym, so I have nothing to lose.โ
on what made the difference in the game
โWe did a great job in getting stops in the first half. I think getting stops gets them down and we got on them early.โ
on what Coach Boyle said at halftime
โWeโre going to be OK. We have nothing to worry about. Just keep playing and keep guarding.โ