University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Postgame Quotes - UCLA at Oregon State
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 62, Oregon State 58
January 23, 2020
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Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Menโs Head Basketball Coach
on teamโs win
โOh, yeah, we executed down the stretch and thatโs what youโve got to do in close games. Youโve got to make free throws and youโve got to get the ball inbounds versus pressure. Weโve got to execute, defensively, which we did a pretty good job of other than letting [Tres] Tinkle get to his left hand way too many times. The rest of our defense was really elite tonight.โ
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on containing Tres Tinkle
โYou have to make him work. We tried to eliminate his layups. He does a great job cutting without the ball, and we didnโt give him any layups on back cuts, or slip cuts, to try to turn him into a guy that had to play out front with the ball. Heโs capable of it, but it wears him down. We also tried to make him defend.โ
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on Chris Smithโs performance
โYeah, I was calling his number. I was trying to get certain matchups, late game, trying to put the ball in certain guysโ hands. I thought he was fresh because of his foul trouble. He played only 17 minutes, so he was the fresh guy. He stepped up, got the ball to the paint and made sure he got to the foul line. They were being real aggressive and instead of taking fallaways or runners, he got in there and planted his feet and got in there and won it again for his team.โ
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on earning road win in Pac-12 play
โYeah, weโre just a one at a time [team], I think. Weโre trying to build a culture in my first year about what weโre going to stand for at UCLA basketball. Rome wasnโt built in a day. As frustrated as I get, I have to go home and tell myself these guys havenโt played for me before. This is all new to them, what weโre trying to do. So, just got to get back and every day wake up and try to get better. Thatโs all we worry about. We donโt talk about anything else other than each guy trying to improve and become a better player so we can become a better team.โ
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UCLA junior guard Chris Smith
on attacking the basket late in the second half
โYeah, at that point in the game, Coach Cronin told me, somebodyโs got to be able to drive to the cup [and] make the right play. At that moment, I was attacking, so the right play was to get fouled or get an open shot. Made sure I got fouled on all those drives.โ
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on being a team leader
โOne hundred percent. [Coach Cronin] Heโs been talking to me recently. I figured the ball was going to be in my hand at the time, and I was just trying to do whatever I could do to get a win for the guys.โ
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on dealing with foul trouble and if that was tough
โNo. My teammates were talking to me on defense. In the first half, I was a little lost at times, but my teammates were talking to me. I was in position and the better position youโre in, the less youโre going to foul.โ
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on making free throws down stretch
โYeah, youโve got to take advantage of all the buckets you could get. Thatโs the easiest shot weโre going to get. And in a crowd like this, on the road, youโve got to make as many of those as you can.โ
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on the job that he did defending against Tres Tinkle
โYeah, for sure. He was definitely one of the focal points tonight, both him and Ethan Thompson. So, we knew that we couldnโt let either of them beat us. Thatโs what we had to do coming into the game.โ
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on if this helps the teamโs mindset as UCLA faces Oregon on Sunday
โFor sure. Weโre going to use this momentum, roll into Eugene and try to keep the defensive effort up, because thatโs what got us the win tonight.โ
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UCLA 62, Oregon State 58
January 23, 2020
ย
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Menโs Head Basketball Coach
on teamโs win
โOh, yeah, we executed down the stretch and thatโs what youโve got to do in close games. Youโve got to make free throws and youโve got to get the ball inbounds versus pressure. Weโve got to execute, defensively, which we did a pretty good job of other than letting [Tres] Tinkle get to his left hand way too many times. The rest of our defense was really elite tonight.โ
ย
on containing Tres Tinkle
โYou have to make him work. We tried to eliminate his layups. He does a great job cutting without the ball, and we didnโt give him any layups on back cuts, or slip cuts, to try to turn him into a guy that had to play out front with the ball. Heโs capable of it, but it wears him down. We also tried to make him defend.โ
ย
on Chris Smithโs performance
โYeah, I was calling his number. I was trying to get certain matchups, late game, trying to put the ball in certain guysโ hands. I thought he was fresh because of his foul trouble. He played only 17 minutes, so he was the fresh guy. He stepped up, got the ball to the paint and made sure he got to the foul line. They were being real aggressive and instead of taking fallaways or runners, he got in there and planted his feet and got in there and won it again for his team.โ
ย
on earning road win in Pac-12 play
โYeah, weโre just a one at a time [team], I think. Weโre trying to build a culture in my first year about what weโre going to stand for at UCLA basketball. Rome wasnโt built in a day. As frustrated as I get, I have to go home and tell myself these guys havenโt played for me before. This is all new to them, what weโre trying to do. So, just got to get back and every day wake up and try to get better. Thatโs all we worry about. We donโt talk about anything else other than each guy trying to improve and become a better player so we can become a better team.โ
ย
UCLA junior guard Chris Smith
on attacking the basket late in the second half
โYeah, at that point in the game, Coach Cronin told me, somebodyโs got to be able to drive to the cup [and] make the right play. At that moment, I was attacking, so the right play was to get fouled or get an open shot. Made sure I got fouled on all those drives.โ
ย
on being a team leader
โOne hundred percent. [Coach Cronin] Heโs been talking to me recently. I figured the ball was going to be in my hand at the time, and I was just trying to do whatever I could do to get a win for the guys.โ
ย
on dealing with foul trouble and if that was tough
โNo. My teammates were talking to me on defense. In the first half, I was a little lost at times, but my teammates were talking to me. I was in position and the better position youโre in, the less youโre going to foul.โ
ย
on making free throws down stretch
โYeah, youโve got to take advantage of all the buckets you could get. Thatโs the easiest shot weโre going to get. And in a crowd like this, on the road, youโve got to make as many of those as you can.โ
ย
on the job that he did defending against Tres Tinkle
โYeah, for sure. He was definitely one of the focal points tonight, both him and Ethan Thompson. So, we knew that we couldnโt let either of them beat us. Thatโs what we had to do coming into the game.โ
ย
on if this helps the teamโs mindset as UCLA faces Oregon on Sunday
โFor sure. Weโre going to use this momentum, roll into Eugene and try to keep the defensive effort up, because thatโs what got us the win tonight.โ
ย