University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Postgame Quotes - UCLA vs. Colorado
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 72, Colorado 68
January 30, 2020
ย ย
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Menโs Head Basketball Coach
opening statement
โObviously a great win for our team, top-25 opponent. Somebody told me they had 95-percent of their scoring back. I thought they could easily could be coming into tonightโs game 18-2, they had a couple wild losses late in games. Theyโre extremely well-coached, they play extremely physical. I thought the key to the game would be our rebounding, we were gonna have to get some second chance points because theyโre so solid defensively which is what veteran teams are. Plus they had depth, so if guys donโt defend he puts another guy in. So our second chance points were big for us, we were plus-8 and I think that was the difference in the game. Very happy for Prince [Ali], obviously Chris [Smith] played great. Princeโs attitude in practice the last two days was great. So many young kids this day and age โ when things arenโt going their way โ play the victim instead of looking in the mirror. We had a talk โ I want him to finish his career, him and Alex are just great kids, we need him to help us win some games. Just really happy that he made those shots, for him. Obviously the ball goes in, it helps the coachโs blood pressure. Theyโre a very good team, weโre gonna play them again. Great win for us.โ
ย
on Chris Smith
โOne thing about him is โฆ recruiting so many guys, [they] wanna talk about what position theyโre gonna play. The guy with the biggest advantage is the guy thatโs playing guard but heโs being defended because I play him at the four. Nobody wants to play there when you recruit. But Iโm playing him four because heโs the guy who gets to go against their big guy all night. Iโm a big mismatch guy. Itโs not giving it away, teams saw me coach at Cincinnati trying to get the matchup we wanted in the attack. Itโs hard to run plays and score against [Colorado] because theyโre so well-schooled. Tried to get Chris the best matchup I could, heโs such a good free throw shooter โ weโve worked hard with him at drawing fouls and it really made a difference in this game. ย
ย
on the teamโs rebounding mindset against a physical Colorado squad
โWe show a lot of film on offensive rebounding. Couple days of practice, boxing out. To be honest with you a little bit about what happened last year [against CU], Colorado just really out-manned UCLA in both games physically. You canโt let that happen. Weโre trying to build a program, youโre never gonna build a program if you get pushed around, especially at home. We had a lot of talk about that, lot of practice.โ
ย
on finishing the game
โWe play a lot of young guys, even Jalen [Hill] and Cody [Riley] are young guys as far as playing experience. Itโs different when you sub in and if you donโt play well they take you out versus being a guy that has to play. Itโs still a learning process, a lot of guys are still learning. We still make a lot of plays that are amazing to be honest with you. I have to remind myself, I just havenโt coached these guys that long. We still make some mistakes, some mind-blowing mistakes at times. But we did enough to win the game is the most important thing.โ
ย
on lineup decisions late with players in foul trouble
โWe were up by two possessions, it was at 5 or 6 that we tried to go small rather than take away the three-point shot. And youโre trying to get your best free throw shooters on the floor at that point. Press offense and three-point defense.โ
ย
on responding to Coloradoโs physicality
โWell, we won the rebounding battle by 10. But we had two guys foul out and two guys with four [fouls]. Veteran teams are going to be physical, thatโs just part of it. If you canโt match that, youโre never gonna be a real team. So itโs a great learning process for our guys. I thought early in the game we might have surprised them with the way we rebounded the ball. It was 20-10 in the first half, so they kept us off the glass for the most part in the second half. They boxed out a lot better in the second half.
ย
on Tyger Campbell
โAt this point in his career, any points he gives us are kind of icing on the cake. Heโs so young, heโs playing so many minutes. What heโs learned is โ most recruits want to play as freshmen, they donโt realize the whole key to being able to do it is defense. Two things โ defend and take care of the ball. Coach isnโt gonna play guys that donโt defend and donโt take care of the ball. In this league, youโve got a lot of really good point guards. Heโs had to guard a lot of really good players. In high school, if youโve got a great player, you tell him donโt foul, we donโt have anyone as good as you. So you hide him. Then guys get to college and not only do they need to play defense, they have to guard a guy whoโs older and is really good.โ
ย
UCLA redshirt senior guard Prince Ali
on if this was a breakthrough game โฆ
โYeah, weโve had a week to plan for them. What happened at Oregon was difficult, but we knew we had to keep fighting, so we came to practices all week, and we planned for them, and we were able to get the W, which was huge for us.โ
ย
on how he felt coming into this game โฆ
โI felt good. Coach Cronin this whole week was on me about just being ready to shoot and being confident in my stroke. I knew coming in that if I got a clean look, I was going to let it go, so it was just confidence.โ
ย
UCLA junior guard Chris Smith
on what he was thinking when his shot to beat the shot clock with four minutes to go went in โฆ
โJust get the shot off. We were offensive rebounding. We beat them on the glass, I think by 10, and a lot of it was on offensive rebounds. I was just thinking get a shot off. I think we had Cody [Riley] and JHill (Jalen Hill) in at the time, so two big bodies, so just get the shot up and collapse. Thatโs a shot I believe I can make. I was just trying to get it on the rim.โ
ย
on being more aggressive with their shots than in previous games โฆ
โWe knew that they were a pack team on defense, so we knew we had to move the ball with people. Youโve got to attack the lane, get people to help so you can get a teammate open, and thatโs definitely one of our emphasis tonight.โ
ย
on the importance of this win moving forward โฆ
โTonight was definitely a confidence booster. It shows us and everyone else that we can hang with some of the best. We went from playing a Top 10 team in Oregon, that was a rough game, to playing a Top 25 team at home and getting a big win. Weโve got some young guys, but they donโt play like theyโre young. Jaime [Jaquez Jr.] hit four clutch free throws in the end. Thatโs not what a freshman would do. I would have missed it. But weโve got young guys who donโt play like theyโre young, and tonight was a confidence booster to get us back on our feet for the next one.โ
ย
UCLA freshman guard Jaime Jaquez Jr.
On what was done to prepare to come out strong on the boards โฆ
โPretty much just going into practice knowing I was going to have to be physical and really have to box out and try to get rebounds. The key to the game was rebounding, so going in thatโs what I wanted to do, and thatโs what I did.โ
ย
Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle
on their last two road gamesโฆ
โThey just really out-toughed us. UCLA just out-toughed us. From the start of the game, they were just tougher, but we were better in the second half. This team really has heart, but the last two games we got punked. We fouled more than usual. UCLA really deserved to win this game.โ
ย
on the teamโs goals for the seasonโฆ
โOur goal is to win the next game. When you lose the rebounding game, itโs tough to win. At halftime we had zero offensive rebounds. We had one team offensive rebound, but no individual offensive rebounds. This shows that UCLA was tougher.โ
ย
on self-motivationโฆ
โSometimes you just have to look within. Thatโs where we are right now. You canโt look for outside influences to motivate you and that includes the coaches.โ
ย
on the upcoming game against USCโฆ
โDoesnโt matter what team we are playing next. Itโs just about taking care of Colorado.โ
ย
Colorado sophomore forward Evan Battey
on their road game strugglesโฆ
โWe have to take care of things like rebounding. We canโt spot a team 25 fast-break points and 18 second-chance points on the road. Itโs really hard to win.โ
ย
on their upcoming game against USCโฆ
โI hope we get that spark. Weโve beat them the last two times. Iโm not a fortune teller, but Iโm going to be ready to go.โ
ย
on his overall individual performanceโฆ
โIt doesnโt mean anything how I did. We lost the game. My stats mean nothing. Iโm a team player, so thatโs what matters.โ
ย
Colorado Senior Forward Lucas Siewert
on playing zone defense vs. man-to-man defenseโฆ
โWeโve been playing zone defense, but we take pride in man-to-man. We just have to get ready for it. Teams are trying to switch more and weโre not moving the ball as much.โ
ย
on their upcoming game against USCโฆ
โThey are going to be ready for us. Theyโre a better team than UCLA and we are better than how we played tonight. That may be the spark that we need.โ
UCLA 72, Colorado 68
January 30, 2020
ย ย
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Menโs Head Basketball Coach
opening statement
โObviously a great win for our team, top-25 opponent. Somebody told me they had 95-percent of their scoring back. I thought they could easily could be coming into tonightโs game 18-2, they had a couple wild losses late in games. Theyโre extremely well-coached, they play extremely physical. I thought the key to the game would be our rebounding, we were gonna have to get some second chance points because theyโre so solid defensively which is what veteran teams are. Plus they had depth, so if guys donโt defend he puts another guy in. So our second chance points were big for us, we were plus-8 and I think that was the difference in the game. Very happy for Prince [Ali], obviously Chris [Smith] played great. Princeโs attitude in practice the last two days was great. So many young kids this day and age โ when things arenโt going their way โ play the victim instead of looking in the mirror. We had a talk โ I want him to finish his career, him and Alex are just great kids, we need him to help us win some games. Just really happy that he made those shots, for him. Obviously the ball goes in, it helps the coachโs blood pressure. Theyโre a very good team, weโre gonna play them again. Great win for us.โ
ย
on Chris Smith
โOne thing about him is โฆ recruiting so many guys, [they] wanna talk about what position theyโre gonna play. The guy with the biggest advantage is the guy thatโs playing guard but heโs being defended because I play him at the four. Nobody wants to play there when you recruit. But Iโm playing him four because heโs the guy who gets to go against their big guy all night. Iโm a big mismatch guy. Itโs not giving it away, teams saw me coach at Cincinnati trying to get the matchup we wanted in the attack. Itโs hard to run plays and score against [Colorado] because theyโre so well-schooled. Tried to get Chris the best matchup I could, heโs such a good free throw shooter โ weโve worked hard with him at drawing fouls and it really made a difference in this game. ย
ย
on the teamโs rebounding mindset against a physical Colorado squad
โWe show a lot of film on offensive rebounding. Couple days of practice, boxing out. To be honest with you a little bit about what happened last year [against CU], Colorado just really out-manned UCLA in both games physically. You canโt let that happen. Weโre trying to build a program, youโre never gonna build a program if you get pushed around, especially at home. We had a lot of talk about that, lot of practice.โ
ย
on finishing the game
โWe play a lot of young guys, even Jalen [Hill] and Cody [Riley] are young guys as far as playing experience. Itโs different when you sub in and if you donโt play well they take you out versus being a guy that has to play. Itโs still a learning process, a lot of guys are still learning. We still make a lot of plays that are amazing to be honest with you. I have to remind myself, I just havenโt coached these guys that long. We still make some mistakes, some mind-blowing mistakes at times. But we did enough to win the game is the most important thing.โ
ย
on lineup decisions late with players in foul trouble
โWe were up by two possessions, it was at 5 or 6 that we tried to go small rather than take away the three-point shot. And youโre trying to get your best free throw shooters on the floor at that point. Press offense and three-point defense.โ
ย
on responding to Coloradoโs physicality
โWell, we won the rebounding battle by 10. But we had two guys foul out and two guys with four [fouls]. Veteran teams are going to be physical, thatโs just part of it. If you canโt match that, youโre never gonna be a real team. So itโs a great learning process for our guys. I thought early in the game we might have surprised them with the way we rebounded the ball. It was 20-10 in the first half, so they kept us off the glass for the most part in the second half. They boxed out a lot better in the second half.
ย
on Tyger Campbell
โAt this point in his career, any points he gives us are kind of icing on the cake. Heโs so young, heโs playing so many minutes. What heโs learned is โ most recruits want to play as freshmen, they donโt realize the whole key to being able to do it is defense. Two things โ defend and take care of the ball. Coach isnโt gonna play guys that donโt defend and donโt take care of the ball. In this league, youโve got a lot of really good point guards. Heโs had to guard a lot of really good players. In high school, if youโve got a great player, you tell him donโt foul, we donโt have anyone as good as you. So you hide him. Then guys get to college and not only do they need to play defense, they have to guard a guy whoโs older and is really good.โ
ย
UCLA redshirt senior guard Prince Ali
on if this was a breakthrough game โฆ
โYeah, weโve had a week to plan for them. What happened at Oregon was difficult, but we knew we had to keep fighting, so we came to practices all week, and we planned for them, and we were able to get the W, which was huge for us.โ
ย
on how he felt coming into this game โฆ
โI felt good. Coach Cronin this whole week was on me about just being ready to shoot and being confident in my stroke. I knew coming in that if I got a clean look, I was going to let it go, so it was just confidence.โ
ย
UCLA junior guard Chris Smith
on what he was thinking when his shot to beat the shot clock with four minutes to go went in โฆ
โJust get the shot off. We were offensive rebounding. We beat them on the glass, I think by 10, and a lot of it was on offensive rebounds. I was just thinking get a shot off. I think we had Cody [Riley] and JHill (Jalen Hill) in at the time, so two big bodies, so just get the shot up and collapse. Thatโs a shot I believe I can make. I was just trying to get it on the rim.โ
ย
on being more aggressive with their shots than in previous games โฆ
โWe knew that they were a pack team on defense, so we knew we had to move the ball with people. Youโve got to attack the lane, get people to help so you can get a teammate open, and thatโs definitely one of our emphasis tonight.โ
ย
on the importance of this win moving forward โฆ
โTonight was definitely a confidence booster. It shows us and everyone else that we can hang with some of the best. We went from playing a Top 10 team in Oregon, that was a rough game, to playing a Top 25 team at home and getting a big win. Weโve got some young guys, but they donโt play like theyโre young. Jaime [Jaquez Jr.] hit four clutch free throws in the end. Thatโs not what a freshman would do. I would have missed it. But weโve got young guys who donโt play like theyโre young, and tonight was a confidence booster to get us back on our feet for the next one.โ
ย
UCLA freshman guard Jaime Jaquez Jr.
On what was done to prepare to come out strong on the boards โฆ
โPretty much just going into practice knowing I was going to have to be physical and really have to box out and try to get rebounds. The key to the game was rebounding, so going in thatโs what I wanted to do, and thatโs what I did.โ
ย
Colorado Head Coach Tad Boyle
on their last two road gamesโฆ
โThey just really out-toughed us. UCLA just out-toughed us. From the start of the game, they were just tougher, but we were better in the second half. This team really has heart, but the last two games we got punked. We fouled more than usual. UCLA really deserved to win this game.โ
ย
on the teamโs goals for the seasonโฆ
โOur goal is to win the next game. When you lose the rebounding game, itโs tough to win. At halftime we had zero offensive rebounds. We had one team offensive rebound, but no individual offensive rebounds. This shows that UCLA was tougher.โ
ย
on self-motivationโฆ
โSometimes you just have to look within. Thatโs where we are right now. You canโt look for outside influences to motivate you and that includes the coaches.โ
ย
on the upcoming game against USCโฆ
โDoesnโt matter what team we are playing next. Itโs just about taking care of Colorado.โ
ย
Colorado sophomore forward Evan Battey
on their road game strugglesโฆ
โWe have to take care of things like rebounding. We canโt spot a team 25 fast-break points and 18 second-chance points on the road. Itโs really hard to win.โ
ย
on their upcoming game against USCโฆ
โI hope we get that spark. Weโve beat them the last two times. Iโm not a fortune teller, but Iโm going to be ready to go.โ
ย
on his overall individual performanceโฆ
โIt doesnโt mean anything how I did. We lost the game. My stats mean nothing. Iโm a team player, so thatโs what matters.โ
ย
Colorado Senior Forward Lucas Siewert
on playing zone defense vs. man-to-man defenseโฆ
โWeโve been playing zone defense, but we take pride in man-to-man. We just have to get ready for it. Teams are trying to switch more and weโre not moving the ball as much.โ
ย
on their upcoming game against USCโฆ
โThey are going to be ready for us. Theyโre a better team than UCLA and we are better than how we played tonight. That may be the spark that we need.โ