University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Postgame Quotes - UCLA at Washington State
POSTGAME QUOTES
Washington State 79, UCLA 71 (OT)
Pullman, Wash. (Beasley Coliseum)
January 4, 2019
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Menโs Head Basketball Coach
on what led to Washington Stateโs win
โIt was a long game, though. So, I mean you could point to the egregious breakdown at the end where Prince [Ali] didnโt stop the ball. We were supposed to be switching everything. What happens, kids go back to their natural reaction, which is help, even though the whole timeout was โdonโt help.โ If they get a layup, we donโt care. Weโll get it in and make free throws. But we obviously didnโt execute that.โ
on if players collapsed too much during Washington Stateโs final play in the second half
โYeah, Jules helped. But the ball shouldโve been stopped. Prince didnโt stop the ball. But we had covered if that happens โ and we donโt want that to happen โ but if it happens, donโt give up an and-one on a soft foul. Donโt help off the corner three, so we covered it. But that had nothing to do with it. I mean, that was a part of it. Itโs a shame, because you come down to one play, but the reason we couldnโt get that stop? Weโre just not there yet, Ben. Weโre not there yet. In the second half, forget the overtime, theyโre 15 for 27. Defense is just hard.โ
on why defense was so good in first half
โWeโre not there yet. As much as you think one gameโs going to change it, weโre not there yet. Thereโs a play where we score, we are running and Jalen Hillโs jogging back, they just throw it over his head and lay it in. Thereโs the game. And thatโs been a problem for him since I got here. That was a problem for him in May workouts. Thatโs just one play, I mean, there were a lot of bad plays. But a team shoots 56 percent against you? It wasnโt like they were raining in jump shots until No. 10 [Isaac Bonton], give him credit, he hit some tough shots. But we had some really bad breakdowns, defensively. Really bad breakdowns.โ
on what was supposed to happen on UCLAโs last possession in regulation, tied at 65-65
โItโs an iso for Chris [Smith]. He never attacked. Now, if you watch that game, youโd probably give him the ball. I talked to him about โHey buddy, weโve got to make sure we get a shot off now.โ Weโve got to go at 10. Itโs 14, weโre going to go at 10. That way weโve got a chance to rebound it. He froze, I guess. He wanted a pick and roll, which I didnโt want, because then they wouldโve just double-teamed him. The guy guarding him had four fouls. I wanted him to attack the guy.โ
UCLA sophomore guard Jules Bernard
on Washington Stateโs game-tying 3-pointer with just under 20 seconds to play
โYeah, it was probably just a little miscommunication on the first action, and then we sucked in too much once the guard got to the rim. It opened up an open three. Itโs just probably a little miscommunication. Weโve got to be better.โ
on the five-minute overtime session
โThey have two very aggressive players on their team, and when they have players like that, you donโt want to give them confidence. I think they got a few easy buckets off of steals or something, and that just got their confidence going. Itโs just, weโve got to be better.โ
on Saturdayโs disappointment after having won on Thursday night at Washington
โItโs definitely tough. We wanted to leave with two wins. That was our goal. We had it in our hands and we let it go. Itโs definitely tough to take in, but we have to move on and get ready for our next game.โ
on if Washington State switched anything, offensively, in the second half
โIโm not sure. I think they just were getting, they saw that they were down and their players started getting more confidence and I think they mightโve gotten in the bonus a little early because we were fouling a lot. Once you give teams like that free throws, easy points, especially at home, itโs tough to take away their confidence when theyโre getting to the free-throw line a lot. Maybe that was it, we were fouling a lot.โ
UCLA junior guard Chris Smith
on WSUโs 3-pointer to tie the game at 65-65 and if UCLA got sucked in too much on the drive
โYeah, someone got beat off the dribble, and Jules got sucked in from the back side, and we gave up a three.โ
on UCLAโs final offensive possession with under 15 seconds to play in the second half
โI tried to go left and they left one of my teammates to double me and tipped the ball out.โ
on the disappointment of not being able to secure back-to-back road wins
โItโs really tough. We wanted a road sweep, and we didnโt get it.โ
on Chris having strong individual performances in back-to-back games
โI donโt care about it, man. I wanted to win tonight and we didnโt win.โ
on a young team having inconsistencies such as this and what UCLA needs to do, moving forward
โYeah, when you lose you learn. So, weโve just got to get back and go to practice and learn from the mistakes that we made tonight.โ
on whether itโd be fair to say that the Bruins are a better team having gone through this road trip
โYeah, for sure. But we reverted back to ourselves before the Washington game tonight, and that is why we gave it up.โ
on whether WSU changed its approach against UCLA in the second half, or if UCLAโs defense just had breakdowns
โIt was just breakdowns, pretty much.โ
Washington State 79, UCLA 71 (OT)
Pullman, Wash. (Beasley Coliseum)
January 4, 2019
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Menโs Head Basketball Coach
on what led to Washington Stateโs win
โIt was a long game, though. So, I mean you could point to the egregious breakdown at the end where Prince [Ali] didnโt stop the ball. We were supposed to be switching everything. What happens, kids go back to their natural reaction, which is help, even though the whole timeout was โdonโt help.โ If they get a layup, we donโt care. Weโll get it in and make free throws. But we obviously didnโt execute that.โ
on if players collapsed too much during Washington Stateโs final play in the second half
โYeah, Jules helped. But the ball shouldโve been stopped. Prince didnโt stop the ball. But we had covered if that happens โ and we donโt want that to happen โ but if it happens, donโt give up an and-one on a soft foul. Donโt help off the corner three, so we covered it. But that had nothing to do with it. I mean, that was a part of it. Itโs a shame, because you come down to one play, but the reason we couldnโt get that stop? Weโre just not there yet, Ben. Weโre not there yet. In the second half, forget the overtime, theyโre 15 for 27. Defense is just hard.โ
on why defense was so good in first half
โWeโre not there yet. As much as you think one gameโs going to change it, weโre not there yet. Thereโs a play where we score, we are running and Jalen Hillโs jogging back, they just throw it over his head and lay it in. Thereโs the game. And thatโs been a problem for him since I got here. That was a problem for him in May workouts. Thatโs just one play, I mean, there were a lot of bad plays. But a team shoots 56 percent against you? It wasnโt like they were raining in jump shots until No. 10 [Isaac Bonton], give him credit, he hit some tough shots. But we had some really bad breakdowns, defensively. Really bad breakdowns.โ
on what was supposed to happen on UCLAโs last possession in regulation, tied at 65-65
โItโs an iso for Chris [Smith]. He never attacked. Now, if you watch that game, youโd probably give him the ball. I talked to him about โHey buddy, weโve got to make sure we get a shot off now.โ Weโve got to go at 10. Itโs 14, weโre going to go at 10. That way weโve got a chance to rebound it. He froze, I guess. He wanted a pick and roll, which I didnโt want, because then they wouldโve just double-teamed him. The guy guarding him had four fouls. I wanted him to attack the guy.โ
UCLA sophomore guard Jules Bernard
on Washington Stateโs game-tying 3-pointer with just under 20 seconds to play
โYeah, it was probably just a little miscommunication on the first action, and then we sucked in too much once the guard got to the rim. It opened up an open three. Itโs just probably a little miscommunication. Weโve got to be better.โ
on the five-minute overtime session
โThey have two very aggressive players on their team, and when they have players like that, you donโt want to give them confidence. I think they got a few easy buckets off of steals or something, and that just got their confidence going. Itโs just, weโve got to be better.โ
on Saturdayโs disappointment after having won on Thursday night at Washington
โItโs definitely tough. We wanted to leave with two wins. That was our goal. We had it in our hands and we let it go. Itโs definitely tough to take in, but we have to move on and get ready for our next game.โ
on if Washington State switched anything, offensively, in the second half
โIโm not sure. I think they just were getting, they saw that they were down and their players started getting more confidence and I think they mightโve gotten in the bonus a little early because we were fouling a lot. Once you give teams like that free throws, easy points, especially at home, itโs tough to take away their confidence when theyโre getting to the free-throw line a lot. Maybe that was it, we were fouling a lot.โ
UCLA junior guard Chris Smith
on WSUโs 3-pointer to tie the game at 65-65 and if UCLA got sucked in too much on the drive
โYeah, someone got beat off the dribble, and Jules got sucked in from the back side, and we gave up a three.โ
on UCLAโs final offensive possession with under 15 seconds to play in the second half
โI tried to go left and they left one of my teammates to double me and tipped the ball out.โ
on the disappointment of not being able to secure back-to-back road wins
โItโs really tough. We wanted a road sweep, and we didnโt get it.โ
on Chris having strong individual performances in back-to-back games
โI donโt care about it, man. I wanted to win tonight and we didnโt win.โ
on a young team having inconsistencies such as this and what UCLA needs to do, moving forward
โYeah, when you lose you learn. So, weโve just got to get back and go to practice and learn from the mistakes that we made tonight.โ
on whether itโd be fair to say that the Bruins are a better team having gone through this road trip
โYeah, for sure. But we reverted back to ourselves before the Washington game tonight, and that is why we gave it up.โ
on whether WSU changed its approach against UCLA in the second half, or if UCLAโs defense just had breakdowns
โIt was just breakdowns, pretty much.โ