University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Quotes – Men's Basketball Virtual Media Day
Pac-12 Men’s Basketball, Virtual Media Webinar
Thursday, Nov. 12
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
on what it means to have senior Chris Smith back on the team
“I would say that all of us, as coaches, would say that he’s unlocked the key, unlocked the sacred key to success which is he has a great attitude. He’s coachable. Since I have been here, he’s been unbelievably coachable which is why his rate of improvement was so accelerated. I think it’s a problem for some guys. They will fight coaching, so therefore, they can’t get better or it definitely slows their development. Chris’ was accelerated in the year and a half he has been with me, because from day one he has had a tremendous attitude. His rate of improvement has been very, very impressive, to say the least. You’d see that, as long as you’re at UCLA, the thing that Coach Wooden would always talk about, he’s humble. He’s a humble kid – bright guy, great parents, and when they had talked about Chris coming back to school, obviously the prospects for our season got a lot better. But just selfishly, when you get the chance to coach good guys, it makes our job a lot more pleasant and more fun. You enjoy going to work a lot more when you’re around a guy who – he’s such a great guy. He has a great sense of humor. You get another chance to spend another season with such a good kid, who happens to be a great player.”
on having point guard Tyger Campbell back for his sophomore year
“I learned a long time ago, back in the ‘90s with a full head of hair and Coach Huggins was skinny – we were quite a pair – that returning guards had a lot to do with your prospects for success. And we used to think about that, because back in the ‘90s we had great JUCO players and two years was their max, and you think that you’d have a guy like Steve Logan for four years, or Kenny Satterfield and Steve Logan, you’re going to have a chance to win a lot of games when you have returning guards. I can’t tell you the last time that UCLA has had a returning starting point guard. It has been four, five or six years, maybe, since that has happened – guys off to the NBA after their one year of starting at the point. You can just keep backtracking it, from Aaron Holiday who didn’t start and then he started and he was gone. Jaylen Hands, he started and then he was gone. Obviously, Lonzo Ball started and he was gone. It’s very, very hard to have success when you have a new point guard every year. Definitely, it’s a blankie, so to speak, a little security blankie for the head coach.”
on the team’s non-conference schedule and changing things on the fly
“Not really that hard, to be honest with you. When we saw that Orlando was falling apart, I thought about going with Kansas. But we have issues with playing in the state of Kansas, being a UC system school. But then common sense, Brian Dutcher and I have been friends for a long, long time. Our dads were high school coaches. He was at Michigan and I was at Woodward High School [Ohio], so that is how long we have known each other. And it wasn’t that hard. We got together and said, ‘Look, it’s going to be easier to play the games there. We are in L.A. County, and things are probably a little stickier here. Let’s just go with that.’ I just prefer that we get the best two games that we can get. We’re trying to build a resume, anticipating that we might lose some good games. Just try to stack it up like my man Mike Brey did at Notre Dame, but we aren’t as crazy as him. But Pepperdine has everybody back, pretty much, great players, and then obviously at San Diego State with Dutch and he has continued there from Coach Fish [Steve Fisher], they’ve got an unbelievable program. Happy that we filled our schedule, but we will be a lot happier if we actually play the entire schedule. That is obviously the goal. I think that your best chance is to get as many games in as you can. That was our thinking.”
on keeping the team’s edge and hunger, having been selected to win the Pac-12 (preseason poll)
“First, and I don’t mean to disrespect the people that vote, but that stuff really doesn’t matter. It gives you reference point to, you know, to vote me Coach of the Year last year because we were picked eighth and we finished second – so you equate it that way, I guess. You’ve got to have publicity, right? And we appreciate all the coverage, and we appreciate you guys doing it, but it doesn’t mean you’re right, so it just doesn’t matter. It makes my job harder because it kind of takes the hunger away a little bit from some guys. Maybe they are not mature enough to understand that all it does is helps your opponents. Because their coaches, early in the season, can say, ‘Well you better be ready to play, they were picked to win their league.’ We do it as well, right? You better be able to play San Diego State. They were 30-2 last season. You’ll use everything that you can. It makes your job a little bit harder, but hey, that’s what you’re paid to do. It’s my job to make sure that we continue to worry about things that matter, which is becoming a team that can win a game because we can get a defensive stop, we take good shots, we rebound, take care of the ball.”
on his reaction to the two high school seniors (Peyton Watson, Will McClendon) who signed NLIs with UCLA
“Obviously, we couldn’t be more excited about Peyton and Will. Peyton is a top-rated player in California. Very few times, you’ll recruit a guy who can do everything on the floor. Peyton Watson can guard you. He can block your shot because of his length. It reminds me, a long time ago back in my full-head-of-hair days, I came out to see Trevor Ariza. He was young and I was with Coach Pitino. Did a great job of recruiting him, he went to UCLA, but he reminds me of Trevor, in that he can do everything. He can score. He can rebound. He can block shots. He can assist. He can get fouled. I’ve seen him play a high school game, he did everything but take tickets and sell popcorn. He’s from a great family, great kid, so we are very excited that he is joining us. Will McClendon, he comes from a place where [coach] Grant Rice and Bishop Gorman [High School] has won nine straight championships. Will has three straight championships under his belt. His reputation for hitting big shots and being a winner precedes him in the basketball circles. He is the kind of player who I believe in because he is such a winner, and he can shoot the ball. That’s extremely important. When you look at our roster and what we are trying to do, you’ve got to make sure that you have guys who can make shots. But both of these guys – Will and Peyton – have unbelievable wingspans. Will is 6-4 with a 6-8 wingspan. Peyton’s is crazy for a 6-7 or 6-8 guy. I only seem him on Zoom now, but he looks like the elastic man with his arms. So, very excited about what those guys will bring to the table for us, next year.”
on reactions to which players do or don’t get named to the Pac-12’s preseason all-league teams
“I’m a fan of all our players, and I tell them all the same thing – that it doesn’t matter. That it just doesn’t matter. I’ll tell Peyton Watson, who’s ranked top 10 and Will McClendon is ranked top 40, that you can’t bring your Rivals ranking or your 247 ranking, or whatever ranking, it doesn’t matter when you get to college. It just doesn’t. What matters is what you do between the lines. If all that stuff mattered, then Ja Morant wouldn’t have went to Murray State. He went second in the draft. You have to be able to get the job done on the floor. I’m really big on, in my program, it’s my thought process with young people – especially today – you have got to train them to worry about things that matter. Social media does not matter. That’s just, where whoever is ranked, or if you’re an honorable mention, it just doesn’t matter. Because I guarantee you every one of them would trade it for a national championship and they’d trade it to be a first-round pick. Nothing against preseason Pac-12 media polls, but, what are they going to get for it? I promise you that the NBA scouts don’t care about it. They just don’t. It has no bearing on what their thinking is when they’re putting their draft board together. I’ve explained to the guys, you know, here is the challenge. It doesn’t matter that Chris [Smith] is first team. Like, that’s not going to wake up Neil Olshey in Portland and say, ‘Wow, I better really scout Chris Smith. He’s ranked first-team preseason.’ He’s already got people doing that. There’s a reason that he’s got the job.”
UCLA senior guard Chris Smith
on the chances that the team’s momentum will continue to move forward
“I’d say it’s a great chance. All the guys that played major minutes are back. Not only are we here for another season, but we’re here to help our newcomers, guys like Johnny Juzang and Jaylen [Clark] coming in – just getting those guys rolling so hopefully the momentum will keep going. We pretty much have the same guys from last season. There won’t be the preseason hiccups like we had last season, just getting to know Coach Cronin. Everybody knows what we have got to do, and everybody knows what has to happen. So, hopefully we as soon as we the new guys rolling, we’ll have that momentum back.”
on how he has become a better player
“You know, I’ve still got plenty of growth. I’ve still got plenty of room to grow and a bunch of things to work on. I’ve just trying to focus on stepping into a leadership role, being the lone senior on the team, and flourishing in that role, as much as I can. I try and be, I’d say like the fifth coach on the court. But me, as a player, I’ve still got plenty of room to grow. I am learning with my teammates and with my coaches, but I am just trying to be a leader on the court right now.”
on UCLA’s initial return to training, and if workouts were limited to outside-only venues
“We were never outside. But we had smaller groups in the first workouts. It was only like four people in the gym, like four guys from our team in the gym, and then we had a couple of coaches in there. Right now, we are back to contact and every is back in the gym, 5-on-5 type of things, but when we first got in, that was not the case. It was small numbers, just with a couple of coaches, and we rotated groups.”
on what his daily schedule is like and going through daily COVID-19 testing
“For me, I know that I wake up at 7 am every morning so that I can get some breakfast in before I leave, because I need to be at our facility by 8 am. I try and get there by 7:55 so that I can check in and be in Mo Ostin [Center] by 8 am. We’ll start stretching with Wes [Long] by 8:30, so everybody’s got to get their tests in, ideally before 8:15 in the morning so that Shane [Besedick] can go and get them tested, so we’re able to get the negatives back, hopefully. That has been the case, so far. After that, at 8:30, it’s stretch with Wes and we’ll stretch until 9:00, then we go upstairs and lift, then we’ll come back downstairs and practice will start around 9:30, 9:45. And then it’s pretty much until Coach wants to let us go – no, I’m just kidding, but we’ve got about two and a half hours with Coach Cronin. And then after that, I know myself, I have class every day except for Wednesday and Friday. So I should be done around like 4:45 or 5:00 every day. And then it’s pretty much it’s just homework, staying at the crib, and just trying to be as safe as possible so that we can keep playing.”
on how anxiety-ridden that time period is in the morning, as players await their test results
“I’d say that for the first week, there was some anxiety. But now, I know where all my teammates are and what they are doing after practice, and I know if somebody might get a positive or anything. But we have not had that problem yet. All our guys are putting basketball first. You know, we’ve got class and that’s the number one thing, but after that, it’s about putting the team first. And all our guys have done that so far, so we don’t have much anxiety here.”
on the Bruins staying level-headed, after having been picked to win the Pac-12 (preseason poll)
“As far as our rankings and what not, we are not really worried about any of that. Whether we are ranked first or ranked dead last, we are going to come into the season with the same mindset. We know what wins games because last year we went on a little win streak, and not only did we go on that win streak, we went on a loss streak before that. We know what wins games and we know what loses games. Whether I am picked first-team Pac-12 or whatever it is, or whether we’re picked to win the league or not, we are going to come into the season with the same mindset.”
on the Bruins having lost their last game and if that still drives the team
“Every game, win or loss, you know, you’ve got to switch your mindset to the game afterwards, just like in the game, it’s about the next play. Obviously, that loss hurt and for me, especially, because I had to watch the shot as I couldn’t defend it because I had fouled out. But obviously, we’d gone into that gym and wanted to win. Unfortunately, that was not our outcome. After you’re angry for a little while, you go back and you watch the film. But after a little while, you’re always looking toward the next game. That sat with us for a little bit because we couldn’t play a next game. Now, we are looking to win the biggest game on our schedule this year beat the best team on our schedule, and that game is behind us.”
on how mindful he & his teammates are of respecting the quarantine process
“Yeah, absolutely, like I had told Andy [Katz] earlier, our guys, we have got our priorities straight. We know that we’ve got to get our grades right. And after that, we have to put the team first. Nobody on the team wants to be that guy. Let’s put it that simple. Nobody wants to be that guy who come in, gets a positive, and now we know that that guy wasn’t taking it seriously. I do my best to make sure that my teammates are, you know, staying safe and making sure that they’re not exposing themselves. But this quarantine, and I mean, this pandemic has honestly just helped us a lot because now we can’t really hang out with other people. So it has let us grow closer together. It isn’t necessarily monitoring, but we are just hanging out with each other and we are not exposing us to anything. That has been working for us so far, so hopefully that continues to work.”
on his housing situation and if he’s living close to his teammates
“Pretty much all of us are off-campus, like five minutes away, just walking distance. I am the farthest from campus but it’s not that far. But yeah, I am off-campus and I don’t live with any of my teammates – I just live with my brother, and he doesn’t go anywhere. I don’t either. If I am going anywhere, it’s to Midvale to hang with my teammates and then right back home.”
on if the team may be a bit more comfortable shooting the ball this season
“I mean, it’s just like with anything, it is always a process. You’ve just got to get in the gym and get a better feel for it. We have guys coming in like Jaylen [Clark], coming in as a freshman, and his 3-point line is like three steps behind his high school line. Somebody like that just has to get a good feel for it. A team like us, we don’t really care much about missing shots, because usually when we miss shots we are crashing it and we’ll get it back. So our 3-point percentage wasn’t really on our minds last year, but we’ve got a lot of shooters this year with Johnny Juzang coming in. Other guys like Jake, he’s obviously lights out. Tyger has been working on his shot, Jaime has as well, myself too. We have a good feeling when it comes to 3-point shooting, coming into the season. But that is not, by any means, one of our worries.”
on who has consistently shot the best from 3-point range during practices
“That’s a good question. We’ve got a lot of shooters. I’d say the one that really sticks out to me is Johnny Juzang. I feel like he transferred and he came, you know, on a mission. That guy is a hard worker and I love everything about him. He has been shooting really, really well. I never thought that I’d say it, but somebody is competing with Jake right now.”
on how different the feel is around the team, in terms of experience, than it felt one year ago
“I’d say that it is a lot easier now. Obviously, Coach Cronin is not new anymore. He has already implemented his culture. Everybody here already has a good feel for him. So, I mean, I don’t think that he can implement himself anymore. He has already made his stamp. We know how serious it is to him. We know how big of a deal winning is for him. So it’s just pretty much about getting our new guys, you know, giving them a good feeling of Coach Cronin. He does a great job himself, obviously. But for somebody like me who was playing last year and he was on a lot, I try to give some of my wisdom to the newer players so that, you know, their transition is easier than it was for us last year. But definitely, comparing where we are at right now to where we were last season at this time, I’d say it is leaps-and-bounds better, for sure.”
on what parts of his game he believes needs to continue to improve
“I mean, that list is super long. But mainly, the number one thing that I am trying to do well this year is to be a leader. I have never been the vocal guy on the team. That’s something that our coaches and my teammates are looking for me to do, so that’s something that I need to work on and I have been doing so far. Secondly, it would be my decision-making. My assist-to-turnover was really, really bad. And every year that I have been here, it has been negative. That is something I’ve got to get to be positive. My ball-handling, a lot of my turnovers were created off of my careless ball-handling last year. That is something that I have been working on a lot. I’ve been tightening up my shot so that I’m not missing anymore open shots. But it is a lot of things. I’d say that the biggest ones would be my leadership and my decision-making and just being tough at all times. Coach Cronin always says that toughness is someone who makes the right play no matter how tired they are, no matter what the situation is. I need to be that player on this team who can make the right play at all times. I’d say my decision-making and my leadership are two big ones, and that’s like an umbrella for a lot of other things. The list is super-duper long, but those are the two big ones.”
Thursday, Nov. 12
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
on what it means to have senior Chris Smith back on the team
“I would say that all of us, as coaches, would say that he’s unlocked the key, unlocked the sacred key to success which is he has a great attitude. He’s coachable. Since I have been here, he’s been unbelievably coachable which is why his rate of improvement was so accelerated. I think it’s a problem for some guys. They will fight coaching, so therefore, they can’t get better or it definitely slows their development. Chris’ was accelerated in the year and a half he has been with me, because from day one he has had a tremendous attitude. His rate of improvement has been very, very impressive, to say the least. You’d see that, as long as you’re at UCLA, the thing that Coach Wooden would always talk about, he’s humble. He’s a humble kid – bright guy, great parents, and when they had talked about Chris coming back to school, obviously the prospects for our season got a lot better. But just selfishly, when you get the chance to coach good guys, it makes our job a lot more pleasant and more fun. You enjoy going to work a lot more when you’re around a guy who – he’s such a great guy. He has a great sense of humor. You get another chance to spend another season with such a good kid, who happens to be a great player.”
on having point guard Tyger Campbell back for his sophomore year
“I learned a long time ago, back in the ‘90s with a full head of hair and Coach Huggins was skinny – we were quite a pair – that returning guards had a lot to do with your prospects for success. And we used to think about that, because back in the ‘90s we had great JUCO players and two years was their max, and you think that you’d have a guy like Steve Logan for four years, or Kenny Satterfield and Steve Logan, you’re going to have a chance to win a lot of games when you have returning guards. I can’t tell you the last time that UCLA has had a returning starting point guard. It has been four, five or six years, maybe, since that has happened – guys off to the NBA after their one year of starting at the point. You can just keep backtracking it, from Aaron Holiday who didn’t start and then he started and he was gone. Jaylen Hands, he started and then he was gone. Obviously, Lonzo Ball started and he was gone. It’s very, very hard to have success when you have a new point guard every year. Definitely, it’s a blankie, so to speak, a little security blankie for the head coach.”
on the team’s non-conference schedule and changing things on the fly
“Not really that hard, to be honest with you. When we saw that Orlando was falling apart, I thought about going with Kansas. But we have issues with playing in the state of Kansas, being a UC system school. But then common sense, Brian Dutcher and I have been friends for a long, long time. Our dads were high school coaches. He was at Michigan and I was at Woodward High School [Ohio], so that is how long we have known each other. And it wasn’t that hard. We got together and said, ‘Look, it’s going to be easier to play the games there. We are in L.A. County, and things are probably a little stickier here. Let’s just go with that.’ I just prefer that we get the best two games that we can get. We’re trying to build a resume, anticipating that we might lose some good games. Just try to stack it up like my man Mike Brey did at Notre Dame, but we aren’t as crazy as him. But Pepperdine has everybody back, pretty much, great players, and then obviously at San Diego State with Dutch and he has continued there from Coach Fish [Steve Fisher], they’ve got an unbelievable program. Happy that we filled our schedule, but we will be a lot happier if we actually play the entire schedule. That is obviously the goal. I think that your best chance is to get as many games in as you can. That was our thinking.”
on keeping the team’s edge and hunger, having been selected to win the Pac-12 (preseason poll)
“First, and I don’t mean to disrespect the people that vote, but that stuff really doesn’t matter. It gives you reference point to, you know, to vote me Coach of the Year last year because we were picked eighth and we finished second – so you equate it that way, I guess. You’ve got to have publicity, right? And we appreciate all the coverage, and we appreciate you guys doing it, but it doesn’t mean you’re right, so it just doesn’t matter. It makes my job harder because it kind of takes the hunger away a little bit from some guys. Maybe they are not mature enough to understand that all it does is helps your opponents. Because their coaches, early in the season, can say, ‘Well you better be ready to play, they were picked to win their league.’ We do it as well, right? You better be able to play San Diego State. They were 30-2 last season. You’ll use everything that you can. It makes your job a little bit harder, but hey, that’s what you’re paid to do. It’s my job to make sure that we continue to worry about things that matter, which is becoming a team that can win a game because we can get a defensive stop, we take good shots, we rebound, take care of the ball.”
on his reaction to the two high school seniors (Peyton Watson, Will McClendon) who signed NLIs with UCLA
“Obviously, we couldn’t be more excited about Peyton and Will. Peyton is a top-rated player in California. Very few times, you’ll recruit a guy who can do everything on the floor. Peyton Watson can guard you. He can block your shot because of his length. It reminds me, a long time ago back in my full-head-of-hair days, I came out to see Trevor Ariza. He was young and I was with Coach Pitino. Did a great job of recruiting him, he went to UCLA, but he reminds me of Trevor, in that he can do everything. He can score. He can rebound. He can block shots. He can assist. He can get fouled. I’ve seen him play a high school game, he did everything but take tickets and sell popcorn. He’s from a great family, great kid, so we are very excited that he is joining us. Will McClendon, he comes from a place where [coach] Grant Rice and Bishop Gorman [High School] has won nine straight championships. Will has three straight championships under his belt. His reputation for hitting big shots and being a winner precedes him in the basketball circles. He is the kind of player who I believe in because he is such a winner, and he can shoot the ball. That’s extremely important. When you look at our roster and what we are trying to do, you’ve got to make sure that you have guys who can make shots. But both of these guys – Will and Peyton – have unbelievable wingspans. Will is 6-4 with a 6-8 wingspan. Peyton’s is crazy for a 6-7 or 6-8 guy. I only seem him on Zoom now, but he looks like the elastic man with his arms. So, very excited about what those guys will bring to the table for us, next year.”
on reactions to which players do or don’t get named to the Pac-12’s preseason all-league teams
“I’m a fan of all our players, and I tell them all the same thing – that it doesn’t matter. That it just doesn’t matter. I’ll tell Peyton Watson, who’s ranked top 10 and Will McClendon is ranked top 40, that you can’t bring your Rivals ranking or your 247 ranking, or whatever ranking, it doesn’t matter when you get to college. It just doesn’t. What matters is what you do between the lines. If all that stuff mattered, then Ja Morant wouldn’t have went to Murray State. He went second in the draft. You have to be able to get the job done on the floor. I’m really big on, in my program, it’s my thought process with young people – especially today – you have got to train them to worry about things that matter. Social media does not matter. That’s just, where whoever is ranked, or if you’re an honorable mention, it just doesn’t matter. Because I guarantee you every one of them would trade it for a national championship and they’d trade it to be a first-round pick. Nothing against preseason Pac-12 media polls, but, what are they going to get for it? I promise you that the NBA scouts don’t care about it. They just don’t. It has no bearing on what their thinking is when they’re putting their draft board together. I’ve explained to the guys, you know, here is the challenge. It doesn’t matter that Chris [Smith] is first team. Like, that’s not going to wake up Neil Olshey in Portland and say, ‘Wow, I better really scout Chris Smith. He’s ranked first-team preseason.’ He’s already got people doing that. There’s a reason that he’s got the job.”
UCLA senior guard Chris Smith
on the chances that the team’s momentum will continue to move forward
“I’d say it’s a great chance. All the guys that played major minutes are back. Not only are we here for another season, but we’re here to help our newcomers, guys like Johnny Juzang and Jaylen [Clark] coming in – just getting those guys rolling so hopefully the momentum will keep going. We pretty much have the same guys from last season. There won’t be the preseason hiccups like we had last season, just getting to know Coach Cronin. Everybody knows what we have got to do, and everybody knows what has to happen. So, hopefully we as soon as we the new guys rolling, we’ll have that momentum back.”
on how he has become a better player
“You know, I’ve still got plenty of growth. I’ve still got plenty of room to grow and a bunch of things to work on. I’ve just trying to focus on stepping into a leadership role, being the lone senior on the team, and flourishing in that role, as much as I can. I try and be, I’d say like the fifth coach on the court. But me, as a player, I’ve still got plenty of room to grow. I am learning with my teammates and with my coaches, but I am just trying to be a leader on the court right now.”
on UCLA’s initial return to training, and if workouts were limited to outside-only venues
“We were never outside. But we had smaller groups in the first workouts. It was only like four people in the gym, like four guys from our team in the gym, and then we had a couple of coaches in there. Right now, we are back to contact and every is back in the gym, 5-on-5 type of things, but when we first got in, that was not the case. It was small numbers, just with a couple of coaches, and we rotated groups.”
on what his daily schedule is like and going through daily COVID-19 testing
“For me, I know that I wake up at 7 am every morning so that I can get some breakfast in before I leave, because I need to be at our facility by 8 am. I try and get there by 7:55 so that I can check in and be in Mo Ostin [Center] by 8 am. We’ll start stretching with Wes [Long] by 8:30, so everybody’s got to get their tests in, ideally before 8:15 in the morning so that Shane [Besedick] can go and get them tested, so we’re able to get the negatives back, hopefully. That has been the case, so far. After that, at 8:30, it’s stretch with Wes and we’ll stretch until 9:00, then we go upstairs and lift, then we’ll come back downstairs and practice will start around 9:30, 9:45. And then it’s pretty much until Coach wants to let us go – no, I’m just kidding, but we’ve got about two and a half hours with Coach Cronin. And then after that, I know myself, I have class every day except for Wednesday and Friday. So I should be done around like 4:45 or 5:00 every day. And then it’s pretty much it’s just homework, staying at the crib, and just trying to be as safe as possible so that we can keep playing.”
on how anxiety-ridden that time period is in the morning, as players await their test results
“I’d say that for the first week, there was some anxiety. But now, I know where all my teammates are and what they are doing after practice, and I know if somebody might get a positive or anything. But we have not had that problem yet. All our guys are putting basketball first. You know, we’ve got class and that’s the number one thing, but after that, it’s about putting the team first. And all our guys have done that so far, so we don’t have much anxiety here.”
on the Bruins staying level-headed, after having been picked to win the Pac-12 (preseason poll)
“As far as our rankings and what not, we are not really worried about any of that. Whether we are ranked first or ranked dead last, we are going to come into the season with the same mindset. We know what wins games because last year we went on a little win streak, and not only did we go on that win streak, we went on a loss streak before that. We know what wins games and we know what loses games. Whether I am picked first-team Pac-12 or whatever it is, or whether we’re picked to win the league or not, we are going to come into the season with the same mindset.”
on the Bruins having lost their last game and if that still drives the team
“Every game, win or loss, you know, you’ve got to switch your mindset to the game afterwards, just like in the game, it’s about the next play. Obviously, that loss hurt and for me, especially, because I had to watch the shot as I couldn’t defend it because I had fouled out. But obviously, we’d gone into that gym and wanted to win. Unfortunately, that was not our outcome. After you’re angry for a little while, you go back and you watch the film. But after a little while, you’re always looking toward the next game. That sat with us for a little bit because we couldn’t play a next game. Now, we are looking to win the biggest game on our schedule this year beat the best team on our schedule, and that game is behind us.”
on how mindful he & his teammates are of respecting the quarantine process
“Yeah, absolutely, like I had told Andy [Katz] earlier, our guys, we have got our priorities straight. We know that we’ve got to get our grades right. And after that, we have to put the team first. Nobody on the team wants to be that guy. Let’s put it that simple. Nobody wants to be that guy who come in, gets a positive, and now we know that that guy wasn’t taking it seriously. I do my best to make sure that my teammates are, you know, staying safe and making sure that they’re not exposing themselves. But this quarantine, and I mean, this pandemic has honestly just helped us a lot because now we can’t really hang out with other people. So it has let us grow closer together. It isn’t necessarily monitoring, but we are just hanging out with each other and we are not exposing us to anything. That has been working for us so far, so hopefully that continues to work.”
on his housing situation and if he’s living close to his teammates
“Pretty much all of us are off-campus, like five minutes away, just walking distance. I am the farthest from campus but it’s not that far. But yeah, I am off-campus and I don’t live with any of my teammates – I just live with my brother, and he doesn’t go anywhere. I don’t either. If I am going anywhere, it’s to Midvale to hang with my teammates and then right back home.”
on if the team may be a bit more comfortable shooting the ball this season
“I mean, it’s just like with anything, it is always a process. You’ve just got to get in the gym and get a better feel for it. We have guys coming in like Jaylen [Clark], coming in as a freshman, and his 3-point line is like three steps behind his high school line. Somebody like that just has to get a good feel for it. A team like us, we don’t really care much about missing shots, because usually when we miss shots we are crashing it and we’ll get it back. So our 3-point percentage wasn’t really on our minds last year, but we’ve got a lot of shooters this year with Johnny Juzang coming in. Other guys like Jake, he’s obviously lights out. Tyger has been working on his shot, Jaime has as well, myself too. We have a good feeling when it comes to 3-point shooting, coming into the season. But that is not, by any means, one of our worries.”
on who has consistently shot the best from 3-point range during practices
“That’s a good question. We’ve got a lot of shooters. I’d say the one that really sticks out to me is Johnny Juzang. I feel like he transferred and he came, you know, on a mission. That guy is a hard worker and I love everything about him. He has been shooting really, really well. I never thought that I’d say it, but somebody is competing with Jake right now.”
on how different the feel is around the team, in terms of experience, than it felt one year ago
“I’d say that it is a lot easier now. Obviously, Coach Cronin is not new anymore. He has already implemented his culture. Everybody here already has a good feel for him. So, I mean, I don’t think that he can implement himself anymore. He has already made his stamp. We know how serious it is to him. We know how big of a deal winning is for him. So it’s just pretty much about getting our new guys, you know, giving them a good feeling of Coach Cronin. He does a great job himself, obviously. But for somebody like me who was playing last year and he was on a lot, I try to give some of my wisdom to the newer players so that, you know, their transition is easier than it was for us last year. But definitely, comparing where we are at right now to where we were last season at this time, I’d say it is leaps-and-bounds better, for sure.”
on what parts of his game he believes needs to continue to improve
“I mean, that list is super long. But mainly, the number one thing that I am trying to do well this year is to be a leader. I have never been the vocal guy on the team. That’s something that our coaches and my teammates are looking for me to do, so that’s something that I need to work on and I have been doing so far. Secondly, it would be my decision-making. My assist-to-turnover was really, really bad. And every year that I have been here, it has been negative. That is something I’ve got to get to be positive. My ball-handling, a lot of my turnovers were created off of my careless ball-handling last year. That is something that I have been working on a lot. I’ve been tightening up my shot so that I’m not missing anymore open shots. But it is a lot of things. I’d say that the biggest ones would be my leadership and my decision-making and just being tough at all times. Coach Cronin always says that toughness is someone who makes the right play no matter how tired they are, no matter what the situation is. I need to be that player on this team who can make the right play at all times. I’d say my decision-making and my leadership are two big ones, and that’s like an umbrella for a lot of other things. The list is super-duper long, but those are the two big ones.”