University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Postgame Quotes - UCLA vs. Cal
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 76, Cal 56
December 6, 2020
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Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Menโs Head Basketball Coach
on Tyger Campbellโs performance
โAs we became a good team last year and went on our run, [Tyger] grew up, he became a sophomore at some point towards the end of January and led the Pac-12 in assists to turnovers. I thought his defensive ball pressure was as good as itโs ever been today, combined with his almost-perfect game on offense. When he plays like that โ we get 23 assists tonight on 30 baskets โ weโre really happy that we were able to find a rhythm offensively.โ
ย
on avoiding COVID-19
โI donโt wanna get political on you, but Iโm a believer that the CDC, the guidelines, the masking, everythingโs out there for a reason. I think one thing that I know my family has learned in Cincinnati, and itโs a proven fact, is you can test negative for four days when youโve been positive for four days. Thatโs why theyโre making quarantines up. I hear coaches say โ itโs disappointing โ โwell we should just play.โ You donโt realize the silent spread is the problem with this virus. It is what it is, weโre all trying to fight through it. You have to be as careful as possible. You can always make games up, basketballโs not football, right? We donโt have to travel 120 people. You can play back-to-back in basketball. I just think weโre all better off being careful and if you only play 20 games, you only play 20 games.โ
ย
on the teamโs play in the second half
โI was really happy that we didnโt get tight offensively. Jaime hit a big three, Tyger made a big play, Chris did too. We kept playing. Youโre playing high major basketball in the Pac-12, theyโre gonna make some shots. Youโre not gonna shut them out. If you get to 76, weโre going to be okay. Youโre not gonna keep shutting them down. They had five straight trips where they cut it down to 12, because we had five straight trips where they scored or got to the foul line. That canโt happen, you canโt get scored on five possessions in a row. But, if you keep scoring, thatโs the key. I think thatโs going to be a big key for us this year. To be a real team, youโve got to be able to keep pace with another team when theyโre putting the ball in the basket. I thought we showed poise offensively, we didnโt get tight, we still shot it in, and then once we got some stops we got [the lead] back up to 18, 20.โ
ย
on the halftime message and Calโs limited trips to the free throw line
โYeah, we defended without fouling. Also they only had three offensive rebounds on 27 misses, so we worked hard on our boxing out. We know theyโre a big, strong, physical team. The most irrelevant stat on a statsheet is the halftime score. I laugh when I hear โya, ya, we were winning at half.โ That means you lost if somebody says that. We talk about strategy at halftime. What had hurt us, adjustments, we were well-aware that Mark Foxโs teams are not going to quit. I know him, heโs a friend, those guys can coach, theyโre not gonna quit. That never entered our minds. We just tried to focus on adjustments, talked about the things we were doing well, adjustments, some things we could do a little bit better. We had eight turnovers at halftime, so we discussed that, we only had three in the second half, which was big because we had to score points because we werenโt going to shut them out forever.โ
ย
Cal head coach Mark Fox
opening comments
โWe just didnโt play well out of the gate. Weโve got to be more ready to play. We were a step behind every play. They shot nearly 70% in the first half. You have to give them credit for some for that, but obviously our defense was nowhere near where we wanted to be. Offensively, I didnโt think we played with any authority. I thought we played a step behind them every play.โ
ย
on Calโs inability to create better scoring opportunities early
โTheyโre a great defensive team. I think their length certainly bothered us. I thought we turned down some shots and against a great defensive team to get a shot, even if itโs early in the clock, youโve got to take advantage of some of those good looks, because the great look may not come against a really good defensive team, so I think youโve got to give them a lot of credit.โ
ย
On guard Makale Foremanโs health status
โIโll just say we had a snag in the testing process. We had a couple players who were not allowed to travel with us yesterday, and so they didnโt practice yesterday or attend shootaround today, and they joined us for the game tonight. So just a hiccup in the testing process. Fortunately, everybody I think is okay. I havenโt heard a report from my trainer, but I think heโll be fine from the fall tonight.โ
ย
on guard Matt Bradley not playing the final minutes of the game
โWe started crawling back in it. He wasnโt having one of his better nights. Heโs been a good player and weโll see good moments from him again Iโm sure, but it just felt like those other guys were battling and until we got really back in it, I thought I wanted to give those kids a chance.โ
ย
UCLA 76, Cal 56
December 6, 2020
ย
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Menโs Head Basketball Coach
on Tyger Campbellโs performance
โAs we became a good team last year and went on our run, [Tyger] grew up, he became a sophomore at some point towards the end of January and led the Pac-12 in assists to turnovers. I thought his defensive ball pressure was as good as itโs ever been today, combined with his almost-perfect game on offense. When he plays like that โ we get 23 assists tonight on 30 baskets โ weโre really happy that we were able to find a rhythm offensively.โ
ย
on avoiding COVID-19
โI donโt wanna get political on you, but Iโm a believer that the CDC, the guidelines, the masking, everythingโs out there for a reason. I think one thing that I know my family has learned in Cincinnati, and itโs a proven fact, is you can test negative for four days when youโve been positive for four days. Thatโs why theyโre making quarantines up. I hear coaches say โ itโs disappointing โ โwell we should just play.โ You donโt realize the silent spread is the problem with this virus. It is what it is, weโre all trying to fight through it. You have to be as careful as possible. You can always make games up, basketballโs not football, right? We donโt have to travel 120 people. You can play back-to-back in basketball. I just think weโre all better off being careful and if you only play 20 games, you only play 20 games.โ
ย
on the teamโs play in the second half
โI was really happy that we didnโt get tight offensively. Jaime hit a big three, Tyger made a big play, Chris did too. We kept playing. Youโre playing high major basketball in the Pac-12, theyโre gonna make some shots. Youโre not gonna shut them out. If you get to 76, weโre going to be okay. Youโre not gonna keep shutting them down. They had five straight trips where they cut it down to 12, because we had five straight trips where they scored or got to the foul line. That canโt happen, you canโt get scored on five possessions in a row. But, if you keep scoring, thatโs the key. I think thatโs going to be a big key for us this year. To be a real team, youโve got to be able to keep pace with another team when theyโre putting the ball in the basket. I thought we showed poise offensively, we didnโt get tight, we still shot it in, and then once we got some stops we got [the lead] back up to 18, 20.โ
ย
on the halftime message and Calโs limited trips to the free throw line
โYeah, we defended without fouling. Also they only had three offensive rebounds on 27 misses, so we worked hard on our boxing out. We know theyโre a big, strong, physical team. The most irrelevant stat on a statsheet is the halftime score. I laugh when I hear โya, ya, we were winning at half.โ That means you lost if somebody says that. We talk about strategy at halftime. What had hurt us, adjustments, we were well-aware that Mark Foxโs teams are not going to quit. I know him, heโs a friend, those guys can coach, theyโre not gonna quit. That never entered our minds. We just tried to focus on adjustments, talked about the things we were doing well, adjustments, some things we could do a little bit better. We had eight turnovers at halftime, so we discussed that, we only had three in the second half, which was big because we had to score points because we werenโt going to shut them out forever.โ
ย
Cal head coach Mark Fox
opening comments
โWe just didnโt play well out of the gate. Weโve got to be more ready to play. We were a step behind every play. They shot nearly 70% in the first half. You have to give them credit for some for that, but obviously our defense was nowhere near where we wanted to be. Offensively, I didnโt think we played with any authority. I thought we played a step behind them every play.โ
ย
on Calโs inability to create better scoring opportunities early
โTheyโre a great defensive team. I think their length certainly bothered us. I thought we turned down some shots and against a great defensive team to get a shot, even if itโs early in the clock, youโve got to take advantage of some of those good looks, because the great look may not come against a really good defensive team, so I think youโve got to give them a lot of credit.โ
ย
On guard Makale Foremanโs health status
โIโll just say we had a snag in the testing process. We had a couple players who were not allowed to travel with us yesterday, and so they didnโt practice yesterday or attend shootaround today, and they joined us for the game tonight. So just a hiccup in the testing process. Fortunately, everybody I think is okay. I havenโt heard a report from my trainer, but I think heโll be fine from the fall tonight.โ
ย
on guard Matt Bradley not playing the final minutes of the game
โWe started crawling back in it. He wasnโt having one of his better nights. Heโs been a good player and weโll see good moments from him again Iโm sure, but it just felt like those other guys were battling and until we got really back in it, I thought I wanted to give those kids a chance.โ
ย