University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Postgame Quotes - UCLA vs. Washington State
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 86, Washington State 83 (OT)
Feb. 13, 2020
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Menโs Head Basketball Coach
opening remarks
โThey made a lot of shots on us. Made shots early. I think it was his (Coach Kyle Smithโs) game plan. Heโs a great coach and combine that with I donโt think our energy was where it needed to be at the defensive end, so we started trying to trap, started trying to press and trap to wake our guys up. Comfortable teams shoot a high percentage and they were extremely comfortable for a long period of time. A lot of that was their strategy, obviously, with five man (Jeff Pollard) getting four threes. I donโt think heโs made four all season, but youโve got to adjust. Made enough plays, to me, to go overtime. Obviously, Cody (Riley) was huge for usโฆ huge for us. I thought Tyger (Campbell) was extremely tired at times. His free throws were product of just a freshman playing a lot of minutes, a lot of excitement, expended a lot of energy. Got to try to get him through the last six games as much as we can. Get him as much rest and rehab as possible. I was happy to see Dave (Singleton) make a few big shots, as well. He gives us great leadership, which we desperately need on this team, since weโre so young.โ
on having never seen a player score 11 points in overtime before
โYou never saw me play in high school, did you? โฆ Yeah, thatโs the definition of beast mode. That was beast made. He just did a great job ofโฆ we worked hard with him, you know, I think he was a guy that his whole life, he scored because of his size and now he has to score with technique and fakes and balance. So, he did a great job of getting his second foot planted, which gave him strength around the rim. The way he was doing, you could see he was on a mission.โ
on this being the start of a tournament
โOne-game tournament. Thatโs it. You get another one on Saturday. Thatโs got to be our mindset. Weโve got to play with desperation. We didnโt play with desperation, defensively, to start this game. And itโs a dangerous thing, but we come out and we missed a lot of open shots and thatโs where youโve got to step your defense up. I thought we were a little offensive sensitive, which is a dangerous thing as a team. But, eventually we turned it around in spite of what I thought was a great performance by Washington State. I will say this, we had one assist at halftime and ended up with 17. But we were passing the ball in the first half. We just couldnโt get a shot to go down. Jules (Bernard) missed two layups. Heโs not trying to miss them. Just couldnโt get one to go in.โ
on his teamโs resiliency
โWell, you know, I think weโve grown up a lotโฆ Weโve grown up a lot and I think some guys will takeโฆ when Coach is talking, it all sounds like excuses, but the reality of, for our guys, is that none of them have been in the position where they had to play well or UCLA wasnโt going to win. And now all the guys that play are now in that position for the first time. They mightโve played, but they didnโt have to play well for UCLA to win. So, itโs a responsibility of being able to play every play, be an every-play guyโnot an everydayโyou got to be an every play guyโฆ so it takes time to become that guy, it really does. But the guys did what they had to do, they dug it out and our offensive rebounding, I thought, kept us in it until we finally started making a few shots. Chris (Smith), especially, had seven offensive. We would have been down double figures at halftime if it wasnโt for the offensive glass. We couldnโt make a shot.โ
on being first win when team has given up 70 points
โThey had 69 in regulation soโฆ But you know you got to win the games, thereโs a lot of ways youโve got to win games. They made shots, they made a lot of plays, we had a lot of dumb fouls late. They shot, I know, six of their last eight points were on free throws, so youโve got to answer them, be ready to answer them. I mean, if youโre not going to stop them, youโve got to answer them, you have to put the ball in the basket, or youโre not going to win. Even in overtime, Cody (Riley) was doing his thing and we couldnโt get a stop the first couple possessions.โ
UCLA junior guard Chris Smith
on his shot that forced overtime soon after missing a shot
โI was just trying to get on to the next play. I missed, and I was trying to get back and get a stop on defense. It just happened that I had the ball in my hands at the time, and I got an open look. My teammates and coaches tell me to take the open looks, and I hit it. Thatโs all I was thinking.โ
on Cody Rileyโs play in overtime
โI was loving it; thatโs my dawg. We got in the huddle and I was like โman, play defense and feed Cody.โ We did those two things, and we got the dub.โ
on the preparation he had on the offensive boards
โThereโs no real preparation. Iโm always a crasher, no matter who shoots it. If I shoot it, Iโm crashing, if he shoots it, Iโm crashing. Balls are just bouncing my way. When I get a chance to get a rebound, I grab it.โ
UCLA redshirt sophomore forward Cody Riley
on his play in overtime
โOnce I got the ball in the post and saw it go in, it gave me a lot of confidence. My teammates got me the ball in the right position, and I was just rebounding aggressively, and the ball went in. It was a good feeling.โ
on how his defense feeds into his offensive game
โTo be honest, I play one possession at a time. At that time, I was just thinking about getting a stop. Once I saw him going to the basket, I figured he was going to pass it, so I got the block and then you just have to figure out how to score.โ
on how this performance ranks for him in his career
โI know I had a game where I had 20 points, but I donโt really pay attention to that. Iโm just excited we got the win. Itโs all about the team. Itโs not really about me. Itโs about the team, and we got the win, and weโre trying to go on a streak and win a lot of games and make the tournament. Thatโs the goal. Thatโs what weโre really focused on right now.โ
UCLA freshman guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.
on the growth of the team after the last game at WSU
โI think definitely as a team weโre making the steps forward to becoming a really good team and becoming a team that other teams are scared to play. We knew going into overtime that we didnโt want a repeat of what happened last time. We went out there, played as hard as we could and got the W.โ
on seeing Cody go on a surge in overtime
โHe was a monster tonight. Thatโs all I have to say. He was a monster.โ
on what the team talked about at halftime
โAt halftime, we were just talking about stops and playing defense. We didnโt play the defense we wanted in the first half, so the second half coming out we just all locked in and tried to get stops one stop at a time and then go to offense, take care of the ball, get a good shot and go from there. One stop at a time was kind of our mentality going into the second half.โ
on what the team said down 12 points in the second half
โWe said possession by possession. Weโve been in that position a lot of times, and a lot of times, we let it slip away. This was a big step forward in the right direction because we didnโt let it slip away this time. We just kept battling and battling, and eventually we got the W. So weโre making the right steps forward to be a really good team.โ
Washington State head coach Kyle Smith
on the last play of regulation
โIt was really tough. We knew we would have to have a guy to turn the corner. I didnโt really want to call time out. I just thought we would have gotten a better shot.โ
on if he thought he should have called the time out before the end of regulation
โNo. I usually donโt call a time out in that situation. I figured Isaac has been playing well, especially in the pick-and-roll, so I thought we had a chance.โ
on their road record
โWeโve had no moral victories. We havenโt handled success well. Itโs been tough for us to finish. We couldnโt keep (Cody) Riley off the glass.โ
on where they go from here
โWeโve got to go to Galen (Center) and play USC.โ
Washington State senior forward Jeff Pollard
on tonightโs game
โWeโve got to learn from this and put this behind us.โ
on his performance
โI felt the team played pretty good. We just have to take care of the ball down the stretch. We just have to do the little things. Overall, we had our chances down the stretch, but a couple things didnโt go our way.โ
on where they go from here
โWeโve got to take the next game, the next possession and the next play. We have to learn from this and get ready for USC.โ