University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Postgame Quotes - UCLA vs. Arizona State
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 75, Arizona State 72
Feb. 27, 2020
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Menโs Head Basketball Coach
opening remarks
โI think it was a great night for college basketball and the Pac-12. People watching that game, hopefully they realize whatโs going on with our conference. A lot of young teams last year, a lot of really good teams this year. Arizona State, it was a huge win. Theyโre playing so well. Theyโre so well coached, theyโre so well prepared. Some of the things we had been running, they took away early in the game and caused us to get off to a slow start. Bobby (Hurley) does just a tremendous job. His guys play hard, they defend. Thought there was a stretch where we got up nine in that second half, they really playedโI thought they played harder than us for a while. Forced us to turn it over. Obviously, weโre a one point guard team. He (Tyger Campbell) had 14 assists and whenever I tried to rest him, Bobby exploited it because heโs a really good coach. He knows what heโs doing. Itโs a chess match the whole game against them. Heโs trying to get certain mismatches and isos, Iโm trying to do the same thing on the other end. But at the end of the day, players win games and we just happened to make one more play, guys. Letโs just be honest. We just happened to make one more play. I didnโt call timeout because, right there, I didnโt want to give him a chance to come out in a zone or change defenses and get organized. I think sometimes, youโve got to have faith in your players. Try to get the switch I wanted, then have Tyger try to create something. Obviously, Jaimeโs a tough kid, man. Heโs got amazing fortitude for a young player.โ
on how close final play was to what he wanted
โI wanted Tyger to get fouled or assist. What I was telling him was no more wild shots. Heโs three-for-16. I wanted him to get fouled even more or assist even more, but Iโm asking him to do so much. And then heโs got to go down to the other end and guard a guy that took 24 shots, so heโs completely exhausted. And in fairness to him, Remyโs such an offensive weapon. Itโs hard. I was trying to sneak him out, but every time I tried to sneak him out for a rest, theyโre pressuring us. I wanted him to try to get fouled or create an assist, eat up some space. Jaime did a great job. Something we work on every day is moving behind the line so you catch the ball in a one-two-step rhythm. Youโve still got to make it. But the way he moved in with the shot, he attackedโฆ with his feet, something we work on all the time.โ
on what it means to be tied for first place in Pac-12
โWell, obviously, youโre trying to build a program. Weโre trying to build faith in a fan base. Weโre trying to build faith in your locker room. So, itโs huge for us. But the truth of it is, we lose the next two, weโre going to be tied for fifth place in this conference. Weโre still above the team, so, weโve got to rest up. Got another one-game tournament Saturday night. Itโs just the reality of our situation.โ
on his teamโs toughness
โLike I said, it was a great game. We just made one more play than them. I really think theyโre (ASU) playing as well as anybody in the country. Thereโs a lot of parity this year. Youโd be hard pressed to see anybody play college basketball that has three guys that make shots and make the plays of (Rob) Edwards, (Remy) Martin and (Alonzo) Verge. All three of those guys are extremely tough to defend. Romello (White) didnโt put up big numbers tonight because of foul trouble, but that was our game plan, try to get him in foul trouble. We wanted to try to drive it at him as much as we could and attack him because [when] heโs in there with those three, theyโre almost impossible to stop, to be honest with you. Theyโre playing that well and Bobbyโs done such a good job with them. Tremendous win for our team. It was a tremendous win for our team.โ
UCLA redshirt freshman guard Tyger Campbell
on plan for final play of the game
โSo pretty much what happened was I was bringing it down and we ran a play to try and get the โ4โ on me and I was going to try go downhill, get fouled, make something happen. I saw Jaime (Jaquez) circle back and his man help in. Jaime was just so open and I knew he was going to hit it, so I passed it back and he stepped into it and it was cash. It was when it left his hands.โ
on taking 16 shots and whether he planned to be more aggressive
โI think it was more of just I was taking what the defense was giving me. They were letting me get downhill a lot and I was beating my man. When I get in there, Iโm not shy to shoot it and I was going to let it go.โ
on how tired he was at the end of the game after his defensive effort
โI was a little winded at the end, but you have to have that mentality at the end of the game. You just have to get up and you have to play. Iโm on the court, my coach believes in me, and Iโm just there.โ
on back-to-back 10-plus assist performances and his comfort level as a facilitator
โI always feel comfortable as a point guard. Thatโs my true position. Iโm a true point guard. It has been good these past couple games, but like you said, Iโm the only one passing it. The other guys have to hit the shots and my teammates have just been hitting [shots off my passes]. I give all my credit and all the credit to my teammates.โ
on Coach Croninโs message throughout the season
โHis message has always been the same. Just believe in each other and keep practicing hard. A lot of people donโt see what we do at practice, in the locker room, and how we act toward each other. We just have to stay together and stay as a team. Just let everybody be on the outside. Just keep coming together after every game.โ
UCLA freshman guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.
on plan for final play of the game
โCoach Croninโhe was yelling at me, โscreen, make sure he doesnโt get to go under so they donโt have to switchโ. We want him to switch. I went and made sure I set it really low. My man switched; I get back. Something we work on every single day in practice [is] getting behind the guy drivingโspacing. So, just practice. He drove, coming back around he passed me the ball. I shot it. It went in.โ
on if he knew the final shot was going in when it left his hands
โIt felt good. You know, a lot of shots I take, they all feel good. That one just went in. So yeah, it felt good coming off my hands. It looked good. That was it.โ
on if he counted down and hit pretend buzzer beaters growing up
โYeah, thatโs something you dream about a lot. You dream about shots like that in a big college game like that, battling for first placeโsomething I used to do when I was a kid. I used to go to the park just by myself and just run up and down the court, counting down from 3-2-1, hitting big shots like that. Itโs something that every kid dreams about. To do it tonight, it was amazing. It was an unreal feeling.โ
on how it feels to be tied for first in the Pac-12
โIt feels great right now. We, as a team, we believed from the start that this could happen. We believed it from the very beginning, even when we were losing games. This is what weโve been working for. This is what weโve worked forโplaying for first-place games, trying to get a shot into the (NCAA) Tournament, and just doing big things like this. We believed from the start, so this is what we expected."
on what Chris Smith said to him after the game winner
โTo be honest, I couldnโt hear anything. It was like really, really loud. But I know one thingโshooters shoot. Thatโs kind of a motto we have. So, if you throw it up, shooters shoot, itโs going to go in eventually.โ
on how it feels to secure this big win against Arizona State
โIt feels amazing to get them back. We lost at their place and we beat them here, but we have a mission to accomplish, and thatโs to win. Win our games. Win out and try to get this first place in the Pac-12.โ
on expecting an even bigger crowd on Saturday against Arizona
โWe hope for more. It was great. An atmosphere like that is fun. Hopefully, the crowd had fun. I know we had a lot of fun jumping around after the game, hitting shots, everybody going crazy. Come out Saturday, please.โ
UCLA freshman guard/forward Jake Kyman
on his hot streak from long range in the first half
โMy confidence was building after I took that floater on the baseline. Once you see a shot go in, your mentality just gets a little bigger. You take more shots. Your confidence just goes up. And Tyger (Campbell), the rest of the guys were finding me and I was open, so I was shooting them and they were just falling.โ
on preparing for Saturdayโs game against Arizona
โWeโre just going to do the same thing we did last time. Defense is our mindset every game. We have to focus on the best players and trying to get the ball out of their hands, so other players can do what theyโre not used to doing. Just go from there. Keep playing defense and then, obviously, on the offensive end getting open shots, taking good looks. Thatโs how we can win. Thatโs how we do the same formula every time.โ
Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley
opening remarks
โIt was a hell of a game to be a part of. You see why both teams are at an elite level. We had so many guys out there just competing. We have really been on the right side of many of these games. It was a tough contested shot. I just wish one of our guys had that opportunity.โ
on their foul situation
โWeโve never had those type of foul troubles in those key situations.โ
on Jake Kymanโs play
โJake looked like Larry Bird out there. I know Iโm going way back. Weโve been down big and weโve had responses. It was just impressive to watch these teams clash. Both will have runs in the NCAA Tournament.โ
on Remy Martinโs play
โHe has a few lay-ups that trickled off the rim in the first half. He really did his part today. They did a great job at individual match-ups. They have great size.โ
on where they go from here
โWe pick up the pieces. Iโm not angry at all at our team. Iโm just really impressed with how they competed. Iโm proud of how we shot and stayed in the game. Iโm going to make sure we also recover physically.โ
Arizona State junior guard Remy Martin
opening statement
โThese are both great teams. Both teams made some big shots. I really had to make that one shot. That was a key for me. At the end of the day, I think Iโm capable of making any shot. Theyโre just really a big, tough team. I just think we took too long to match their energy. They just got back in the game.โ
on where they go from here
โWe go back to the drawing board and watch film.โ