University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Postgame Quotes – UCLA vs. Gonzaga
POSTGAME QUOTES
Gonzaga 83, UCLA 63
November 23, 2021
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening statement
“We’re not a good defensive team and we got exposed tonight by a great team. They’re a great team. Their defense was better than ours. Their offense was better than ours. We started trying to move the ball and play team basketball, but it was too late, obviously, when you get down 20 to them.”
on where team is falling short right now
“Defense. All you’ve got to do is look at our numbers, even before tonight. And like, everybody was happy after Villanova. I showed our guys, you know, we only turned them over seven times in our sold-out crowd, home gym. We had to come from 10 down. I know [Villanova’s] a great team. You take your show on the road, you better take some toughness and defense.”
on Gonzaga freshman Chet Holmgren
“To be honest with you, I’m not really into talking about Gonzaga. I think you’ve got to ask them about that. He’s a great player. But that’s got nothing to do with why we lost. He’s a great player.”
on fixing any issues as the team moves forward
“Practice. We’ll see. You know, Cody’s not walking through that door for a couple weeks. I’m not playing him until I know he’s safe and ready. He’s got a career – not going to rush him back. So, we’ll see."
on what players have to do going forward
“We became a really good defensive team, we made the Final Four. Our offensive numbers in the six previous games and the six in the NCAA tournament were identical. This is not a secret formula. But I’ve got news for you. As good as Gonzaga is, if they come out, dribble really fast down the court and lay it in seven times in the first half, I don’t like our chances. Seven times. It was 14-0 fast-break points. They weren’t the Lakers. It wasn’t Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) to Magic (Johnson) to Byron (Scott) to (James) Worthy for the dunk. It was the guy with the ball dribbled it all the way the length of the court and laid it in. We didn’t offer much in the way of resistance.”
on halftime message
“Stop giving up layups. It’s embarrassing.”
on offensive performance
“The ball’s not always going to go in. I thought we tried to take too many hard shots early in the game and by the time we stopped trying to take hard shots to match their run and then we started trying to pass the ball more and get fouled and play more team basketball, make Gonzaga guard us, we did a better job then. But early on, we took too many shots without making them defend us. Got to make them play defense. Can’t beat them if you can’t make them play defense. Got to make them play defense.”
on if any player in particular needs to step up in terms of leadership
“All of them. I’m a big believer that every guy should always be a leader in any company, business, team. You’re either leading people in the wrong direction – even if you’re a freshman that doesn’t play, or a non-scholarship guy – you lead with your attitude, you lead with your effort. Everybody should be doing that. That’s just how we do things.”
Gonzaga 83, UCLA 63
November 23, 2021
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening statement
“We’re not a good defensive team and we got exposed tonight by a great team. They’re a great team. Their defense was better than ours. Their offense was better than ours. We started trying to move the ball and play team basketball, but it was too late, obviously, when you get down 20 to them.”
on where team is falling short right now
“Defense. All you’ve got to do is look at our numbers, even before tonight. And like, everybody was happy after Villanova. I showed our guys, you know, we only turned them over seven times in our sold-out crowd, home gym. We had to come from 10 down. I know [Villanova’s] a great team. You take your show on the road, you better take some toughness and defense.”
on Gonzaga freshman Chet Holmgren
“To be honest with you, I’m not really into talking about Gonzaga. I think you’ve got to ask them about that. He’s a great player. But that’s got nothing to do with why we lost. He’s a great player.”
on fixing any issues as the team moves forward
“Practice. We’ll see. You know, Cody’s not walking through that door for a couple weeks. I’m not playing him until I know he’s safe and ready. He’s got a career – not going to rush him back. So, we’ll see."
on what players have to do going forward
“We became a really good defensive team, we made the Final Four. Our offensive numbers in the six previous games and the six in the NCAA tournament were identical. This is not a secret formula. But I’ve got news for you. As good as Gonzaga is, if they come out, dribble really fast down the court and lay it in seven times in the first half, I don’t like our chances. Seven times. It was 14-0 fast-break points. They weren’t the Lakers. It wasn’t Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) to Magic (Johnson) to Byron (Scott) to (James) Worthy for the dunk. It was the guy with the ball dribbled it all the way the length of the court and laid it in. We didn’t offer much in the way of resistance.”
on halftime message
“Stop giving up layups. It’s embarrassing.”
on offensive performance
“The ball’s not always going to go in. I thought we tried to take too many hard shots early in the game and by the time we stopped trying to take hard shots to match their run and then we started trying to pass the ball more and get fouled and play more team basketball, make Gonzaga guard us, we did a better job then. But early on, we took too many shots without making them defend us. Got to make them play defense. Can’t beat them if you can’t make them play defense. Got to make them play defense.”
on if any player in particular needs to step up in terms of leadership
“All of them. I’m a big believer that every guy should always be a leader in any company, business, team. You’re either leading people in the wrong direction – even if you’re a freshman that doesn’t play, or a non-scholarship guy – you lead with your attitude, you lead with your effort. Everybody should be doing that. That’s just how we do things.”