Postgame Quotes – UCLA vs. CSU Bakersfield
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 95, CSU Bakersfield 58
November 9, 2021
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
on Cody Riley’s knee injury
“We don’t know the extent of Cody’s injury. It was a crash. He said it all happened so fast he can’t remember what happened. My thoughts are just praying for him and hopefully he’s O.K. and it’s not anything too serious. We won’t know until we can confirm stuff.”
on showing offseason improvement, particularly Kenneth Nwuba
“Yes, he’s come a long way. … If a guy’s got the right attitude, which Kenneth does – he helps us win games by just being himself. When you see a guy like that with his attitude and work ethic -- you see him have some success -- that’s really what makes you most happy as a coach. For us, that’s really what it’s all about.”
on his thoughts on the team’s defensive performance tonight
“First half, great. Second half, not so great. I got pretty upset with the guys. I called a timeout. Just throwing lobs and we lost our focus. I think early on we were all over them. Second half, I’m just trying to get guys minutes.”
on having multiple options on offense to run the point
“We’ve worked really hard this year on whoever gets the rebound is the point guard. I think the more we can carry that over to the games against Villanova, it will help us where I won’t have to draw everything up and these guys can create for each other. We’re still growing in that area. We have no problem finding guys who can put it in the basket. But when you play real teams, you’ve got to have guys that can get people open. They’ve got to beat their man and make somebody help and find the open man. That is the evolution of your game for Johnny, Jules, and for Tyger, it’s him shooting which he’s really improved on. Peyton’s great at finding the open man. We don’t lack for guys that can shoot the open shots. We’ve just got to make sure we’re creating the open shot.”
on how the games against Chico State and CSU Bakersfield were good tests for Villanova on Friday
“Well we wanted to play Bakersfield because Rod (Barnes) is known for being a defensive guy. I have a lot of experience from my Big East days. I know what Villanova is all about. I know what they’re culture stands for and I understand how hard they’ll play and how physical they are. I thought this would give us a little bit of a microcosm of that.”
senior guard Jules Bernard
on the first game
“We’re excited for the season. To kick off our first game, it was an amazing feeling having the students there, the fans there. It just brought a lot of energy. Like all of the other guys on the team, I’m just excited to finally get the season started.”
on the seamlessness of everyone returning from last season
“We’ve built a camaraderie, and I think being that a lot of us are from LA and obviously having that experience from last year coming into this season, there’s a certain type of cohesion that we have that’s pretty strong, so I’m just trying to take it one game at a time. We all trust each other, and we’re all cool with each other.”
CSU Bakersfield head coach Rod Barnes
on the tough test to open the season
“When they came out initially, those guys punched us in the face. The guys were in a good place. We scouted them really well. We were concerned they’d been together so long. We hadn’t been together so long. But they did what a No. 2 team is supposed to do. When you get a team like that, and they become comfortable, it gets worse. I don’t think our guys were intimidated. Our guys were not down, we just didn’t take advantage to beat a team like this.”
on what they need to improve upon
“We have to have guys that play well. Maybe change our lineup. We just have to work on our chemistry.”
UCLA 95, CSU Bakersfield 58
November 9, 2021
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
on Cody Riley’s knee injury
“We don’t know the extent of Cody’s injury. It was a crash. He said it all happened so fast he can’t remember what happened. My thoughts are just praying for him and hopefully he’s O.K. and it’s not anything too serious. We won’t know until we can confirm stuff.”
on showing offseason improvement, particularly Kenneth Nwuba
“Yes, he’s come a long way. … If a guy’s got the right attitude, which Kenneth does – he helps us win games by just being himself. When you see a guy like that with his attitude and work ethic -- you see him have some success -- that’s really what makes you most happy as a coach. For us, that’s really what it’s all about.”
on his thoughts on the team’s defensive performance tonight
“First half, great. Second half, not so great. I got pretty upset with the guys. I called a timeout. Just throwing lobs and we lost our focus. I think early on we were all over them. Second half, I’m just trying to get guys minutes.”
on having multiple options on offense to run the point
“We’ve worked really hard this year on whoever gets the rebound is the point guard. I think the more we can carry that over to the games against Villanova, it will help us where I won’t have to draw everything up and these guys can create for each other. We’re still growing in that area. We have no problem finding guys who can put it in the basket. But when you play real teams, you’ve got to have guys that can get people open. They’ve got to beat their man and make somebody help and find the open man. That is the evolution of your game for Johnny, Jules, and for Tyger, it’s him shooting which he’s really improved on. Peyton’s great at finding the open man. We don’t lack for guys that can shoot the open shots. We’ve just got to make sure we’re creating the open shot.”
on how the games against Chico State and CSU Bakersfield were good tests for Villanova on Friday
“Well we wanted to play Bakersfield because Rod (Barnes) is known for being a defensive guy. I have a lot of experience from my Big East days. I know what Villanova is all about. I know what they’re culture stands for and I understand how hard they’ll play and how physical they are. I thought this would give us a little bit of a microcosm of that.”
senior guard Jules Bernard
on the first game
“We’re excited for the season. To kick off our first game, it was an amazing feeling having the students there, the fans there. It just brought a lot of energy. Like all of the other guys on the team, I’m just excited to finally get the season started.”
on the seamlessness of everyone returning from last season
“We’ve built a camaraderie, and I think being that a lot of us are from LA and obviously having that experience from last year coming into this season, there’s a certain type of cohesion that we have that’s pretty strong, so I’m just trying to take it one game at a time. We all trust each other, and we’re all cool with each other.”
CSU Bakersfield head coach Rod Barnes
on the tough test to open the season
“When they came out initially, those guys punched us in the face. The guys were in a good place. We scouted them really well. We were concerned they’d been together so long. We hadn’t been together so long. But they did what a No. 2 team is supposed to do. When you get a team like that, and they become comfortable, it gets worse. I don’t think our guys were intimidated. Our guys were not down, we just didn’t take advantage to beat a team like this.”
on what they need to improve upon
“We have to have guys that play well. Maybe change our lineup. We just have to work on our chemistry.”