Postgame Quotes -- UCLA vs. California
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 81, California 57
January 27, 2022
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
on Johnny Juzang’s status
“[He’s] fine. With the protocols, I think we’re down to one scholarship player that hasn’t had it during the season. Those guys, because they haven’t had it, it was just a random test.”
on if Juzang will play on Saturday
“No. It just happened that his random test was today. He’s fine. He’s highly disappointed. Like I told him, it’s terrible for him. It was great for Jake [Kyman] and David [Singleton]. Very, very happy for both of those guys.”
on how the team shared the ball
“We got guys that want to win. When we pass the ball, we’re really good. We still don’t have enough assists. I think they got us with 12. We had 18 unassisted baskets. I’d like us to be a little bit better at it. Dave came out ready; I’ve got nothing but faith in Dave. In the NBA, if you play five minutes, you do ‘X,Y,Z’ after every game to stay in shape. We’re not allowed to do anything with NCAA rules because, back in the ‘80s, coaches used to practice guys if they played poorly. After the game, we can’t do anything, but Dave always gets extra work in to stay ready. Jake did, as well – Jake last night with Coach Lewis. We rested most of our guys with just recovery and film. We’re a sports science program, so I follow what Nate Girma and Tyler Lesher tell me to do. That’s what we’ll do tomorrow. I’ll listen to their advice. Jake, Kenny, and David, they stayed ready. Just very happy for those guys. They all contributed. We take good shots, share the ball, and execute, we have guys that can score it. We should shoot 50 percent every game. We really should, because we can score in five positions. Sometimes, we get caught up in taking too hard of shots. I’m nit-picking, but that’s an area you can always improve – shot selection. Hallmark of winning teams, offensively, is their shot selection.”
on the team’s spirit tonight despite not having Juzang
“Veteran team. We have goals. We talk about our goals. My message to them is there’s a difference between good and great. It’s really, really hard to be a great team. In a high-major league, you have to show up every night. There are no off nights. If you have an off night in a high-major league against big, strong bodies, good coaches, you get clipped. It happens all the time. I’m sure it happened tonight; I haven’t seen any scores. My message to them is we have to try and chase greatness. We can’t just play with spirit because Arizona is in here, or fans are in here – although our students were great again. They’re the best; I love them. It needs to be about us – what we’re chasing.”
on 14 steals tonight
“What I would tell you is, for me, our defense has gotten exponentially better lately because we’ve been averaging 36 deflections per game. Tonight, we had 40; we had 22 at half. Which always is going to equal steals. Also, blocked shots are a part of it because any piece of the ball is a deflection. We didn’t have eight blocks like the other night, but the 14 steals. Embracing trying to disrupt Cal’s offense. Play harder, run harder, talk more, be more physical, rebound harder. Those are the things that separate programs. Winners know why they win. Other teams blame their coaches, their teammates. It’s their effort. Most of the time, it’s effort.”
on Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s four steals
“Very happy about his steals. Very, very happy about his steals. Still working on his vision while he’s a driver. Trying to get him into a true guard. The more he has vision as a driver, the more dangerous we’ll be as a team.”
on Jaylen Clark’s status
“[We’re] just waiting. He’s in the protocol. I’d say not soon. Definitely not Saturday.”
junior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.
on the team keeping its spirit despite not having Juzang
“I think it was really just a next man up mentality. I’ve said this before; I think we have a really deep team and when guys have opportunities, they step up. As you saw, it happened tonight. Guys like Dave, guys like Jake, they really stepped up big tonight and helped us get this W.”
on if anyone emphasized taking control of the game
“I would say it’s a collective group mentality that we bring. It could be easy after a game like Arizona, big crowd, everyone cheering, to just roll over and try to play this one. We didn’t do that. We came out with intensity, the same fire that we had in the game before. We just tried to keep that throughout the game.”
on his defensive mentality
“I would just say transition over from the Arizona. I know I had three blocks. I didn’t have any tonight, which was unfortunate, but I just tried to keep that same mentality of going out there and trying to be a menace on defense and do whatever I can to try and stop the ball.”
on buzzer-beating inbound play against Stanford last season
“I wouldn’t say it gives us nightmares, but that’s definitely a play that we remember as a collective team. I know Peyton wasn’t there for that, but he watched the game, he knows what happened. We’re prepared and we’re going to get ready and do whatever we can to try and win.”
freshman guard/forward Peyton Watson
on using his length on aggressive plays
“Just using it to the best ability I can, helping us win, helping my teammates defend, going in there and getting rebounds. Those make the difference in a game like this. Every team’s a good team. We go in, we scout, but at the end of the day, it’s all about who plays the hardest, who wants it the most, and I want it.”
on Jake Kyman and Russell Stong
“We see it every day in practice. We know what they can do. It’s not a surprise to us. We’re just happy that everybody else gets to see it and that we get to share that moment with them. Russ and Jake work hard every day. All that work goes unnoticed sometimes and we just want to bring attention to how good of basketball players they actually are and just go out there and put together the work they put in practice.”
on how the team is doing in the midst of five games in 10 days
“For me, I didn’t really get to play much in high school, so this is the most games I’ve ever played, most minutes I’ve ever played, most physical battles I’ve ever played. I’m enjoying it. I’m getting the experience. Obviously, it takes a toll on your body and we’re all playing as hard as we can, but we really take our time in the training room with our trainer, Tyler. He gets us right. We go in, get our treatment, handle our business, eat the right things, fuel our bodies, and we get ready to get another one on Saturday.”
California Head Coach Mark Fox
opening statement
“UCLA has a complete team. They have a lot of offensive pieces. We traded baskets in the first half, but you have to pick your poison with them. Mick [Cronin] has done a great job.”
on the standout on the team tonight
“I really wasn’t pleased overall, but I was pleased with Sam [Alajiki]. He started off nice for us; he made some plays tonight. He had a couple of threes. I don’t want to take anything away from UCLA, though; UCLA is a terrific team.”
on where the team goes from here
“We’ve got five games in 10 days – ‘SC on Saturday and Stanford on Tuesday.”
UCLA 81, California 57
January 27, 2022
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
on Johnny Juzang’s status
“[He’s] fine. With the protocols, I think we’re down to one scholarship player that hasn’t had it during the season. Those guys, because they haven’t had it, it was just a random test.”
on if Juzang will play on Saturday
“No. It just happened that his random test was today. He’s fine. He’s highly disappointed. Like I told him, it’s terrible for him. It was great for Jake [Kyman] and David [Singleton]. Very, very happy for both of those guys.”
on how the team shared the ball
“We got guys that want to win. When we pass the ball, we’re really good. We still don’t have enough assists. I think they got us with 12. We had 18 unassisted baskets. I’d like us to be a little bit better at it. Dave came out ready; I’ve got nothing but faith in Dave. In the NBA, if you play five minutes, you do ‘X,Y,Z’ after every game to stay in shape. We’re not allowed to do anything with NCAA rules because, back in the ‘80s, coaches used to practice guys if they played poorly. After the game, we can’t do anything, but Dave always gets extra work in to stay ready. Jake did, as well – Jake last night with Coach Lewis. We rested most of our guys with just recovery and film. We’re a sports science program, so I follow what Nate Girma and Tyler Lesher tell me to do. That’s what we’ll do tomorrow. I’ll listen to their advice. Jake, Kenny, and David, they stayed ready. Just very happy for those guys. They all contributed. We take good shots, share the ball, and execute, we have guys that can score it. We should shoot 50 percent every game. We really should, because we can score in five positions. Sometimes, we get caught up in taking too hard of shots. I’m nit-picking, but that’s an area you can always improve – shot selection. Hallmark of winning teams, offensively, is their shot selection.”
on the team’s spirit tonight despite not having Juzang
“Veteran team. We have goals. We talk about our goals. My message to them is there’s a difference between good and great. It’s really, really hard to be a great team. In a high-major league, you have to show up every night. There are no off nights. If you have an off night in a high-major league against big, strong bodies, good coaches, you get clipped. It happens all the time. I’m sure it happened tonight; I haven’t seen any scores. My message to them is we have to try and chase greatness. We can’t just play with spirit because Arizona is in here, or fans are in here – although our students were great again. They’re the best; I love them. It needs to be about us – what we’re chasing.”
on 14 steals tonight
“What I would tell you is, for me, our defense has gotten exponentially better lately because we’ve been averaging 36 deflections per game. Tonight, we had 40; we had 22 at half. Which always is going to equal steals. Also, blocked shots are a part of it because any piece of the ball is a deflection. We didn’t have eight blocks like the other night, but the 14 steals. Embracing trying to disrupt Cal’s offense. Play harder, run harder, talk more, be more physical, rebound harder. Those are the things that separate programs. Winners know why they win. Other teams blame their coaches, their teammates. It’s their effort. Most of the time, it’s effort.”
on Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s four steals
“Very happy about his steals. Very, very happy about his steals. Still working on his vision while he’s a driver. Trying to get him into a true guard. The more he has vision as a driver, the more dangerous we’ll be as a team.”
on Jaylen Clark’s status
“[We’re] just waiting. He’s in the protocol. I’d say not soon. Definitely not Saturday.”
junior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.
on the team keeping its spirit despite not having Juzang
“I think it was really just a next man up mentality. I’ve said this before; I think we have a really deep team and when guys have opportunities, they step up. As you saw, it happened tonight. Guys like Dave, guys like Jake, they really stepped up big tonight and helped us get this W.”
on if anyone emphasized taking control of the game
“I would say it’s a collective group mentality that we bring. It could be easy after a game like Arizona, big crowd, everyone cheering, to just roll over and try to play this one. We didn’t do that. We came out with intensity, the same fire that we had in the game before. We just tried to keep that throughout the game.”
on his defensive mentality
“I would just say transition over from the Arizona. I know I had three blocks. I didn’t have any tonight, which was unfortunate, but I just tried to keep that same mentality of going out there and trying to be a menace on defense and do whatever I can to try and stop the ball.”
on buzzer-beating inbound play against Stanford last season
“I wouldn’t say it gives us nightmares, but that’s definitely a play that we remember as a collective team. I know Peyton wasn’t there for that, but he watched the game, he knows what happened. We’re prepared and we’re going to get ready and do whatever we can to try and win.”
freshman guard/forward Peyton Watson
on using his length on aggressive plays
“Just using it to the best ability I can, helping us win, helping my teammates defend, going in there and getting rebounds. Those make the difference in a game like this. Every team’s a good team. We go in, we scout, but at the end of the day, it’s all about who plays the hardest, who wants it the most, and I want it.”
on Jake Kyman and Russell Stong
“We see it every day in practice. We know what they can do. It’s not a surprise to us. We’re just happy that everybody else gets to see it and that we get to share that moment with them. Russ and Jake work hard every day. All that work goes unnoticed sometimes and we just want to bring attention to how good of basketball players they actually are and just go out there and put together the work they put in practice.”
on how the team is doing in the midst of five games in 10 days
“For me, I didn’t really get to play much in high school, so this is the most games I’ve ever played, most minutes I’ve ever played, most physical battles I’ve ever played. I’m enjoying it. I’m getting the experience. Obviously, it takes a toll on your body and we’re all playing as hard as we can, but we really take our time in the training room with our trainer, Tyler. He gets us right. We go in, get our treatment, handle our business, eat the right things, fuel our bodies, and we get ready to get another one on Saturday.”
California Head Coach Mark Fox
opening statement
“UCLA has a complete team. They have a lot of offensive pieces. We traded baskets in the first half, but you have to pick your poison with them. Mick [Cronin] has done a great job.”
on the standout on the team tonight
“I really wasn’t pleased overall, but I was pleased with Sam [Alajiki]. He started off nice for us; he made some plays tonight. He had a couple of threes. I don’t want to take anything away from UCLA, though; UCLA is a terrific team.”
on where the team goes from here
“We’ve got five games in 10 days – ‘SC on Saturday and Stanford on Tuesday.”