Postgame Quotes – UCLA vs. Stanford
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 66, Stanford 43
January 29, 2022
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening statement
“Five games in ten days. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get off the couch tomorrow.”
on if the team’s playing well defensively after keeping last three opponents to under 60 points
“Today – under the circumstances, we’re running out of bodies – I was really happy that the other day Tyger (Campbell) only had played 21 minutes. The thing I was most pleased with against Cal was we were able to keep his minutes down. Jules (Bernard) can handle high volume minutes. When he gets different rest, Tyger is the guy that concerns me in the long run. Of course, Jaime (Jaquez Jr.) goes down. I was just happy for Jake (Kyman). It gives him more opportunity. Jaime’s ankle has been bothering him and he stepped on someone, so that’s what happened. But defensively, to answer your question, 40 deflections, 22 turnovers we forced, just tremendous effort. We try to build the culture of what it takes to win and you can tell – I’ve been doing this long enough now. I knew last March when we were on that run, when guys are defending because they want to and guys are trying to tip passes because they want to, when guys are going after the loose balls – not because I’m making them – you can tell as a coach when you’ve done this long enough, you can tell when the team is just trying to win at all costs. And if you don’t win, you don’t win, but you can’t ask for anything more than that. Today, the effort under the circumstances was really unbelievable and if our good shooters make shots, we win by 40.”
on Jules’ and-one at the 7:54 mark in the second half
“It was huge. Again, it helps to have veteran winners. This day in age, when you asked me all the questions when I first got the job, ‘What kind of recruits?’ I said you’ve got to get – whether they’re a one-year guy or a four-year guy – it helps to have guys that have been around. It just does. They sense the moment. They know when we need a basket or when we need a stop. (Jules Bernard has) turned himself into a heck of a player.”
on Jake Kyman’s contributions
“Although, I almost started messing with him. There is Google. I shot 45 percent from the 3-point line. Check it out. La Salle High School, 1989-90. I’m messing with him. You guys know. You’ve been around us. To me, it’s great when you can win easy and you don’t make shots, because we’re going to need them eventually. And the law of averages – you’re not always going to win with great shooting. You’re not always going to have bad shooting either, but it reinforces our culture when you can win and dominate a game without making shots form your best shooters. I’d rather save them for next week.”
junior guard/forward Jake Kyman
on waiting for his breakthrough game
“I was just preaching to myself ‘Stay in the gym, things will happen when it’s your time.’ Now was my time to play tonight, and that’s what I did. I enjoyed every moment out there with my teammates. It’s so much fun. Just playing the game of basketball that I love; I’m so proud and happy to get out there.”
on who kept his spirits up
“The coaches have talked to me, just stay in there and keep your head up; things are going to go your way soon. Just stay ready. Teammates, Tyger [Campbell], Jules [Bernard] have talked to me, saying just keep your head in the game, stay focused. That’s the main thing – just having support and knowing that you’re wanted and know that even though you’re not getting as much time as you want but everyone’s there for you. It was nice to have people have my back.”
senior guard Jules Bernard
on taking the team on his shoulders
“I just knew that given Jaime’s [Jaquez Jr.] position and what he brings to the table, I had to get on the glass a little more and then be a physical presence down low. I knew I was going to guard bigger players, so just fighting down there as much as I could. But to be honest, I was just focusing on playing as hard as I could and taking care of the paint, guarding guys who were a little bigger than me. I feel like playing against Cody [Riley], Kenny [Nwuba], Myles [Johnson] in practice, I feel like I’m a little used to it.”
on holding three teams under 60 points this week
“The main thing is just deflections. I feel like the last three or four games we’ve been at, above or near 40 deflections each game. We’re really forcing teams out of their play style. Playing with energy and playing with aggression on defense is helping us a lot.”
redshirt junior guard Tyger Campbell
on sustaining the intensity the last few games
“We’ve just seen we can do it. Playing against Arizona was good for us, winning that game. We’re just trying to put more games together after that. So every day in practice, we know we can put in a winning effort. We just take every day of practice one day at a time and we try to translate it onto the court for these games.”
Stanford Head Coach Jerod Haase
opening statement
“UCLA is a top-ranked team for a reason. The crowd was energetic. They didn’t shoot it as well as they normally do. They played a good basketball game. It really came down to their defensive pressure and our turnovers. It’s been a theme for us this year. I need to find a way to rectify that.”
on who stood out for Stanford’s team
“I have to go back and look at it. I don’t think we had anybody who stood out. James Keefe competed and played hard. A lot of different guys at a lot of different positions struggled.”
on where they go from here
“We have eight games in seventeen days. We don’t have a lot of time to wallow in self-pity or celebrate. We have three games this week and three games next week after these two games this week. We have to learn from film. There’s not going to be a lot of practice time. I want to keep my guys safe. I don’t want to put them in harms way. I want them to learn from other ways besides practice.”
UCLA 66, Stanford 43
January 29, 2022
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening statement
“Five games in ten days. I don’t know if I’ll be able to get off the couch tomorrow.”
on if the team’s playing well defensively after keeping last three opponents to under 60 points
“Today – under the circumstances, we’re running out of bodies – I was really happy that the other day Tyger (Campbell) only had played 21 minutes. The thing I was most pleased with against Cal was we were able to keep his minutes down. Jules (Bernard) can handle high volume minutes. When he gets different rest, Tyger is the guy that concerns me in the long run. Of course, Jaime (Jaquez Jr.) goes down. I was just happy for Jake (Kyman). It gives him more opportunity. Jaime’s ankle has been bothering him and he stepped on someone, so that’s what happened. But defensively, to answer your question, 40 deflections, 22 turnovers we forced, just tremendous effort. We try to build the culture of what it takes to win and you can tell – I’ve been doing this long enough now. I knew last March when we were on that run, when guys are defending because they want to and guys are trying to tip passes because they want to, when guys are going after the loose balls – not because I’m making them – you can tell as a coach when you’ve done this long enough, you can tell when the team is just trying to win at all costs. And if you don’t win, you don’t win, but you can’t ask for anything more than that. Today, the effort under the circumstances was really unbelievable and if our good shooters make shots, we win by 40.”
on Jules’ and-one at the 7:54 mark in the second half
“It was huge. Again, it helps to have veteran winners. This day in age, when you asked me all the questions when I first got the job, ‘What kind of recruits?’ I said you’ve got to get – whether they’re a one-year guy or a four-year guy – it helps to have guys that have been around. It just does. They sense the moment. They know when we need a basket or when we need a stop. (Jules Bernard has) turned himself into a heck of a player.”
on Jake Kyman’s contributions
“Although, I almost started messing with him. There is Google. I shot 45 percent from the 3-point line. Check it out. La Salle High School, 1989-90. I’m messing with him. You guys know. You’ve been around us. To me, it’s great when you can win easy and you don’t make shots, because we’re going to need them eventually. And the law of averages – you’re not always going to win with great shooting. You’re not always going to have bad shooting either, but it reinforces our culture when you can win and dominate a game without making shots form your best shooters. I’d rather save them for next week.”
junior guard/forward Jake Kyman
on waiting for his breakthrough game
“I was just preaching to myself ‘Stay in the gym, things will happen when it’s your time.’ Now was my time to play tonight, and that’s what I did. I enjoyed every moment out there with my teammates. It’s so much fun. Just playing the game of basketball that I love; I’m so proud and happy to get out there.”
on who kept his spirits up
“The coaches have talked to me, just stay in there and keep your head up; things are going to go your way soon. Just stay ready. Teammates, Tyger [Campbell], Jules [Bernard] have talked to me, saying just keep your head in the game, stay focused. That’s the main thing – just having support and knowing that you’re wanted and know that even though you’re not getting as much time as you want but everyone’s there for you. It was nice to have people have my back.”
senior guard Jules Bernard
on taking the team on his shoulders
“I just knew that given Jaime’s [Jaquez Jr.] position and what he brings to the table, I had to get on the glass a little more and then be a physical presence down low. I knew I was going to guard bigger players, so just fighting down there as much as I could. But to be honest, I was just focusing on playing as hard as I could and taking care of the paint, guarding guys who were a little bigger than me. I feel like playing against Cody [Riley], Kenny [Nwuba], Myles [Johnson] in practice, I feel like I’m a little used to it.”
on holding three teams under 60 points this week
“The main thing is just deflections. I feel like the last three or four games we’ve been at, above or near 40 deflections each game. We’re really forcing teams out of their play style. Playing with energy and playing with aggression on defense is helping us a lot.”
redshirt junior guard Tyger Campbell
on sustaining the intensity the last few games
“We’ve just seen we can do it. Playing against Arizona was good for us, winning that game. We’re just trying to put more games together after that. So every day in practice, we know we can put in a winning effort. We just take every day of practice one day at a time and we try to translate it onto the court for these games.”
Stanford Head Coach Jerod Haase
opening statement
“UCLA is a top-ranked team for a reason. The crowd was energetic. They didn’t shoot it as well as they normally do. They played a good basketball game. It really came down to their defensive pressure and our turnovers. It’s been a theme for us this year. I need to find a way to rectify that.”
on who stood out for Stanford’s team
“I have to go back and look at it. I don’t think we had anybody who stood out. James Keefe competed and played hard. A lot of different guys at a lot of different positions struggled.”
on where they go from here
“We have eight games in seventeen days. We don’t have a lot of time to wallow in self-pity or celebrate. We have three games this week and three games next week after these two games this week. We have to learn from film. There’s not going to be a lot of practice time. I want to keep my guys safe. I don’t want to put them in harms way. I want them to learn from other ways besides practice.”