UCLA Men's Basketball Quotes, Pac-12 Media Day
UCLA Men's Basketball at Pac-12 Media Day
San Francisco, Calif. (Pac-12 Headquarters)
October 26, 2022
Wednesday's UCLA video is available by clicking here
UCLA head coach Mick Cronin
opening remarks
“It's great to have Tyger [Campbell] and Jaime [Jaquez] here with me. Better coach with good players. Somebody told me get horses and ride them. Since I'm scared to do that, I'm just going to do it in the coaching realm. We've got two horses this year. We're going to ride them. We're excited about the season. We've got five guys on our team that have played in the Final Four, but we've got a lot of freshmen as well. Just excited to get started, trying to get Mac [Etienne] and Will [McClendon] back healthy and get back to full strength. It always makes it nice when you've got two guys that could both win Player of the Year in the league on your team.”
Q: Jaime, how does it feel to be healthy after the injuries you had to struggled with last year?
UCLA senior Jaime Jaquez Jr.: “Feels pretty good to be healthy, I can’t lie. Last year, dealing with a lot of injuries, pretty banged up on both ankles, but had a lot of time this offseason to recover and get as healthy as possible, and that's what I'm doing.”
Q: Mick, earlier today the Pac-12 commissioner said he had not talked to anyone who was in favor of USC, UCLA move to the Big Ten. I think it’s only fair to ask USC and UCLA if they have any response to what he said.
Coach Cronin: “Yeah, I was playing golf when [that news] happened. So that was way above my pay grade. For me, I’m getting older now. It’s my 20th year as a head coach. I'd rather talk about these guys than all that stuff. The A.D., presidents, commissioners make those moves. So they can talk about it. I’d rather talk about these guys, in all due respect. I think that everybody today should be talking about our players and these kids that are working so hard. It's a year-round sport now, as you know. These guys live in the social media world, where they're being critiqued at all times as amateurs, and it's not always pretty. So I think every media day should be about the players. I’ve got two great ones here with me and a bunch of other ones at home.”
Q: Jaime, how much of you coming back was this guy [Tyger Campbell] sitting right next to you, and the chance to do something special together?
Jaime: “Looking at the guy to my left right here, No. 10, we had talked about in the offseason what our decision was going to be. He had opportunities. I had opportunities. Ultimately, we came to the decision that
we were going to come back and try to hang banner number 12 at Pauley Pavilion. We talked about it, and I think we both had a good understanding of what we're trying to accomplish.”
Q: Coach, when Jalen Hill passed away, I saw your tweet on social media. It really shook me, because I had known him since he was 14. I’m interested to get your thoughts. Do you have anything planned to do anything special this season?
Coach Cronin: “I’ve got to talk to George Hill about that. George and the family has been going through, obviously – I can't imagine. So just been trying, my thing with communication with George, Jalen’s father, is just trying to be supportive to him. Tyger and I and Jaime were talking about Jalen on the way here yesterday, on the plane. For us, it is surreal because it’s not like we saw, it’s not like he was sick. He wasn’t on our team anymore but look, he’s from Southern California. These guys know him well. So it's really still hard for me. If it's hard for me to believe, and I've been through the passing of people that are close to me, for young people – like Tyger and him were roommates. It's really like, it's hard to even process that Jalen has passed away. They definitely will have some sort of remembrance of him. It's just a horrible, horrible tragedy that he's gone from us so soon.”
Q: Jaime, to continue our conversation from earlier today, what would it mean to you to be the next player of Mexican descent to get to the NBA. And to Coach Cronin, what do you see in Jaime that can make him succeed at the NBA level?
Jaime: “I think that would be a big stepping stone for people in my community, especially the Mexican community – to see a guy like me fulfill a dream I've had since I was a little kid, and just to inspire that next generation of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans that want to fulfill their passion, whether it be basketball or anything else. Just to be that beacon to say that, yeah, you can do it too.”
Coach Cronin: “Jaime’s got one skill that is all-encompassing. Guys in the 6-foot-7, 6-foot-8 range that are athletic enough, that can defend and play hard enough to play at the NBA level. He could have made it this year. He could be playing right now. Injuries slowed him last year. Jaime is a very unique person where he values the college experience, where today most players are coming to college to get to the NBA. Jaime is extremely mature. It's a credit to his family. That he values the college experience. He doesn't think about the money aspect – not that he doesn't want it, but it's more the experience for him. Also look, in college, Jaime is showing you every year he's scoring more and more points. He was an elite scorer in high school. He's going to score a ton of points this year, as most guys are. He's going to play this position, which will be multiple positions. That's what the league is all about now. Guys 6'7" to 6'9" that can do multiple things. Hopefully somebody that – when the day comes next June, he's going to get drafted right away. He's not a young kid who needs development, like a young Peyton Watson. He's going to help a team win right away because he's made UCLA win for three years, and he's going to have the experience to do that.”
Q: Tyger, I feel like the point guard position is the most important in basketball. What defines a great point guard? And for Jaime, with your sister as a freshman on the UCLA women’s basketball team, what is that experience like to have your sister there on campus with you?
UCLA senior Tyger Campbell: “I'd say being a point guard is all about being selfless and being an extension of the coach on court. I like to be on court relaying coach's messages and checking on everybody, making sure they're good. Kind of just playing outside of myself and worrying about the guy next to me while still I'm trying to add those things of getting myself going and just try to add on to my game some.”
Jaime: “Yeah my sister, hot topic lately. She has been enjoying her time at UCLA, so far. I’m just very blessed and able to recognize how rare and how special it is to have a little sister playing basketball, college basketball, at the same time. That doesn't really get to happen very often. So I'm just really happy that I'm able to acknowledge that and appreciate it.”
Q: For Jaime and Tyger, who do you consider your biggest rivals in the Pac-12?
Tyger: “I'd say it's everybody, respectfully. I don't know – I like playing at the McKale Center.”
Jaime: “I like playing at Arizona. I think that’s one of the most hostile but fun environments to play in.”
Q: In college basketball today, a lot of guards want to be combo guards, not necessarily pure point guards. You have one in Tyger. What advantage do you have with a veteran point guard on the court?
Coach Cronin: “A huge advantage, but those days are over for him. For him to be selfless, he needs to shoot more now. He's an elite shooter, one of the best in college basketball. His role is dramatically changing. He's a veteran, so he knows don't turn the ball over. He knows to not upset me in practice. Added on that for him, once we got started this summer, he must hunt shots for the first time in his career. I'm on him. I want him in Steph Curry mode. Tyger is the best in the country at taking care of the ball, can run the pick and roll, run your team is out the window. He's become such an elite shooter, that for us to win, he needs to be hunting shots. Am I kind of blowing up your theory? As you know, the game has evolved with the advent of the three-point line. When you have a guard that can shoot it off the bounce, it's such – it makes him so hard to guard because, for instance, in our scrimmage, he made seven [threes], but down the stretch and because of that, they were guarding him so tight. He was going to the basket and getting fouled repeatedly. He's elite at that as well. And on this team, we have other point guards. Amari Bailey is a point guard. Dylan Andrews is a point guard. It's going to help Tyger where he doesn't have to bring it up. He's going to be able to get off the ball some, which makes him happy. He doesn't have to do all the dirty work of bringing it up all the time.”
Tyger: “Kind of like what I said earlier – I'm just an extension of Coach. If Coach needs me to take more shots for our team, I'm going to take more shots. If Coach needs me to play defense, I'm going to do that. I just want to be a team guy, and I'm here to win.”
Coach Cronin: “I'd like 30 a game. Since he's going to deliver whatever I ask.”
Q: Tyger, two years ago you shot 25 percent from three and you were up to 41 percent last season. What contributed to that improvement? And also, at 5-foot-11, do you think that it becomes more challenging at your size at the point guard position when so many other point guards are in the 6-foot-3 or 6-foot-5 range?
Tyger: “To answer your second question, I've always been a smaller guard. I've always had to play with a chip on my shoulder. Just what you said, all the rosters around the country, their point guard is 6'2", 6'3". That's never really bothered me. I've always gone out and tried to play with as much heart as I can. I've been like that since I was a kid. [With the first question] That was just in the summer, Coach was on my back telling me to get in the gym. I was there four or five times a week, trying to get game-ready shots. Just stay in the gym, living there, because it's helped. You've seen the results, and it makes you want to just keep doing it.”
Q: For Jaime, have you noticed any difference this season with Coach Cronin saying that he wants Tyger to score more, versus last year where maybe he was trying to help set up everybody else more often?
Jaime: “100 percent. Last year, we had a different group of guys, guys that could put the ball in the basket. Jules, Johnny were guys that could really shoot the ball at a high clip. And Cody down in the post, we definitely tried to get him involved in offense. Now we've got a lot of younger guys. There's definitely a scoring hole to be filled with Johnny and Jules being gone, and Tyger has been stepping up to fill that role. He's been able to shoot at a tremendously high clip. It's incredibly hard to guard him in practice, I can't lie – trying to chase him off screens, coming off pick-and-rolls. To see him go at everybody offensively really just makes everyone else better. Guys have to defend him. And we're defending, to me, the best point guard in the country every day in practice, and that can only make us as a team that much better.”
Q: Mick, when people look at how you might replace Johnny Juzang, is that just by committee? Do you look at it that way, or is there a certain skill that he had, that you are trying to replace?
Coach Cronin: Look, Johnny was a great college scorer, but we’ve got Amari Bailey coming in with clear NBA talent. Dave Singleton did a super [senior] year, and we’re going to need Dave to be more productive this year, but he's going to get more opportunity with Johnny gone. So it's going to be different. Look, these two guys [Tyger, Jaime] can both win Player of the Year in the league. That's not just because I'm their coach. Both could be first team All-Americans at the end of the year. I watch them every day. So they're both more than capable of getting, both of them, 30 on any given night. We had a scrimmage, they both almost got 30. One of them did, one of them almost did. I am not that concerned with replacing Johnny's scoring as much as I'm concerned we're going to have to play a lot of young guys. We've been working hard on defensively getting those guys up to speed defensively and up to speed with how hard you've got to play and compete in college basketball to win, because they have the talent.”
San Francisco, Calif. (Pac-12 Headquarters)
October 26, 2022
Wednesday's UCLA video is available by clicking here
UCLA head coach Mick Cronin
opening remarks
“It's great to have Tyger [Campbell] and Jaime [Jaquez] here with me. Better coach with good players. Somebody told me get horses and ride them. Since I'm scared to do that, I'm just going to do it in the coaching realm. We've got two horses this year. We're going to ride them. We're excited about the season. We've got five guys on our team that have played in the Final Four, but we've got a lot of freshmen as well. Just excited to get started, trying to get Mac [Etienne] and Will [McClendon] back healthy and get back to full strength. It always makes it nice when you've got two guys that could both win Player of the Year in the league on your team.”
Q: Jaime, how does it feel to be healthy after the injuries you had to struggled with last year?
UCLA senior Jaime Jaquez Jr.: “Feels pretty good to be healthy, I can’t lie. Last year, dealing with a lot of injuries, pretty banged up on both ankles, but had a lot of time this offseason to recover and get as healthy as possible, and that's what I'm doing.”
Q: Mick, earlier today the Pac-12 commissioner said he had not talked to anyone who was in favor of USC, UCLA move to the Big Ten. I think it’s only fair to ask USC and UCLA if they have any response to what he said.
Coach Cronin: “Yeah, I was playing golf when [that news] happened. So that was way above my pay grade. For me, I’m getting older now. It’s my 20th year as a head coach. I'd rather talk about these guys than all that stuff. The A.D., presidents, commissioners make those moves. So they can talk about it. I’d rather talk about these guys, in all due respect. I think that everybody today should be talking about our players and these kids that are working so hard. It's a year-round sport now, as you know. These guys live in the social media world, where they're being critiqued at all times as amateurs, and it's not always pretty. So I think every media day should be about the players. I’ve got two great ones here with me and a bunch of other ones at home.”
Q: Jaime, how much of you coming back was this guy [Tyger Campbell] sitting right next to you, and the chance to do something special together?
Jaime: “Looking at the guy to my left right here, No. 10, we had talked about in the offseason what our decision was going to be. He had opportunities. I had opportunities. Ultimately, we came to the decision that
we were going to come back and try to hang banner number 12 at Pauley Pavilion. We talked about it, and I think we both had a good understanding of what we're trying to accomplish.”
Q: Coach, when Jalen Hill passed away, I saw your tweet on social media. It really shook me, because I had known him since he was 14. I’m interested to get your thoughts. Do you have anything planned to do anything special this season?
Coach Cronin: “I’ve got to talk to George Hill about that. George and the family has been going through, obviously – I can't imagine. So just been trying, my thing with communication with George, Jalen’s father, is just trying to be supportive to him. Tyger and I and Jaime were talking about Jalen on the way here yesterday, on the plane. For us, it is surreal because it’s not like we saw, it’s not like he was sick. He wasn’t on our team anymore but look, he’s from Southern California. These guys know him well. So it's really still hard for me. If it's hard for me to believe, and I've been through the passing of people that are close to me, for young people – like Tyger and him were roommates. It's really like, it's hard to even process that Jalen has passed away. They definitely will have some sort of remembrance of him. It's just a horrible, horrible tragedy that he's gone from us so soon.”
Q: Jaime, to continue our conversation from earlier today, what would it mean to you to be the next player of Mexican descent to get to the NBA. And to Coach Cronin, what do you see in Jaime that can make him succeed at the NBA level?
Jaime: “I think that would be a big stepping stone for people in my community, especially the Mexican community – to see a guy like me fulfill a dream I've had since I was a little kid, and just to inspire that next generation of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans that want to fulfill their passion, whether it be basketball or anything else. Just to be that beacon to say that, yeah, you can do it too.”
Coach Cronin: “Jaime’s got one skill that is all-encompassing. Guys in the 6-foot-7, 6-foot-8 range that are athletic enough, that can defend and play hard enough to play at the NBA level. He could have made it this year. He could be playing right now. Injuries slowed him last year. Jaime is a very unique person where he values the college experience, where today most players are coming to college to get to the NBA. Jaime is extremely mature. It's a credit to his family. That he values the college experience. He doesn't think about the money aspect – not that he doesn't want it, but it's more the experience for him. Also look, in college, Jaime is showing you every year he's scoring more and more points. He was an elite scorer in high school. He's going to score a ton of points this year, as most guys are. He's going to play this position, which will be multiple positions. That's what the league is all about now. Guys 6'7" to 6'9" that can do multiple things. Hopefully somebody that – when the day comes next June, he's going to get drafted right away. He's not a young kid who needs development, like a young Peyton Watson. He's going to help a team win right away because he's made UCLA win for three years, and he's going to have the experience to do that.”
Q: Tyger, I feel like the point guard position is the most important in basketball. What defines a great point guard? And for Jaime, with your sister as a freshman on the UCLA women’s basketball team, what is that experience like to have your sister there on campus with you?
UCLA senior Tyger Campbell: “I'd say being a point guard is all about being selfless and being an extension of the coach on court. I like to be on court relaying coach's messages and checking on everybody, making sure they're good. Kind of just playing outside of myself and worrying about the guy next to me while still I'm trying to add those things of getting myself going and just try to add on to my game some.”
Jaime: “Yeah my sister, hot topic lately. She has been enjoying her time at UCLA, so far. I’m just very blessed and able to recognize how rare and how special it is to have a little sister playing basketball, college basketball, at the same time. That doesn't really get to happen very often. So I'm just really happy that I'm able to acknowledge that and appreciate it.”
Q: For Jaime and Tyger, who do you consider your biggest rivals in the Pac-12?
Tyger: “I'd say it's everybody, respectfully. I don't know – I like playing at the McKale Center.”
Jaime: “I like playing at Arizona. I think that’s one of the most hostile but fun environments to play in.”
Q: In college basketball today, a lot of guards want to be combo guards, not necessarily pure point guards. You have one in Tyger. What advantage do you have with a veteran point guard on the court?
Coach Cronin: “A huge advantage, but those days are over for him. For him to be selfless, he needs to shoot more now. He's an elite shooter, one of the best in college basketball. His role is dramatically changing. He's a veteran, so he knows don't turn the ball over. He knows to not upset me in practice. Added on that for him, once we got started this summer, he must hunt shots for the first time in his career. I'm on him. I want him in Steph Curry mode. Tyger is the best in the country at taking care of the ball, can run the pick and roll, run your team is out the window. He's become such an elite shooter, that for us to win, he needs to be hunting shots. Am I kind of blowing up your theory? As you know, the game has evolved with the advent of the three-point line. When you have a guard that can shoot it off the bounce, it's such – it makes him so hard to guard because, for instance, in our scrimmage, he made seven [threes], but down the stretch and because of that, they were guarding him so tight. He was going to the basket and getting fouled repeatedly. He's elite at that as well. And on this team, we have other point guards. Amari Bailey is a point guard. Dylan Andrews is a point guard. It's going to help Tyger where he doesn't have to bring it up. He's going to be able to get off the ball some, which makes him happy. He doesn't have to do all the dirty work of bringing it up all the time.”
Tyger: “Kind of like what I said earlier – I'm just an extension of Coach. If Coach needs me to take more shots for our team, I'm going to take more shots. If Coach needs me to play defense, I'm going to do that. I just want to be a team guy, and I'm here to win.”
Coach Cronin: “I'd like 30 a game. Since he's going to deliver whatever I ask.”
Q: Tyger, two years ago you shot 25 percent from three and you were up to 41 percent last season. What contributed to that improvement? And also, at 5-foot-11, do you think that it becomes more challenging at your size at the point guard position when so many other point guards are in the 6-foot-3 or 6-foot-5 range?
Tyger: “To answer your second question, I've always been a smaller guard. I've always had to play with a chip on my shoulder. Just what you said, all the rosters around the country, their point guard is 6'2", 6'3". That's never really bothered me. I've always gone out and tried to play with as much heart as I can. I've been like that since I was a kid. [With the first question] That was just in the summer, Coach was on my back telling me to get in the gym. I was there four or five times a week, trying to get game-ready shots. Just stay in the gym, living there, because it's helped. You've seen the results, and it makes you want to just keep doing it.”
Q: For Jaime, have you noticed any difference this season with Coach Cronin saying that he wants Tyger to score more, versus last year where maybe he was trying to help set up everybody else more often?
Jaime: “100 percent. Last year, we had a different group of guys, guys that could put the ball in the basket. Jules, Johnny were guys that could really shoot the ball at a high clip. And Cody down in the post, we definitely tried to get him involved in offense. Now we've got a lot of younger guys. There's definitely a scoring hole to be filled with Johnny and Jules being gone, and Tyger has been stepping up to fill that role. He's been able to shoot at a tremendously high clip. It's incredibly hard to guard him in practice, I can't lie – trying to chase him off screens, coming off pick-and-rolls. To see him go at everybody offensively really just makes everyone else better. Guys have to defend him. And we're defending, to me, the best point guard in the country every day in practice, and that can only make us as a team that much better.”
Q: Mick, when people look at how you might replace Johnny Juzang, is that just by committee? Do you look at it that way, or is there a certain skill that he had, that you are trying to replace?
Coach Cronin: Look, Johnny was a great college scorer, but we’ve got Amari Bailey coming in with clear NBA talent. Dave Singleton did a super [senior] year, and we’re going to need Dave to be more productive this year, but he's going to get more opportunity with Johnny gone. So it's going to be different. Look, these two guys [Tyger, Jaime] can both win Player of the Year in the league. That's not just because I'm their coach. Both could be first team All-Americans at the end of the year. I watch them every day. So they're both more than capable of getting, both of them, 30 on any given night. We had a scrimmage, they both almost got 30. One of them did, one of them almost did. I am not that concerned with replacing Johnny's scoring as much as I'm concerned we're going to have to play a lot of young guys. We've been working hard on defensively getting those guys up to speed defensively and up to speed with how hard you've got to play and compete in college basketball to win, because they have the talent.”