University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Postgame Quotes - UCLA vs. Baylor (Nov. 20, 2022)
POSTGAME QUOTES
No. 5 Baylor 80, No. 8 UCLA 75
Continental Tire Main Event
Las Vegas, Nev. (T-Mobile Arena)
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UCLA head coach Mick Cronin
The Michael Price Family UCLA Menโs Head Basketball Coach
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on what they need to do to convert on the offensive end
โWe just shot almost 60 percent against the fifth-ranked team in the country. We gave up 80 points and let the other team shoot 45 percent. Gave up 80 points. We shot 48 percent, guys.โ
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on how he would assess the defense
โWeโre bad. Weโre not good enough to win either game, defensively. And thatโs my job. I have known it was coming. When you lose Myles, Cody, Jules โ veteran guys. You got a lot of young guys. Weโve worked hard at it. Weโre just not there yet. Not against a team like this. Weโre just not there yet. Not enough to win the game. โฆ Mental effort is more important than physical effort. To do what youโre being told to do. We know a side out-of-bounds play is coming, and we let โ we went over it this morning โ I told the guy at halfcourt he was coming, the defender, we let Cryer come off and bang in a three. Weโre just not there yet. Iโm more upset with my leadership about it than the younger guys.โ
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on teaching his players to be humble, and if he must do it
โOne thing if you know anything about me, itโs not a problem for me. I tell guys the truth. Not very popular in this era, but I donโt really care. The problem of giving you a truthful answer is theyโll be told that Iโm the problem from their outer circle and that theyโre all great players. Ultimately, youโve got to recruit guys that are going to do what they need to do to get better and win games like this if you want to be a real program. But in our era of basketball, itโs O.K. if you win, lose or draw. For a lot of people, it doesnโt matter. They couldnโt care if we win. Itโs all about if a guy is getting his and a guyโs stats. But thatโs the goal of coaching in this era. Youโve got to overcome it. โฆ Back to humility, weโll find out. We play Wednesday. Itโs a long season. Who you are now is irrelevant to who you are in March. I know these games matter in terms of seeding, but weโre going to find out what weโre made of. Right now, weโre not tough enough to get the job done on the defensive end.
ย
on the problems Baylor presents when LJ Cryer and Adam Flagler are on at the same time
โAnd George didnโt have a great game although he is a lottery pick. (But itโs because Cryer and Flagler) can both shoot and play with the ball and theyโre both under control for the most part. Thereโs people in the Big IX that think Flagler is the best player in their conference. โฆ Obviously, you can see how devastating it was for them to not have Cryer in the NCAA Tournament last year.โ
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Junior guard Jaylen Clark
on if he thought lack of offensive execution was the difference tonight
โNo. There was a few times coming down in transition we lost our man. I know one time I fell asleep, they kicked it and Cryer had a hell of a night. I think we just have to go back home and lock in on the defensive end. Itโs not our talent. Itโs just our discipline at this point.โ
ย
on if they made defensive adjustments on him after his 17-point first half
โNo. We kept playing good. I was just passing the ball. Jaime finally got back in because he got into foul trouble early and we played through Jaime which is how we want to play. So, it was cool.โ
ย
on if being in close games against the top teams in the country gives them hope
โI mean weโre not here for false hope or moral victories and stuff like that. At the end of the day, we didnโt get the job done. I believe when we go back home and get the defensive side fixed, I do believe we can play with anybody. Just because we lost by eight or five doesnโt mean anything to us.โ
ย
No. 5 Baylor 80, No. 8 UCLA 75
Continental Tire Main Event
Las Vegas, Nev. (T-Mobile Arena)
ย
UCLA head coach Mick Cronin
The Michael Price Family UCLA Menโs Head Basketball Coach
ย
on what they need to do to convert on the offensive end
โWe just shot almost 60 percent against the fifth-ranked team in the country. We gave up 80 points and let the other team shoot 45 percent. Gave up 80 points. We shot 48 percent, guys.โ
ย
on how he would assess the defense
โWeโre bad. Weโre not good enough to win either game, defensively. And thatโs my job. I have known it was coming. When you lose Myles, Cody, Jules โ veteran guys. You got a lot of young guys. Weโve worked hard at it. Weโre just not there yet. Not against a team like this. Weโre just not there yet. Not enough to win the game. โฆ Mental effort is more important than physical effort. To do what youโre being told to do. We know a side out-of-bounds play is coming, and we let โ we went over it this morning โ I told the guy at halfcourt he was coming, the defender, we let Cryer come off and bang in a three. Weโre just not there yet. Iโm more upset with my leadership about it than the younger guys.โ
ย
on teaching his players to be humble, and if he must do it
โOne thing if you know anything about me, itโs not a problem for me. I tell guys the truth. Not very popular in this era, but I donโt really care. The problem of giving you a truthful answer is theyโll be told that Iโm the problem from their outer circle and that theyโre all great players. Ultimately, youโve got to recruit guys that are going to do what they need to do to get better and win games like this if you want to be a real program. But in our era of basketball, itโs O.K. if you win, lose or draw. For a lot of people, it doesnโt matter. They couldnโt care if we win. Itโs all about if a guy is getting his and a guyโs stats. But thatโs the goal of coaching in this era. Youโve got to overcome it. โฆ Back to humility, weโll find out. We play Wednesday. Itโs a long season. Who you are now is irrelevant to who you are in March. I know these games matter in terms of seeding, but weโre going to find out what weโre made of. Right now, weโre not tough enough to get the job done on the defensive end.
ย
on the problems Baylor presents when LJ Cryer and Adam Flagler are on at the same time
โAnd George didnโt have a great game although he is a lottery pick. (But itโs because Cryer and Flagler) can both shoot and play with the ball and theyโre both under control for the most part. Thereโs people in the Big IX that think Flagler is the best player in their conference. โฆ Obviously, you can see how devastating it was for them to not have Cryer in the NCAA Tournament last year.โ
ย
Junior guard Jaylen Clark
on if he thought lack of offensive execution was the difference tonight
โNo. There was a few times coming down in transition we lost our man. I know one time I fell asleep, they kicked it and Cryer had a hell of a night. I think we just have to go back home and lock in on the defensive end. Itโs not our talent. Itโs just our discipline at this point.โ
ย
on if they made defensive adjustments on him after his 17-point first half
โNo. We kept playing good. I was just passing the ball. Jaime finally got back in because he got into foul trouble early and we played through Jaime which is how we want to play. So, it was cool.โ
ย
on if being in close games against the top teams in the country gives them hope
โI mean weโre not here for false hope or moral victories and stuff like that. At the end of the day, we didnโt get the job done. I believe when we go back home and get the defensive side fixed, I do believe we can play with anybody. Just because we lost by eight or five doesnโt mean anything to us.โ
ย