University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Postgame Quotes - UCLA vs. UC Davis (Dec. 21, 2022)
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 81, UC Davis 54
December 21, 2022
ย
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Menโs Head Basketball Coach
opening remarks
โGive Davis a lot of credit. I think they played really hard. Theyโve got some guys that can make some shots. Good guard play. I think theyโre extremely well-coached. Thereโs a lot of areas โ missed layups were ridiculous today. Weโve got to improve on our finishing around the rim. Weโve got to do better jobs as coaches with our young guys finishing around the basket. With that said, weโve got to do a much better job on the defensive glass.โ
ย
on if the team is heading in the right direction to open Pac-12 Conference play
โI guess I would say I donโt believe in all that stuff. I believe in game-to-game and day-to-day. In this era, itโs so hard to keep guys focused on just the team and whatever the team needs to do. I believe in โWhat do you do when you donโt have the ball?โ Do you play or do you watch? Obviously, Jaylen Clark plays. โฆ Real teams play when they have a bunch of players who compete when they donโt have the ball. Early on that wasnโt the case. Weโll see is what I would say. I hope so. We got great guys on our team. Last week, they were committed to winning.โ
ย
on how unique Jaylen Clarkโs defensive instinct to anticipate where the ball is going to be
โWell to him, heโs stepping in and stealing that ball three seconds before he steals it. Youโve got to position yourself to make plays. But again, some guys rest while heโs positioning himself and setting up steals. Other guys are resting. โฆ Youโve got to be an unbelievable offensive player to not compete on the other end. If you think itโs hard guarding someone now, go ahead and guard somebody in the NBA.โ
ย
on Jaime Jaquez Jr.โs slow start
โHe got two fouls. He started off bad. Two turnovers right at the beginning. Jaimeโs strength is his weakness. Heโs the toughest dude and heโs like, โGive me the ball.โ Youโve got to be able to lead the defense. They were committed to once he bounced it, they were coming. Heโs got to be able to read that. Thatโs evolution. When we play him right on the perimeter, heโs got to realize (UC Davis) wasnโt going to play him like Maryland or Kentucky. They were coming where Maryland and Kentucky stayed at home, and they thought someone could guard him. โฆ His aggressiveness is his strength. But at times, it can be his weakness.โ
ย
UCLA junior guard Jaylen Clark
on the game
โI feel like I knew coming in, especially after last week, and with it being the holiday and everybody being ready to go home and see their families, it was going to be a hard game to get up for. And thatโs no disrespect to UC Davis, but I figured thatโs just what people know. We got off to a slow start.โ
ย
UCLA redshirt senior guard Tyger Campbell
on if the team is ready for Pac-12 play
โObviously, we have a lot of work to do. Just coming out, be good on defense, we move the ball on offense, but we have to come in with the mentality that every game matters. We just have to keep playing like we have everything to lose.โ
ย
on the teamโs slow start against UCD
โThe way UC Davis played defense, they tried to disrupt you. We had to settle into the game a little bit. As opposed to running our plays, we had to take what they gave us. If theyโre over-playing, we need to drive and make something happen. I think we came out in the second half and we figured it out more. We ran some better sets and did better down the stretch.โ
ย
UC Davis head coach Jim Les
opening statement
โWe just got beat by a really good basketball team. They have really good strength and length and they cover lots of ground. In order to really win, they have to have a great defense and you see that with them. Their defense kick-starts their offense and they come at you in waves.โ
ย
on how they build on this
โFor us, we did some good things. We competed hard defensively, but we needed to take care of the ball better.ย We had too many turnovers. I wish we could have had some of those miscues back. Give UCLA credit, their style of play forced us into those. Thatโs a well-coached and well-oiled machine.โ
ย
on where they go from here
โWe go to Hawaiโi, thatโs our first league game on the 29th.โ
UCLA 81, UC Davis 54
December 21, 2022
ย
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Menโs Head Basketball Coach
opening remarks
โGive Davis a lot of credit. I think they played really hard. Theyโve got some guys that can make some shots. Good guard play. I think theyโre extremely well-coached. Thereโs a lot of areas โ missed layups were ridiculous today. Weโve got to improve on our finishing around the rim. Weโve got to do better jobs as coaches with our young guys finishing around the basket. With that said, weโve got to do a much better job on the defensive glass.โ
ย
on if the team is heading in the right direction to open Pac-12 Conference play
โI guess I would say I donโt believe in all that stuff. I believe in game-to-game and day-to-day. In this era, itโs so hard to keep guys focused on just the team and whatever the team needs to do. I believe in โWhat do you do when you donโt have the ball?โ Do you play or do you watch? Obviously, Jaylen Clark plays. โฆ Real teams play when they have a bunch of players who compete when they donโt have the ball. Early on that wasnโt the case. Weโll see is what I would say. I hope so. We got great guys on our team. Last week, they were committed to winning.โ
ย
on how unique Jaylen Clarkโs defensive instinct to anticipate where the ball is going to be
โWell to him, heโs stepping in and stealing that ball three seconds before he steals it. Youโve got to position yourself to make plays. But again, some guys rest while heโs positioning himself and setting up steals. Other guys are resting. โฆ Youโve got to be an unbelievable offensive player to not compete on the other end. If you think itโs hard guarding someone now, go ahead and guard somebody in the NBA.โ
ย
on Jaime Jaquez Jr.โs slow start
โHe got two fouls. He started off bad. Two turnovers right at the beginning. Jaimeโs strength is his weakness. Heโs the toughest dude and heโs like, โGive me the ball.โ Youโve got to be able to lead the defense. They were committed to once he bounced it, they were coming. Heโs got to be able to read that. Thatโs evolution. When we play him right on the perimeter, heโs got to realize (UC Davis) wasnโt going to play him like Maryland or Kentucky. They were coming where Maryland and Kentucky stayed at home, and they thought someone could guard him. โฆ His aggressiveness is his strength. But at times, it can be his weakness.โ
ย
UCLA junior guard Jaylen Clark
on the game
โI feel like I knew coming in, especially after last week, and with it being the holiday and everybody being ready to go home and see their families, it was going to be a hard game to get up for. And thatโs no disrespect to UC Davis, but I figured thatโs just what people know. We got off to a slow start.โ
ย
UCLA redshirt senior guard Tyger Campbell
on if the team is ready for Pac-12 play
โObviously, we have a lot of work to do. Just coming out, be good on defense, we move the ball on offense, but we have to come in with the mentality that every game matters. We just have to keep playing like we have everything to lose.โ
ย
on the teamโs slow start against UCD
โThe way UC Davis played defense, they tried to disrupt you. We had to settle into the game a little bit. As opposed to running our plays, we had to take what they gave us. If theyโre over-playing, we need to drive and make something happen. I think we came out in the second half and we figured it out more. We ran some better sets and did better down the stretch.โ
ย
UC Davis head coach Jim Les
opening statement
โWe just got beat by a really good basketball team. They have really good strength and length and they cover lots of ground. In order to really win, they have to have a great defense and you see that with them. Their defense kick-starts their offense and they come at you in waves.โ
ย
on how they build on this
โFor us, we did some good things. We competed hard defensively, but we needed to take care of the ball better.ย We had too many turnovers. I wish we could have had some of those miscues back. Give UCLA credit, their style of play forced us into those. Thatโs a well-coached and well-oiled machine.โ
ย
on where they go from here
โWe go to Hawaiโi, thatโs our first league game on the 29th.โ