Postgame Quotes – UCLA at USC (Jan. 26, 2023)
POSTGAME QUOTES
USC 77, UCLA 64
Los Angeles, Calif. (Galen Center)
January 26, 2023
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
on the difference in the second half
“Their defense was great in the second half. They made it a street fight, the refs swallowed their whistles, and we didn’t respond. That’s what happened.”
on USC
“Look, they made some shots. We didn’t. They had guys step up and raining in shots, and we didn’t. Give them credit.”
on if the performance by USC Boogie Ellis was unexpected
“Did you say unexpected? About as unexpected as traffic tomorrow morning on the 405.”
on if the Bruins are in a bit of a slide
“We’re no juggernaut. We play freshmen. We have a really good team, there are a lot of good teams. Great environment, give the other team some credit. [Their] guys played great in the second half, give the Trojans credit.”
on UCLA guard Amari Bailey
“It was good to have him back. He’ll get better as time goes.”
on UCLA guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.
“The guy had 15 [points]. I’m more worried about his defense. He had some crucial turnovers.”
on USC guard Boogie Ellis
“Whoever we had on him, they were smart enough to screen off of him. We also had fouls to give and we were supposed to be more aggressive on him. We had one team foul for a long time. We played him soft, and they made us pay. That’s what he does by himself, you let a guy like that get rolling. I thought it all started with Adem’s turnovers to start the half. You can’t turn the ball over on the road, it’s just like gas on the fire, you can’t do it.”
on his message to the team
“I ask myself the same questions after two straight wins, trying to get better. I didn’t harbor any illusions about us going undefeated in the Pac-12.”
on if they’ll change anything ahead of the next game
“Do the same thing we’ve always done. Welcome to big-time basketball – you’re not going to win every game. I know you guys cover UCLA, you have to give the other team credit.”
on what UCLA can improve on defensively
“I have to look at the film. They made shots. Again, I’m trying to say you have to give the other team credit. They made some great shots. You have to give them some credit. Now, it’s hard to guard turnovers for layups. Your defense starts with your offense, especially on the road. Take care of the ball, get a quality shot, get fouled, and set your defense. It’s nothing new. We just didn’t get the job done. Again, give them credit. They turned up the heat, they created deflections – we didn’t handle it. Then they got going, and once they got going the crowd got behind them and they made some un-guardable shots. They won the game. We’ll get back to work.”
UCLA redshirt senior forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.
on turnovers and not taking care of the ball
“I feel like [it was] a little bit of both. You’ve got to give credit to the other team. But at the same time, we can’t just turn the ball over like we did in the second half. It’s all about toughness and taking care of the ball, and that’s what we’re all about, and when you get out of character … bad things happen.”
on what the team failed on in the second half
“We were giving them open looks. I guess in the first half we weren’t giving them open looks. We were really trying to pressure them and get up in them and make them uncomfortable. In the second half, they got comfortable. [Boogie Ellis] did what he did. We got him to the free throw line a bunch, too.”
on if this game felt like the second half of the first game against USC
“I feel like there was definitely similarities. We balled in the first half and in the second half we don’t do what we usually do and close out.”
on what he thinks the biggest issue on offense is
“I think it’s just our ball movement and passing. We’re not take care of the ball. Like you said, we had more turnovers than the other team for the first time all year. We just got to take care of the ball and our passes have got to improve tremendously. I feel like we’re missing the open guys, holding the ball a little bit too long.
UCLA fifth-year guard David Singleton
on how tough this loss was in his last game at the Galen Center
“It’s pretty hard losing to a rival school. But it’s part of the game. We didn’t get the job done and it is what it is.”
on what the difference was in the second half
“They had better defense in the second half. They were more physical than us and got a stop on our offense.”
on if there’s someone that needs to step in these stretches
“It’s definitely identical to the first game. That was what the most frustrating part was. I have to be the one to step up and take accountability for how we play. I’ve got to talk more and keep us together. We’ve got to push each other in practice. I’m going to be on everyone. I’m going to be on myself. It’s not the end of the world. We’ve got games left. We’ve just got to push each other and make each other better.”
on if it was USC’s ball pressure forcing UCLA’s turnovers
“In my opinion, they wanted it more than us. They played harder. They got their job done. We didn’t get our job done. It’s that simple. We can’t crack like that, including myself. We’re not going to meet expectations when that happens.”
USC head coach Andy Enfield
on if the Trojans’ comeback on Jan. 5 played a factor in Thursday’s second-half surge
“Well, I think our team has been very streak at times this year, offensively. And in the first half, we were up, 14-9, and then we hadn’t score for, I don’t know how many minutes. We knew we had to do a better job offensively. Boogie [Ellis] was 0-for-5 at halftime from the three-point line. Your best players have to step up in games like this. Boogie had been 2-for-7 and 0-for-5 from three, so we were getting pretty clean looks but were weren’t playing with the aggressiveness on offense because UCLA plays very physical. We couldn’t get into the bonus and we couldn’t even get a shooting foul because we weren’t doing our job, offensively. I think that in the last game, every game is different, but we have been down quite a few times and we have come back and won.”
on what types of defensive adjustments his team made in the second half
“Well, we really started to hard hedge the ball screens, try to put pressure on the guards. Campbell couldn’t get in the lane, and the other guys. Then our big players, our centers Josh and Vince did a really good job of getting out of ball screens and back before they could reverse the ball and throw it to their bigs at the rim. Our other players were attacking the ball screen, roll, and get back to the perimeter. The three-point line was a huge factor. We kept on letting David Singleton open and that’s frustrating. He is a really good player. But we’d focused so much on Jaquez and Campbell, and then here comes Singleton making four threes. That’s when they’re at their best, when other guys on the team are making shots.
on having such a strong presence of media members at this game and what that says about USC basketball
“It’s our 10th year as a staff, and Coach Capko has been with me the whole time. Other guys like Jason Hart have moved on. And Coach Mobley has been with me for five or six years. Mike Swets, for six or seven years. Kurtis Shultz is our strength coach and he has been with me the whole time. And Coach Morris has joined us last year, but we have had tremendous stability, including our trainer, J.Y. [Jon Yonamine], who is a miracle worker. He’s been with me the whole time, so we have had great stability on our staff. We have tried to build a program that can compete within our league and can compete nationally. I’m very happy and very proud of the job that our staff and our assistant coaches have done on a daily basis. Kurt Karis is our director of scouting, and Desmon Farmer have been with us for a long time. We’ve tried to make this place a better team and a better program. It all comes down to your players and who you recruit, how you develop them. We are very proud of our 100 percent graduation rate. For ten years, guys have stayed and our players get better. We’ve had seven guys in the NBA in the last five years, so I think what’s special for coaches is you’re in this game long enough and those players who’ve helped build this thing come back – guys like Jonah Mathews and Jordan McLaughlin and Chimezie Metu and Onyeka Okongwu and, of course, the Mobleys. And Kevin Porter Jr. is in the NBA now, and Nick Rakocevic, so those guys got us over the hump to help rebuild this program and now they’re on their way making great careers for themselves playing basketball. Now, we have a new wave of guys. But that success throughout our program has allowed us to recruit Vince Iwuchukwu and Tre White and Oziyah Sellers and Kijani Wright and then you look at next year with Isaiah Collier and Silas Demary Jr. who is here and Arrinten Page, the big kid. So we are very proud of where our program is right now and this is a long season. We need to stay focused because in this game anything can happen. If you watch us sometimes we’re a little streaky. We have to enjoy this win and realize there is a lot of basketball to be played.”
on the loud atmosphere in the Galen Center
“I thought that last year’s game and this year’s game were the two best atmospheres that we have played in, in 10 years. Last year and this year, were as good as any place in the country. I have been coaching, off and on, for 28 years in the NBA and college. Coached in the ACC, so I have been doing this for a long time, and if you go to some of the arenas, our home crowd this year and last year in the UCLA game, it was as good as anywhere I have ever been. And it is such a big advantage for our players. We would not have come back from 12 down at halftime without the energy that our fans provide. We are very, very thankful for them.”