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Postgame Quotes – UCLA 75, Saint Francis 44
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 75, Saint Francis 44
Nov. 6, 2023
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening statement
“Very sloppy game for us. Disappointed in a lot of things that went on tonight. I have a saying, ‘If we’re going to die, we’re going to die my way.’ Danny Glover. Lethal Weapon. Which is with guys who don’t take bad shots because they’re hunting points and guys that pass that pass ball. That’s got me upset. Other than that, I need to play Brandon Williams more because he understands the most important thing on offense on this team. Anybody want to guess what it is? Pass the ball to Adem Bona. If you want to play, it’s real simple. Play defense, solid rebounding. And on offense, when Adem Bona is open in the low post, pass him the ball. You’ll probably be in. I’m sure there’s a lot of guys in the history of basketball that are smart enough to figure it out by now. Guys that played with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. It’s pretty simple.”
on UCLA's defense holding Saint Francis
“It’s hard to turn it over when you got guys playing selfish, taking bad shots. We’re going to get right to the point early with this team. I’m not sugar coating it. I ain’t messing around. We got 12 guys once Berke (Buyuktuncel) is cleared, hopefully. It’s going to be real simple. Around here. Don’t come here and don’t send your player here if you don’t want to play team basketball. Okay? Be smart enough to know it. A game of quiz, they couldn’t get it. What’s the highest draft choice of a guard in the history of UCLA? I know the answer. Who was it? Lonzo Ball. What was the best thing he did? (Reporter answers ‘Pass the ball.). Damn right. … The problem is today’s kids have people telling them they got to get points. They listen to those types of people instead of somebody like me that would be a so-called expert in my field. So-called. I am the coach at UCLA and I didn’t win a scratch off to get the job. Or stay at a Holiday Inn last night. So I’m frustrated when kids do that stuff because they make themselves look bad and it makes me look back because I got pride. Some people don’t, (but) I do. I blame myself. I’m mad because when my team does that, it’s a reflection on me. To me, when you watch great coaches, their teams don’t take bad shots. Their teams play for each other.”
on Ilane Fibleuil’s playing time
“Look, when it goes to playing time around here, guys, the truth is guys wouldn’t be playing if Amari Bailey and Jaylen Clark were back here and were healthy. I got to play guys who may not deserve it. Jan Vide may play more Friday. We’re going to play guys who do what I ask them to do. The problem with our team right now is you got guys I have to play who haven’t earned it. So, we got to figure it out on the fly. They get confused, though. They think they’re playing because Rivals ranked them and Scout.com ranked them. They’re playing because Amari and Jaylen are in Charlotte and Minnesota.”
on Kenneth Nwuba and Adem Bona’s performance
“We’re trying a lot of things. The problem is they both get tired at the same time. Aday (Mara) just found out he was going to play a few days ago. He hasn’t played an organized game in four months. He didn’t play in either exhibition nor scrimmage and it showed tonight. It even showed with Adem early on. He’s a nervous wreck early on. He even led the parade. He took a bad top-of-the-key shot and he took a horrible eurostep shot. What I told him is, when you start doing that, you see what everybody else did. Then they start doing it. You got to be the guy (held) accountable. He used to never take a bad shot because I’m going to get him the ball. He don’t need to hunt. I’m going to give it to him and I’m going to play the guys who give it to him. … We need Berke, but I was really happy with Brandon Williams because I don’t look at the stat sheet. I can tell what’s on a guy’s mind. Brandon Williams was trying to do his job and play defense and on offense he was trying to play team basketball. Take a team shot, you’re wide open, you got to shoot it. You got stuck with a late clock, a grenade, it was his teammate’s fault. He tries to do the right thing. He turned 18 the other day, so really happy with him.”
Sophomore forward/center Adem Bona
on his career night
“It feels amazing to be able to share the court with my teammates, to have my coaches off to the side, and to put on the jersey again. It’s an amazing feeling to be able to play in front of the fans, my family, in Pauley [Pavilion] it’s just an amazing feeling in general.”
on attempting his first three-point shot
“I would say I’ve been working on it in the gym to help my team. That wasn’t just for myself. To be able to spread the floor is going to help the team in general so I’ve been working hard to be able to do that and will continue to get better.”
on his stare downs after dunks
“I’ve missed that feeling for a while. I can’t wait to get blocks. I was so excited to get a couple of them, it felt amazing.”
on playing with two guys in the post
“It’s been a learning process for me. Last year, I played with one of the best players I’ve ever played with in Jaime Jaquez Jr. Jaime could do everything. Now to play big to big, it’s a new learning curve for me, but I think the whole team is embracing it. … We have a lot of bigs this year and I think it’s going to be scary with two bigs, and I think we are going to do a lot of great things together with two bigs on the floor.”
Junior guard Lazar Stefanovic
on playing 36 and a half minutes
“It’s what you’re supposed to do, it’s part of your job. If your team needs you, you have to be ready. You can’t allow yourself to be tired. That’s something you prepare for during the summer and in preseason, and then when the games start you’re able to play as much as the team needs you.”
on playing with two guys in the post
“From a guard standpoint it helps us a lot, makes us be open more because everyone shrinks inside. It helps us a lot.”
Fifth-year forward/center Kenneth Nwuba
on the first four basket being dunks
“Big-to-big connection. That’s what it is. It’s playing with intensity. When I see them playing with me, I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh I love this.’”
Saint Francis head coach Rob Krimmel
opening statement
“So there are two things we're really trying to concentrate on going into the game: rebounding and turnovers. We wanted to limit them to one shot and taking care of the basketball. I thought we did one of those two things pretty well. We got a margin. I think they got us by two. That's a big, physical basketball team. Offensively, even though we didn't execute, UCLA is fantastic. They make you uncomfortable offensively, I think they ended up with 28 points off turnovers. So against a very talented, well-coached team, you can't put yourself in a 23-point hole in the turnover battle, so I thought our guys competed. I’m thinking at the 16-minute mark in the second half, there was a 16-point deficit. We are trying to get our team to understand that if we make the two free throws it is a 14-point deficit. They come down and I think they hit their two free throws, and then two or three possessions snowballs into, you know, a 20-point game and then we're back on our heels. But it’s learning moments for our guys. I'm certainly grateful for the opportunity to come out here and compete against the most storied programs in college basketball history. I appreciate his (Coach Cronin’s) willingness to let us come out to the West Coast to compete with those guys and help us grow the basketball team
on the team’s first game of the season
“I thought we got off to a slow start. You can tell they had a few jitters out there, but you know, I think the effort was good. Just have to understand that there is a fine line when you get to this level of how much you have to pay attention to the details, executing both offensively and defensively. But you know, I thought they competed at a high level, maybe a four-minute stretch where there were a lot of nerves, but you know, it's the first step. I didn't expect this team to show up and arrive as a full-fledged basketball team and be perfect in game one, so I'm pleased with the effort. We just need to clean up some execution things that'll come. Those guys really care.”
UCLA 75, Saint Francis 44
Nov. 6, 2023
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening statement
“Very sloppy game for us. Disappointed in a lot of things that went on tonight. I have a saying, ‘If we’re going to die, we’re going to die my way.’ Danny Glover. Lethal Weapon. Which is with guys who don’t take bad shots because they’re hunting points and guys that pass that pass ball. That’s got me upset. Other than that, I need to play Brandon Williams more because he understands the most important thing on offense on this team. Anybody want to guess what it is? Pass the ball to Adem Bona. If you want to play, it’s real simple. Play defense, solid rebounding. And on offense, when Adem Bona is open in the low post, pass him the ball. You’ll probably be in. I’m sure there’s a lot of guys in the history of basketball that are smart enough to figure it out by now. Guys that played with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. It’s pretty simple.”
on UCLA's defense holding Saint Francis
“It’s hard to turn it over when you got guys playing selfish, taking bad shots. We’re going to get right to the point early with this team. I’m not sugar coating it. I ain’t messing around. We got 12 guys once Berke (Buyuktuncel) is cleared, hopefully. It’s going to be real simple. Around here. Don’t come here and don’t send your player here if you don’t want to play team basketball. Okay? Be smart enough to know it. A game of quiz, they couldn’t get it. What’s the highest draft choice of a guard in the history of UCLA? I know the answer. Who was it? Lonzo Ball. What was the best thing he did? (Reporter answers ‘Pass the ball.). Damn right. … The problem is today’s kids have people telling them they got to get points. They listen to those types of people instead of somebody like me that would be a so-called expert in my field. So-called. I am the coach at UCLA and I didn’t win a scratch off to get the job. Or stay at a Holiday Inn last night. So I’m frustrated when kids do that stuff because they make themselves look bad and it makes me look back because I got pride. Some people don’t, (but) I do. I blame myself. I’m mad because when my team does that, it’s a reflection on me. To me, when you watch great coaches, their teams don’t take bad shots. Their teams play for each other.”
on Ilane Fibleuil’s playing time
“Look, when it goes to playing time around here, guys, the truth is guys wouldn’t be playing if Amari Bailey and Jaylen Clark were back here and were healthy. I got to play guys who may not deserve it. Jan Vide may play more Friday. We’re going to play guys who do what I ask them to do. The problem with our team right now is you got guys I have to play who haven’t earned it. So, we got to figure it out on the fly. They get confused, though. They think they’re playing because Rivals ranked them and Scout.com ranked them. They’re playing because Amari and Jaylen are in Charlotte and Minnesota.”
on Kenneth Nwuba and Adem Bona’s performance
“We’re trying a lot of things. The problem is they both get tired at the same time. Aday (Mara) just found out he was going to play a few days ago. He hasn’t played an organized game in four months. He didn’t play in either exhibition nor scrimmage and it showed tonight. It even showed with Adem early on. He’s a nervous wreck early on. He even led the parade. He took a bad top-of-the-key shot and he took a horrible eurostep shot. What I told him is, when you start doing that, you see what everybody else did. Then they start doing it. You got to be the guy (held) accountable. He used to never take a bad shot because I’m going to get him the ball. He don’t need to hunt. I’m going to give it to him and I’m going to play the guys who give it to him. … We need Berke, but I was really happy with Brandon Williams because I don’t look at the stat sheet. I can tell what’s on a guy’s mind. Brandon Williams was trying to do his job and play defense and on offense he was trying to play team basketball. Take a team shot, you’re wide open, you got to shoot it. You got stuck with a late clock, a grenade, it was his teammate’s fault. He tries to do the right thing. He turned 18 the other day, so really happy with him.”
Sophomore forward/center Adem Bona
on his career night
“It feels amazing to be able to share the court with my teammates, to have my coaches off to the side, and to put on the jersey again. It’s an amazing feeling to be able to play in front of the fans, my family, in Pauley [Pavilion] it’s just an amazing feeling in general.”
on attempting his first three-point shot
“I would say I’ve been working on it in the gym to help my team. That wasn’t just for myself. To be able to spread the floor is going to help the team in general so I’ve been working hard to be able to do that and will continue to get better.”
on his stare downs after dunks
“I’ve missed that feeling for a while. I can’t wait to get blocks. I was so excited to get a couple of them, it felt amazing.”
on playing with two guys in the post
“It’s been a learning process for me. Last year, I played with one of the best players I’ve ever played with in Jaime Jaquez Jr. Jaime could do everything. Now to play big to big, it’s a new learning curve for me, but I think the whole team is embracing it. … We have a lot of bigs this year and I think it’s going to be scary with two bigs, and I think we are going to do a lot of great things together with two bigs on the floor.”
Junior guard Lazar Stefanovic
on playing 36 and a half minutes
“It’s what you’re supposed to do, it’s part of your job. If your team needs you, you have to be ready. You can’t allow yourself to be tired. That’s something you prepare for during the summer and in preseason, and then when the games start you’re able to play as much as the team needs you.”
on playing with two guys in the post
“From a guard standpoint it helps us a lot, makes us be open more because everyone shrinks inside. It helps us a lot.”
Fifth-year forward/center Kenneth Nwuba
on the first four basket being dunks
“Big-to-big connection. That’s what it is. It’s playing with intensity. When I see them playing with me, I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh I love this.’”
Saint Francis head coach Rob Krimmel
opening statement
“So there are two things we're really trying to concentrate on going into the game: rebounding and turnovers. We wanted to limit them to one shot and taking care of the basketball. I thought we did one of those two things pretty well. We got a margin. I think they got us by two. That's a big, physical basketball team. Offensively, even though we didn't execute, UCLA is fantastic. They make you uncomfortable offensively, I think they ended up with 28 points off turnovers. So against a very talented, well-coached team, you can't put yourself in a 23-point hole in the turnover battle, so I thought our guys competed. I’m thinking at the 16-minute mark in the second half, there was a 16-point deficit. We are trying to get our team to understand that if we make the two free throws it is a 14-point deficit. They come down and I think they hit their two free throws, and then two or three possessions snowballs into, you know, a 20-point game and then we're back on our heels. But it’s learning moments for our guys. I'm certainly grateful for the opportunity to come out here and compete against the most storied programs in college basketball history. I appreciate his (Coach Cronin’s) willingness to let us come out to the West Coast to compete with those guys and help us grow the basketball team
on the team’s first game of the season
“I thought we got off to a slow start. You can tell they had a few jitters out there, but you know, I think the effort was good. Just have to understand that there is a fine line when you get to this level of how much you have to pay attention to the details, executing both offensively and defensively. But you know, I thought they competed at a high level, maybe a four-minute stretch where there were a lot of nerves, but you know, it's the first step. I didn't expect this team to show up and arrive as a full-fledged basketball team and be perfect in game one, so I'm pleased with the effort. We just need to clean up some execution things that'll come. Those guys really care.”