University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 70, Oregon 63
Eugene, Ore. (Matthew Knight Arena)
February 11, 2023
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
on Jaime Jaquez Jr. and the team’s second-half performance
“He has practices like that where he gets it going. He’s an NBA player. You know when you’ve got one. Like I said, he’s going to have a nice career, knock on wood, stay healthy – I’d like him to do a super-senior year, but … Our defense, though, I know with 10 minutes into the second half, I think [Oregon] had five points … Our second-half defense – they scored some buckets late, obviously, in the last couple minutes – but we got up 18 and it was under five … and at that point [Oregon] had 15 points in the second half.”
on the team’s toughness and how it played a role in the win
“Our guys continue to play with unbelievable toughness. If it was easy to play as hard as the kids are playing, everybody would do it. They understand. I think as a coach, you sit down with your staff in the summer and you try to map out a plan for, OK, here’s what we can accomplish with this team, how are we going to do it. With this team, we thought if we could become a great defensive team, we had enough firepower to win and win big. That was our plan. And because the two freshmen who start for us (Amari Bailey and Adem Bona), physically and athletically, they’re not freshmen – they are age-wise – but they’re both super tough kids with great, great toughness. Their toughness supersedes their inexperience at times, defensively. So, anyway, obviously, great win for us.”
on Arizona and USC losing on the road
“It’s hard to win. If it was easy to win, everybody would. It’s hard to keep winning. We talked about in [the locker room], unsung star of the game Mac Etienne, 14 minutes. To go on a run, you have to have different guys step up. For instance, our Final Four run, Kenny [Nwuba] had a great game against Michigan. Jules [Bernard] had a great scoring game against Alabama, so did David [Singleton]. Johnny Juzang did not. You’re going to have to have different guys along the way help you. The secret sauce is you’ve got to be fresh and rested, but you’ve got to keep your bench in shape and you’ve got to keep them ready and you’ve got to get them ready, as a coach, and make sure their confidence is ready. You’re going to need them. There’s going to be a game like this – not only did Mac play 14 minutes, he played them against N’Faly Dante, who’s the oldest, toughest big guy in our league – to me, that’s what I talked about with our team, to Will [McClendon] and Dylan [Andrews] and those guys. Those guys are the future of our program, anyway, so we’ve got to keep getting them better. That’s a key. If you’re going to go on a run, those guys off the bench have got to be ready.”
UCLA senior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.
on his second half
“I just came to the realization and we were just talking to the guys – this is our last year here, we’re going to go down swinging. It’s our last time in this arena, we haven’t won here. We didn’t get one at USC, so we definitely needed to get one here before we left. I was just trying to get my guys open, try to find open shots and just read the defense.”
on knocking down shots off inbounds passes
“Oh, yeah, shoutout to Kenny (Nwuba). He works so hard. I think he’s one of the best screeners in the Pac-12. He works so hard and he gets us all open. I don’t think he gets enough credit, so shoutout to Kenny.”
on if this was a statement win
“Yeah, I think it was, for sure. I think it was a statement for our team, as well, just team morale. This is a tough environment to play in. I think [Oregon’s] a better team than what their record shows and they always play well against us. To get a win here, in a very hostile environment against a really good team, was big.”
UCLA junior guard Jaylen Clark
on winning at Oregon for the first time since 2019
“That was the main focus. It’s Jaime’s last go-around. We just wanted to go ahead and send him off on the right type of note and put us in a good position.”
on Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s hot streak in the second half
“He’s one of the type of guys, you let him see 1-2-3 go in, he gets rolling. It’s hard to stop.”
on his nine straight points in the second half
“I was confident throughout the whole game when they went on their runs. Any time you play a good team at home, they’re going to go on runs, the crowd’s going to get into it, but I felt comfortable the whole time. I knew Jaime was drawing a lot of attention and I knew I could hit a shot if I was left open.”
UCLA 70, Oregon 63
Eugene, Ore. (Matthew Knight Arena)
February 11, 2023
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
on Jaime Jaquez Jr. and the team’s second-half performance
“He has practices like that where he gets it going. He’s an NBA player. You know when you’ve got one. Like I said, he’s going to have a nice career, knock on wood, stay healthy – I’d like him to do a super-senior year, but … Our defense, though, I know with 10 minutes into the second half, I think [Oregon] had five points … Our second-half defense – they scored some buckets late, obviously, in the last couple minutes – but we got up 18 and it was under five … and at that point [Oregon] had 15 points in the second half.”
on the team’s toughness and how it played a role in the win
“Our guys continue to play with unbelievable toughness. If it was easy to play as hard as the kids are playing, everybody would do it. They understand. I think as a coach, you sit down with your staff in the summer and you try to map out a plan for, OK, here’s what we can accomplish with this team, how are we going to do it. With this team, we thought if we could become a great defensive team, we had enough firepower to win and win big. That was our plan. And because the two freshmen who start for us (Amari Bailey and Adem Bona), physically and athletically, they’re not freshmen – they are age-wise – but they’re both super tough kids with great, great toughness. Their toughness supersedes their inexperience at times, defensively. So, anyway, obviously, great win for us.”
on Arizona and USC losing on the road
“It’s hard to win. If it was easy to win, everybody would. It’s hard to keep winning. We talked about in [the locker room], unsung star of the game Mac Etienne, 14 minutes. To go on a run, you have to have different guys step up. For instance, our Final Four run, Kenny [Nwuba] had a great game against Michigan. Jules [Bernard] had a great scoring game against Alabama, so did David [Singleton]. Johnny Juzang did not. You’re going to have to have different guys along the way help you. The secret sauce is you’ve got to be fresh and rested, but you’ve got to keep your bench in shape and you’ve got to keep them ready and you’ve got to get them ready, as a coach, and make sure their confidence is ready. You’re going to need them. There’s going to be a game like this – not only did Mac play 14 minutes, he played them against N’Faly Dante, who’s the oldest, toughest big guy in our league – to me, that’s what I talked about with our team, to Will [McClendon] and Dylan [Andrews] and those guys. Those guys are the future of our program, anyway, so we’ve got to keep getting them better. That’s a key. If you’re going to go on a run, those guys off the bench have got to be ready.”
UCLA senior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.
on his second half
“I just came to the realization and we were just talking to the guys – this is our last year here, we’re going to go down swinging. It’s our last time in this arena, we haven’t won here. We didn’t get one at USC, so we definitely needed to get one here before we left. I was just trying to get my guys open, try to find open shots and just read the defense.”
on knocking down shots off inbounds passes
“Oh, yeah, shoutout to Kenny (Nwuba). He works so hard. I think he’s one of the best screeners in the Pac-12. He works so hard and he gets us all open. I don’t think he gets enough credit, so shoutout to Kenny.”
on if this was a statement win
“Yeah, I think it was, for sure. I think it was a statement for our team, as well, just team morale. This is a tough environment to play in. I think [Oregon’s] a better team than what their record shows and they always play well against us. To get a win here, in a very hostile environment against a really good team, was big.”
UCLA junior guard Jaylen Clark
on winning at Oregon for the first time since 2019
“That was the main focus. It’s Jaime’s last go-around. We just wanted to go ahead and send him off on the right type of note and put us in a good position.”
on Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s hot streak in the second half
“He’s one of the type of guys, you let him see 1-2-3 go in, he gets rolling. It’s hard to stop.”
on his nine straight points in the second half
“I was confident throughout the whole game when they went on their runs. Any time you play a good team at home, they’re going to go on runs, the crowd’s going to get into it, but I felt comfortable the whole time. I knew Jaime was drawing a lot of attention and I knew I could hit a shot if I was left open.”