University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Postgame Quotes - UCLA vs. Washington (Feb. 2, 2023)
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 70, Washington 61
February 2, 2023
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Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Menโs Head Basketball Coach
opening comments
โI thought Washington โ Coach Hopkins โ did a great job. Theyโve won four of their last five, there were some times where the game could have got away from them. They got the ball to their best player, played through him, and they kept battling. I have a lot of respect for the way they played tonight. 14 offensive rebounds is probably the thing Iโm happy about. I thought Dylan [Andrews] gave us a good 10 minutes. Will [McClendon] didnโt practice all week sick, today was his first day back with us, so we have to get back to playing well. Obviously, we didnโt โ 18 turnovers to me is like 25 to other coaches. Beyond unacceptable. Our supposed best two players had nine turnovers, all of them unforced. At no point did they get trapped. Those two single-handedly let the other team back in the game with their carelessness with the ball.โ
ย
on the turnovers
โWhen guys turn the ball over โ they do happen in the course of the game โ but when youโre throwing passes at peopleโs feet and Nolan Ryan fastballs off the glass, you think youโre going to win anyway and youโre โ in my opinion, tonight โ just screwing around. In doing that, all you do is make yourself look bad, really bad.โ
ย
on second-half play
โWeโre 18-4, in every metric that matters weโre in the top-five in the nation, and we donโt buy players. So I think everybody should be happy if youโre a UCLA fan, and Iโm happy. Iโm not happy about the turnovers. I think other teams practice. Our best two players turned the ball over.โ
ย
on Washingtonโs 3-point shooting
โTheyโre 8-for-26. They shot 30%. We had to double Brooks some, we worked hard on it. Heโs a good player, he did a good job, they found the open man. We got beat off the trouble some, they sprayed it out and made some shots. Are we supposed to win every game by 30? We are 18-4, weโre in the top-five of every metric that matters. Washington practices, they have a winning record, theyโve won four of their last five. They lost by three at Arizona, they won at Colorado.โ
ย
on Amari Bailey
โHeโs getting more comfortable, but heโs young, heโs still 18. He has to stop turning the ball over. But he had some key passes. He was one of the few guys tonight that would get Adem the ball, we really struggled to throw the ball inside. Iโve said that to you all year, we really struggled throwing the ball inside. He might have been the only guy that got Adem the ball. Ademโs other touches were probably his five offensive rebounds, we really struggled to get him the ball.โ
ย
on Jaime Jaquez Jr.
โStats, defensive beats, turnovers. Heโs way better than he played tonight. And if heโs not better than he played tonight, weโre not going anywhere in March. He would tell you that.โ
ย
on Jaylen Clark
โStill shooting too many one-handers. A couple airballs around the rim. We just have to keep working on it with him. We had eight steals in the first half, only two in the second, that would attribute to their second-half offense. [Jaylen] got in foul trouble. I thought his attitude in practice this week was better, his effort was much better. He had one bad turnover trying to throw a high-low pass. You have to give Washington some credit, other teams practice. They did a good job. They kept fighting.โ
ย
UCLA senior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.
on being back in Pauley Pavilion
โYeah, Iโm one of the older guys here, so I know that my time is dwindling and how many games I have left in Pauley Pavilion, so one of the things that Iโve been telling the guys is, man, weโve just got to enjoy this last homestretch that we have and really just make the most of it and play our hearts out and do what we can to win and really just embrace the moment and try to have as much fun as we can.โ
on the win
โI think every time you get a win at this time of year, you always pat yourself on the back. We didnโt play our best game, like we said, but to get away with a win is good. Washington, we know, was coming in hot and won four of their last five. We knew we had a great opponent in them and, like I said before, weโre just here trying to enjoy it. Enjoy the moment and, like you said, any win in Pauley is a good win.โ
UCLA freshman forward Adem Bona
on playing with Amari Bailey
โItโs definitely fun. Since high school, weโve been looking up to playing together. We met a couple times at a camp and talked about how itโs going to be fun to play together. And since, weโve been working on that, working on the connection โ not just him, but the team โ with Jaime (Jaquez Jr.), with Tyger (Campbell), with Dave (Singleton), everyone. I feel like we have a pretty good bond and I think the chemistryโs getting up there.โ
UCLA freshman guard Amari Bailey
on how it felt to be back in the starting lineup
โIt felt great. Just being able to hoop again with the guys โ help the team win, most importantly. I have to cut down on the turnovers if we have any chance at winning.โ
on coasting during the second half
โCoasting is never a part of the plan or any game plan of ours. Really just trying to, again, put together two great halves and we didnโt do that tonight. We still got the win, but thatโs never going in my head, like โOh, weโre up 18.โ Itโd be good to double it to like 36.โ
ย
Washington head coach Mike Hopkins
overall statement
โUCLA really came in strong from the start. We felt UCLAโs toughness from the beginning. They got all the 50-50 balls and despite being down by 18 (points) we kept fighting. In the second half, we challenged them. Our guys responded. We made it a seven-point game. I thought we made it pretty close. A couple free throws made the difference. Iโm really proud of how we fought and how we defended.โ
ย
about the start of the game
โYou really canโt start like that. Iโm not sure if we were anxious or not. In the second half, we really shared the ball and started making shots.โ
ย
on the overall loss
โWe want to focus on how to get better every game. We won the second half, but we have to compete like that for forty minutes. Like I said, we really shared the ball. Iโm really proud of how we fought.โ
ย
on their turnovers
โOur decision making has to be better. We have to be stronger with the ball. We have to hit singles instead of home runs. We slowed it down and we started making shots.โ
ย
on their upcoming game at USC
โThatโs a really good team over there. Boogie Ellis and Drew Petersen are a great combination. Victor, who had the heart condition, has been playing well. They have a ten-home game winning streak. Hopefully, we can carry over what we did in the second half.โ
ย
on how they build on this game
โYou just have to have more experience. Iโm very proud of how PJ Fuller II played in the second half. Iโm just trying to teach the team the process on how to be great. That team (UCLA) has the best turnover ratio in the nation and we were able to turn them over in the second half. They donโt hurt themselves. We just have to keep growing. We have a saying here, DMGB, doesnโt matter, get better.โ
UCLA 70, Washington 61
February 2, 2023
ย
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Menโs Head Basketball Coach
opening comments
โI thought Washington โ Coach Hopkins โ did a great job. Theyโve won four of their last five, there were some times where the game could have got away from them. They got the ball to their best player, played through him, and they kept battling. I have a lot of respect for the way they played tonight. 14 offensive rebounds is probably the thing Iโm happy about. I thought Dylan [Andrews] gave us a good 10 minutes. Will [McClendon] didnโt practice all week sick, today was his first day back with us, so we have to get back to playing well. Obviously, we didnโt โ 18 turnovers to me is like 25 to other coaches. Beyond unacceptable. Our supposed best two players had nine turnovers, all of them unforced. At no point did they get trapped. Those two single-handedly let the other team back in the game with their carelessness with the ball.โ
ย
on the turnovers
โWhen guys turn the ball over โ they do happen in the course of the game โ but when youโre throwing passes at peopleโs feet and Nolan Ryan fastballs off the glass, you think youโre going to win anyway and youโre โ in my opinion, tonight โ just screwing around. In doing that, all you do is make yourself look bad, really bad.โ
ย
on second-half play
โWeโre 18-4, in every metric that matters weโre in the top-five in the nation, and we donโt buy players. So I think everybody should be happy if youโre a UCLA fan, and Iโm happy. Iโm not happy about the turnovers. I think other teams practice. Our best two players turned the ball over.โ
ย
on Washingtonโs 3-point shooting
โTheyโre 8-for-26. They shot 30%. We had to double Brooks some, we worked hard on it. Heโs a good player, he did a good job, they found the open man. We got beat off the trouble some, they sprayed it out and made some shots. Are we supposed to win every game by 30? We are 18-4, weโre in the top-five of every metric that matters. Washington practices, they have a winning record, theyโve won four of their last five. They lost by three at Arizona, they won at Colorado.โ
ย
on Amari Bailey
โHeโs getting more comfortable, but heโs young, heโs still 18. He has to stop turning the ball over. But he had some key passes. He was one of the few guys tonight that would get Adem the ball, we really struggled to throw the ball inside. Iโve said that to you all year, we really struggled throwing the ball inside. He might have been the only guy that got Adem the ball. Ademโs other touches were probably his five offensive rebounds, we really struggled to get him the ball.โ
ย
on Jaime Jaquez Jr.
โStats, defensive beats, turnovers. Heโs way better than he played tonight. And if heโs not better than he played tonight, weโre not going anywhere in March. He would tell you that.โ
ย
on Jaylen Clark
โStill shooting too many one-handers. A couple airballs around the rim. We just have to keep working on it with him. We had eight steals in the first half, only two in the second, that would attribute to their second-half offense. [Jaylen] got in foul trouble. I thought his attitude in practice this week was better, his effort was much better. He had one bad turnover trying to throw a high-low pass. You have to give Washington some credit, other teams practice. They did a good job. They kept fighting.โ
ย
UCLA senior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.
on being back in Pauley Pavilion
โYeah, Iโm one of the older guys here, so I know that my time is dwindling and how many games I have left in Pauley Pavilion, so one of the things that Iโve been telling the guys is, man, weโve just got to enjoy this last homestretch that we have and really just make the most of it and play our hearts out and do what we can to win and really just embrace the moment and try to have as much fun as we can.โ
on the win
โI think every time you get a win at this time of year, you always pat yourself on the back. We didnโt play our best game, like we said, but to get away with a win is good. Washington, we know, was coming in hot and won four of their last five. We knew we had a great opponent in them and, like I said before, weโre just here trying to enjoy it. Enjoy the moment and, like you said, any win in Pauley is a good win.โ
UCLA freshman forward Adem Bona
on playing with Amari Bailey
โItโs definitely fun. Since high school, weโve been looking up to playing together. We met a couple times at a camp and talked about how itโs going to be fun to play together. And since, weโve been working on that, working on the connection โ not just him, but the team โ with Jaime (Jaquez Jr.), with Tyger (Campbell), with Dave (Singleton), everyone. I feel like we have a pretty good bond and I think the chemistryโs getting up there.โ
UCLA freshman guard Amari Bailey
on how it felt to be back in the starting lineup
โIt felt great. Just being able to hoop again with the guys โ help the team win, most importantly. I have to cut down on the turnovers if we have any chance at winning.โ
on coasting during the second half
โCoasting is never a part of the plan or any game plan of ours. Really just trying to, again, put together two great halves and we didnโt do that tonight. We still got the win, but thatโs never going in my head, like โOh, weโre up 18.โ Itโd be good to double it to like 36.โ
ย
Washington head coach Mike Hopkins
overall statement
โUCLA really came in strong from the start. We felt UCLAโs toughness from the beginning. They got all the 50-50 balls and despite being down by 18 (points) we kept fighting. In the second half, we challenged them. Our guys responded. We made it a seven-point game. I thought we made it pretty close. A couple free throws made the difference. Iโm really proud of how we fought and how we defended.โ
ย
about the start of the game
โYou really canโt start like that. Iโm not sure if we were anxious or not. In the second half, we really shared the ball and started making shots.โ
ย
on the overall loss
โWe want to focus on how to get better every game. We won the second half, but we have to compete like that for forty minutes. Like I said, we really shared the ball. Iโm really proud of how we fought.โ
ย
on their turnovers
โOur decision making has to be better. We have to be stronger with the ball. We have to hit singles instead of home runs. We slowed it down and we started making shots.โ
ย
on their upcoming game at USC
โThatโs a really good team over there. Boogie Ellis and Drew Petersen are a great combination. Victor, who had the heart condition, has been playing well. They have a ten-home game winning streak. Hopefully, we can carry over what we did in the second half.โ
ย
on how they build on this game
โYou just have to have more experience. Iโm very proud of how PJ Fuller II played in the second half. Iโm just trying to teach the team the process on how to be great. That team (UCLA) has the best turnover ratio in the nation and we were able to turn them over in the second half. They donโt hurt themselves. We just have to keep growing. We have a saying here, DMGB, doesnโt matter, get better.โ