Postgame Quotes – UCLA vs. Washington State (Feb. 4, 2023)
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 76, Washington State 52
February 4, 2023
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening comments
“I thought it was closer to playing 40 minutes with the intensity we want tonight. We needed it. Obviously, this time of the year, it’s hard to win. I have a lot of respect for Kyle as a coach, as a person. They have good players. It’s a great win for us. Closer to playing 40 minutes. We had some turnover-itis. But as you can see, I was trying make a point tonight pretty clear. You’re not playing if you turn the ball over. We won’t win the Pac-12, we won’t go where we want to go to in the NCAA Tournament if you turn the ball over. If you go on the road and turn the ball over, you will lose. You look at my record since we re-built Cincinnati, my road record is pretty good because my teams take care of the ball. It’s how you win on the road. Tremendous team spirit today, I was really proud of the guys with their attitude today. They were ready to go.”
on Dylan Andrews
“It’s a matter of me getting Dylan time. Dylan has great talent, he’s going to be a really good player. His ball pressure was great. I thought Coach Palmer did a great job, he had the right game plan. We obviously didn’t sleep Thursday night, spent a lot of time, because we struggled with this team in Pullman. I thought our ball pressure was a big catalyst. I give Coach Palmer a lot of credit for that. Game plan-wise, and getting to the guards and explaining to them how important it was to pressure them. We also put Tyger on Jabe Mullins to start the game, he’s a shooter, and had Amari pressuring the ball out front. Amari is such an elite athlete. He and Jaylen Clark were able to pressure the ball, again I give Coach Palmer a lot of credit for that.”
on post defense
“We’re getting better at walling up, trying to be physical without fouling. I thought we did a good job of that. I tell guys when teams come here – we haven’t lost in a long time with fans in here – they’re already uncomfortable, don’t let them get comfortable. If you let them get comfortable, they think they can win. We did a pretty good job of not letting them get to the comfort level. Even though they came out firing, we eliminated that pretty quick. The next four-minute segment after the first TV timeout, we had like six deflections in three minutes, which got us back in front.
on Jaime Jaquez Jr.
“He’s got great talent. I told an NBA guy yesterday, if you want to win games, put him on your team. There’s plenty of guys like him in the NBA. He’s not going to be your best player, but your coach and teammates are going to love him because he can do whatever you need him to do. Make shots, get a tough rebound, be a team guy, display great toughness. You just plug him in and play if you want to win. Or you can draft guys with potential and put them in the G League, but for a team that wants to win, he’s going to be an asset.”
on frontcourt play
“Huge. Obviously, Mouhamed Gueye has had a great season for them. I think he had 31 the other night. We didn’t let them get comfortable. They’re trying to shoot 3s by design, number one, number two we made it really hard for him to catch the ball anywhere near the paint. It was going to take him a lot of dribbles to get there. Then I would say the last part of it is Adem [Bona] blocking shots. Three might have been in four possessions. He erases mistakes.”
Senior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.
on playing a complete game for all 40 minutes
“I think in this game, we took the pressure off ourselves. I think a lot of times, as a team, you get pressure from the outside forces, media, people telling you this or that. Today, we came together as a group. I know Dave yelled at us after one of our films and just told us we have got to play for each other. This is our team. This is what we want to do. I thought it was great. I thought we brought a different attitude. A lot more positive attitude. Not thinking about anything else but just winning a game. I think that’s what went into this game today.”
on his career-high 15 rebounds
“It’s just being in the right position. I’ve been understanding that I’ve got to get to the weak side. … I was just trying to be in the right spot. I said on the radio, I know rebounds are something that are crucial to the game, and I know that before I started getting all these rebounds, they were telling me the big guys needed help on the rebounding. It couldn’t just be Adem (Bona). So, I’ve just been trying to put an emphasis on getting to each ball I can.”
Fifth year guard David Singleton
on playing a complete game for all 40 minutes
“I only have so many games left. It’s not hitting me yet, but it’s creeping in there. I decided I wanted to play with my heart out tonight. I was trying to lead by example. It’s getting close to March as February goes on, so I’ve got to teach the young guys what it takes to win. It’s not even about the points. (It’s about) the dirty plays, the hustle plays.”
on what he said to the team after their film session earlier this week
“After our film session (and) after we lost to USC … I held the players in the room and I told them, ‘We have two more months together. I pray to God we make it all the way. We have to value and cherish the game and basketball, not only for ourselves, but for our families and UCLA. We are playing for something bigger than ourselves.’ I just stressed that. Whether they see it or not yet, I just want to make them think about it. Obviously, it had a positive effect. I’ll check up on the guys tomorrow to see how they’re doing mentally and physically.”
on how infectious the team’s spirit was today
“One of the coaches put us in a group chat and he said you need to come with positive vibes today. No matter what happens out there, play with all effort and hustle, and remember our assignments and have a positive mind. So, that’s what we did. Coming into the game -- our shootaround, our warmups – I really liked our energy today. I knew we were going to come out there and get our job done.”
on his deflections and steals
“I realized that I have to pick it up defensively, especially with Amari (Bailey) coming back and I’ve been getting a little more rest. (I feel) a little more energized out there. … I’ve been really working on that all week.”
Washington State Head Coach Kyle Smith
opening comments
“It was a tough game tonight. We were really short-handed. Don’t want to take anything away from UCLA. Their toughness and tenacity got to us. The positive is that we only had 15 turnovers, which is good for us. We only had seven scholarship guys dress for us tonight, so that really affected us.”
on where they go from here
“I really just want to flush this game away. They will bounce back. We’ve played UCLA, Arizona and USC twice, so we’ve played the most difficult part of the conference schedule already.”
on DJ Rodman not playing tonight
“It’s tough for him. DJ’s so sick we had to send him home. We really missed him. He did a great job on Jaime the last time we played them. He is our oldest, most-experienced player. It’s a bummer for him and he’s from L.A.”
UCLA 76, Washington State 52
February 4, 2023
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening comments
“I thought it was closer to playing 40 minutes with the intensity we want tonight. We needed it. Obviously, this time of the year, it’s hard to win. I have a lot of respect for Kyle as a coach, as a person. They have good players. It’s a great win for us. Closer to playing 40 minutes. We had some turnover-itis. But as you can see, I was trying make a point tonight pretty clear. You’re not playing if you turn the ball over. We won’t win the Pac-12, we won’t go where we want to go to in the NCAA Tournament if you turn the ball over. If you go on the road and turn the ball over, you will lose. You look at my record since we re-built Cincinnati, my road record is pretty good because my teams take care of the ball. It’s how you win on the road. Tremendous team spirit today, I was really proud of the guys with their attitude today. They were ready to go.”
on Dylan Andrews
“It’s a matter of me getting Dylan time. Dylan has great talent, he’s going to be a really good player. His ball pressure was great. I thought Coach Palmer did a great job, he had the right game plan. We obviously didn’t sleep Thursday night, spent a lot of time, because we struggled with this team in Pullman. I thought our ball pressure was a big catalyst. I give Coach Palmer a lot of credit for that. Game plan-wise, and getting to the guards and explaining to them how important it was to pressure them. We also put Tyger on Jabe Mullins to start the game, he’s a shooter, and had Amari pressuring the ball out front. Amari is such an elite athlete. He and Jaylen Clark were able to pressure the ball, again I give Coach Palmer a lot of credit for that.”
on post defense
“We’re getting better at walling up, trying to be physical without fouling. I thought we did a good job of that. I tell guys when teams come here – we haven’t lost in a long time with fans in here – they’re already uncomfortable, don’t let them get comfortable. If you let them get comfortable, they think they can win. We did a pretty good job of not letting them get to the comfort level. Even though they came out firing, we eliminated that pretty quick. The next four-minute segment after the first TV timeout, we had like six deflections in three minutes, which got us back in front.
on Jaime Jaquez Jr.
“He’s got great talent. I told an NBA guy yesterday, if you want to win games, put him on your team. There’s plenty of guys like him in the NBA. He’s not going to be your best player, but your coach and teammates are going to love him because he can do whatever you need him to do. Make shots, get a tough rebound, be a team guy, display great toughness. You just plug him in and play if you want to win. Or you can draft guys with potential and put them in the G League, but for a team that wants to win, he’s going to be an asset.”
on frontcourt play
“Huge. Obviously, Mouhamed Gueye has had a great season for them. I think he had 31 the other night. We didn’t let them get comfortable. They’re trying to shoot 3s by design, number one, number two we made it really hard for him to catch the ball anywhere near the paint. It was going to take him a lot of dribbles to get there. Then I would say the last part of it is Adem [Bona] blocking shots. Three might have been in four possessions. He erases mistakes.”
Senior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.
on playing a complete game for all 40 minutes
“I think in this game, we took the pressure off ourselves. I think a lot of times, as a team, you get pressure from the outside forces, media, people telling you this or that. Today, we came together as a group. I know Dave yelled at us after one of our films and just told us we have got to play for each other. This is our team. This is what we want to do. I thought it was great. I thought we brought a different attitude. A lot more positive attitude. Not thinking about anything else but just winning a game. I think that’s what went into this game today.”
on his career-high 15 rebounds
“It’s just being in the right position. I’ve been understanding that I’ve got to get to the weak side. … I was just trying to be in the right spot. I said on the radio, I know rebounds are something that are crucial to the game, and I know that before I started getting all these rebounds, they were telling me the big guys needed help on the rebounding. It couldn’t just be Adem (Bona). So, I’ve just been trying to put an emphasis on getting to each ball I can.”
Fifth year guard David Singleton
on playing a complete game for all 40 minutes
“I only have so many games left. It’s not hitting me yet, but it’s creeping in there. I decided I wanted to play with my heart out tonight. I was trying to lead by example. It’s getting close to March as February goes on, so I’ve got to teach the young guys what it takes to win. It’s not even about the points. (It’s about) the dirty plays, the hustle plays.”
on what he said to the team after their film session earlier this week
“After our film session (and) after we lost to USC … I held the players in the room and I told them, ‘We have two more months together. I pray to God we make it all the way. We have to value and cherish the game and basketball, not only for ourselves, but for our families and UCLA. We are playing for something bigger than ourselves.’ I just stressed that. Whether they see it or not yet, I just want to make them think about it. Obviously, it had a positive effect. I’ll check up on the guys tomorrow to see how they’re doing mentally and physically.”
on how infectious the team’s spirit was today
“One of the coaches put us in a group chat and he said you need to come with positive vibes today. No matter what happens out there, play with all effort and hustle, and remember our assignments and have a positive mind. So, that’s what we did. Coming into the game -- our shootaround, our warmups – I really liked our energy today. I knew we were going to come out there and get our job done.”
on his deflections and steals
“I realized that I have to pick it up defensively, especially with Amari (Bailey) coming back and I’ve been getting a little more rest. (I feel) a little more energized out there. … I’ve been really working on that all week.”
Washington State Head Coach Kyle Smith
opening comments
“It was a tough game tonight. We were really short-handed. Don’t want to take anything away from UCLA. Their toughness and tenacity got to us. The positive is that we only had 15 turnovers, which is good for us. We only had seven scholarship guys dress for us tonight, so that really affected us.”
on where they go from here
“I really just want to flush this game away. They will bounce back. We’ve played UCLA, Arizona and USC twice, so we’ve played the most difficult part of the conference schedule already.”
on DJ Rodman not playing tonight
“It’s tough for him. DJ’s so sick we had to send him home. We really missed him. He did a great job on Jaime the last time we played them. He is our oldest, most-experienced player. It’s a bummer for him and he’s from L.A.”