Postgame Quotes – UCLA vs. Northwestern
UCLA’S POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
UCLA 68, Northwestern 63
NCAA Tournament, West Region
Sacramento, Calif. (Golden 1 Center)
March 18, 2023
UCLA head coach Mick Cronin
UCLA student-athletes Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Amari Bailey
on the atmosphere in the building and the crowd getting quite loud
Coach Cronin: “Well, the Kings are really good. Mike Brown is a great guy, a great coach. Sabonis is pretty good. I have a feeling it's going to be rocking again like Vlade and Peja were out there come playoff time. It's nice to see both of our fan bases support us. So much is made now about NIL, NBA and stuff. The college experience, this guy [Amari] didn't have to go to college, he had seven-figure offer to skip college. Jaime could have left and been in the NBA this year. But they value the college experience, which is why we're so good.
“But anyway, I want to congratulate Northwestern on their season. Chris is a friend and a great coach. He made some great adjustments in the second half. We countered with the little trap on their pick and rolls that slowed their offense down. Boo Buie, Chase Audige, their other guys, Nicholson is a guy that didn't get in the game as a freshman. They're everything that's right about college basketball. Great game – two great teams. We're fortunate to grind it out even though Tyger didn't make a basket. If you would have told me Tyger wouldn't make a basket, I wouldn't have liked our chances. He's 12 of 12 at the foul line, so he's money.”
on how he has said the he would take talent over experience, and how that fits in with freshman guard Amari Bailey
Coach Cronin: “What did Amari have? 14. I was hoping for 18. But it's my fault he didn't get enough shots. Still working on figuring that one out. We tried to set a double for Dave, they ran over a guy, called the foul on us. I got to see the film on that one. I would always say you want talent and experience, but I'll take talent. Amari has tremendous, tremendous talent. The more he plays, the more comfortable he gets, the better he gets. He's just as good on the defensive end as he is on the offensive end.”
on the big 3-pointer by David Singleton and then David getting injured, and what’s his current status
Coach Cronin: “We're surprised when Dave misses because we see him every day in practice. He missed two open ones. Everybody was telling him in the huddle, all these guys, ‘Hey, man, shoot the next one.’ None of us were surprised when that went in. It was his first make of the game from three. Big shot. Guys got to make plays. The guys that make plays, the teams that have kids that make the plays, are the teams that are going to move on. Looks like he didn't break his ankle, which I was worried that he did. I was having flashbacks to when I had a full head of hair in the spring of 2000 running out there and Kenyon Martin was playing there. Looks like he's got a bad sprain. Jaime will give him some of that potion that he used last year. I'm just happy he didn't break his ankle. It's been crazy for us here lately.”
on Northwestern’s Chase Audige not scoring in the first half and then catching fire in the second half and what happened there
Coach Cronin: “We lost him a few times on offensive rebounds. The reason the game was close is they had 14 offensive rebounds. They took 15 more shots than us. I told these guys, it's like playing us, because we try to turn you over. The turnovers were even. We lost him off of offensive rebounds. He hit one tough one. Got to right on the Dylan. We told the guys he reminds us of Johnny Juzang. Great pullup to his right, can make an open three. He was in foul trouble in the first half. That was a big part of – it's hard for him to score from the bench. The way they're constructed, he and Boo Buie, they got to take a lot of shots. We held their percentages in check. They shot 37 percent as a team for the game. If we would have rebounded the ball, we would have controlled the whole game.”
about parity in college basketball and how difficult it can be to advance to the Sweet 16
Coach Cronin: “Look, this isn’t new. I would say that nothing’s new. I'm from the Midwest. I'm getting used to L.A. where it's Dodgers, Lakers, then you get to college after that. College basketball's one of the best sports to watch because how hard everybody plays every night. It's not just this tournament. Everybody just happens to be watching right now. If you'd have been in Vegas earlier when we played Illinois, it was like a Final Four game. That was November. We don't play 82 games. The kids in college basketball, the intensity, it's so hard to score. I tell these guys, they're both going to play in the NBA, it's way easier to score up there. Way easier. Guys are tired. They went out the night before. They play 82 games. Here, endless scouting report, you got days to prepare. Kids are trained, playing two games a week max. Zone defense helps everywhere. The intensity. It just happens to be right now the games are all on a neutral floor. The best 68 teams are playing. But to me it's the best sport to watch all the time. I'm probably biased, though.”
on how he mentioned the similarities between these two teams and if anything in tonight’s game surprised him (as the game unfolded)
Coach Cronin: “Not really. I didn't think they'd go away. I watched them too much. I saw them play during the regular season, because I root for Chris and Brian James. I have so much respect for Chris. He could have sat in Durham, North Carolina, and waited for Coach K to retire. He said, No, I'm from Chicago, I'm going to go home and take the Northwestern job. We're talking about a team that had never been to the NCAA tournament. I respect that. He ran to a tough situation. Their team this year, I mean, like Penn State, somebody just told me they had a shot at Texas. Doesn't surprise me, because I watched them play overtime games. They're a grizzled, tough team. They hit some tough shots. Buie hit a step-back three. Audige hit some tough ones. Their hustle on the offensive glass really bothered us. And it didn't surprise me that they came back at us.”
on UCLA advancing to a third straight Sweet 16 and having players who can get the job done when the game’s on the line
Coach Cronin: “Look, I was fortunate, I worked for two of the best ever to walk the college sidelines. My dad was a Hall of Fame high school coach. I was trained on how to win and how to coach winning basketball. You got to defend and take care of the ball and play smart. Obviously, you got to have players. Force another team to try to make shots to beat you. Being able to make adjustments and your players follow the adjustment. All that stuff is important. Chris was hurting us with the iso, I told these two to start trapping. We immediately got a steal. Like I said, man, when I got the job, people started asking about style of play. W-I-N. We got to teach guys how to win. There's a lot of ways to win. I would tell you our transition early is what got us the lead. I thought that was big because they're such a good halfcourt defensive team. It's not like we had a lot of practice to get ready for that. I was able to talk to the guys about when we get a stop, we're flying down for layups because we don't want to get into a game in the 50s.
“We just try to teach guys how to play winning basketball. You got to be able to play situational winning basketball because situations change. You got to play smart. Look, you got a guy that gets the ball to Tyger – he missed a free throw against Arizona, and in hindsight I'm glad, I'm glad. We weren't happy coming here. The odds of him missing again are very low, you know? That's just who he is. I would take players, though, over coach.”
on Northwestern having missed 12 of its last 14 shot attempts and if there was anything in particular that helped shift things on defense in the final eight minutes
Jaime: Yeah, I think on the switches, I was talking to Amari during the game, we were switching kind of flat. I talked to him. We talked to Coach [Cronin] in the huddle. We started getting up, switching up into them, bringing up the pressure again like in the first half. I think we shied away from it in the second half with just light switching. I think in the second half we picked it up a lot more.”
on Adem Bona and his left shoulder, getting hit in the game
Coach Cronin: “He's sore. He's extremely sore. If he gets hit on it in any way, he's sore. The fact that he's out there shows you what a warrior he is. He's really sore. I mean, he's playing with a brace on. I mean, he could get a hit in it, he could reach for a ball. Any type of movement like that is going to aggravate him and it's just going to be like that.”
on if there was discussion of keeping him out of the game
Coach Cronin: “He's going to be sore. There's always going to be a discussion. I don't know the details. It's going to happen.”
on being an explosive player and being able to elevate (athleticism)
Amari: “I would say it's getting there. Not where I want it to be, but this will do for the time being. Any athleticism that I can use for defense or offense, I'll take it.”
on the performance of freshman Dylan Andrews
Amari: “I was just saying moments like this he's built for. All our guys get in extra work. I've seen Dylan shoot thousands of free throws. To see him go up and hit two, in this environment, I'm not surprised by it all. He just steps up to challenges.”
on if this is a tough brand of Chicago basketball (having grown up in Chicago) that he is used to
Amari: “Yeah, I would say so. It was a nice, physical game, so … that’s something we always invite over here, just collectively as a group. I'm glad we got the win.”
on what it’s like to play with these freshmen on UCLA’s team
Jaime: “I think I told them after the first game, after you play your first game, you're not really a freshman anymore. We expect you to step up. There's a reason coach recruited you. Coach takes pride in the players he recruits to this program. You can see that in the freshmen he's brought in. They're so big for us. We wouldn't be in this position without them. I don't think they're freshmen anymore. They stepped up to the plate.”
Coach Cronin: “We are plus 10 with Dylan in the game, in his 15 minutes.”
on individual accolades, passing Bill Walton on UCLA’s all-time scoring list and what that means to him
Jaime: “That's crazy. That's insane. I'll be sure to tell Bill when I see him.”
on how much Bill has meant to the aura of UCLA’s basketball program and what that means to him
Jaime: “I mean, that's kind of crazy. I didn't know that. But it's funny, because we see Bill all the time in the mornings. He always does our games back at home. Just to be in a conversation with a guy that's so great like that, I mean, I'm just blessed. I'm just blessed to be in this position – blessed to play under such a great coach, blessed to go to this institution. I don't really know what to say. That's crazy.”
UCLA 68, Northwestern 63
NCAA Tournament, West Region
Sacramento, Calif. (Golden 1 Center)
March 18, 2023
UCLA head coach Mick Cronin
UCLA student-athletes Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Amari Bailey
on the atmosphere in the building and the crowd getting quite loud
Coach Cronin: “Well, the Kings are really good. Mike Brown is a great guy, a great coach. Sabonis is pretty good. I have a feeling it's going to be rocking again like Vlade and Peja were out there come playoff time. It's nice to see both of our fan bases support us. So much is made now about NIL, NBA and stuff. The college experience, this guy [Amari] didn't have to go to college, he had seven-figure offer to skip college. Jaime could have left and been in the NBA this year. But they value the college experience, which is why we're so good.
“But anyway, I want to congratulate Northwestern on their season. Chris is a friend and a great coach. He made some great adjustments in the second half. We countered with the little trap on their pick and rolls that slowed their offense down. Boo Buie, Chase Audige, their other guys, Nicholson is a guy that didn't get in the game as a freshman. They're everything that's right about college basketball. Great game – two great teams. We're fortunate to grind it out even though Tyger didn't make a basket. If you would have told me Tyger wouldn't make a basket, I wouldn't have liked our chances. He's 12 of 12 at the foul line, so he's money.”
on how he has said the he would take talent over experience, and how that fits in with freshman guard Amari Bailey
Coach Cronin: “What did Amari have? 14. I was hoping for 18. But it's my fault he didn't get enough shots. Still working on figuring that one out. We tried to set a double for Dave, they ran over a guy, called the foul on us. I got to see the film on that one. I would always say you want talent and experience, but I'll take talent. Amari has tremendous, tremendous talent. The more he plays, the more comfortable he gets, the better he gets. He's just as good on the defensive end as he is on the offensive end.”
on the big 3-pointer by David Singleton and then David getting injured, and what’s his current status
Coach Cronin: “We're surprised when Dave misses because we see him every day in practice. He missed two open ones. Everybody was telling him in the huddle, all these guys, ‘Hey, man, shoot the next one.’ None of us were surprised when that went in. It was his first make of the game from three. Big shot. Guys got to make plays. The guys that make plays, the teams that have kids that make the plays, are the teams that are going to move on. Looks like he didn't break his ankle, which I was worried that he did. I was having flashbacks to when I had a full head of hair in the spring of 2000 running out there and Kenyon Martin was playing there. Looks like he's got a bad sprain. Jaime will give him some of that potion that he used last year. I'm just happy he didn't break his ankle. It's been crazy for us here lately.”
on Northwestern’s Chase Audige not scoring in the first half and then catching fire in the second half and what happened there
Coach Cronin: “We lost him a few times on offensive rebounds. The reason the game was close is they had 14 offensive rebounds. They took 15 more shots than us. I told these guys, it's like playing us, because we try to turn you over. The turnovers were even. We lost him off of offensive rebounds. He hit one tough one. Got to right on the Dylan. We told the guys he reminds us of Johnny Juzang. Great pullup to his right, can make an open three. He was in foul trouble in the first half. That was a big part of – it's hard for him to score from the bench. The way they're constructed, he and Boo Buie, they got to take a lot of shots. We held their percentages in check. They shot 37 percent as a team for the game. If we would have rebounded the ball, we would have controlled the whole game.”
about parity in college basketball and how difficult it can be to advance to the Sweet 16
Coach Cronin: “Look, this isn’t new. I would say that nothing’s new. I'm from the Midwest. I'm getting used to L.A. where it's Dodgers, Lakers, then you get to college after that. College basketball's one of the best sports to watch because how hard everybody plays every night. It's not just this tournament. Everybody just happens to be watching right now. If you'd have been in Vegas earlier when we played Illinois, it was like a Final Four game. That was November. We don't play 82 games. The kids in college basketball, the intensity, it's so hard to score. I tell these guys, they're both going to play in the NBA, it's way easier to score up there. Way easier. Guys are tired. They went out the night before. They play 82 games. Here, endless scouting report, you got days to prepare. Kids are trained, playing two games a week max. Zone defense helps everywhere. The intensity. It just happens to be right now the games are all on a neutral floor. The best 68 teams are playing. But to me it's the best sport to watch all the time. I'm probably biased, though.”
on how he mentioned the similarities between these two teams and if anything in tonight’s game surprised him (as the game unfolded)
Coach Cronin: “Not really. I didn't think they'd go away. I watched them too much. I saw them play during the regular season, because I root for Chris and Brian James. I have so much respect for Chris. He could have sat in Durham, North Carolina, and waited for Coach K to retire. He said, No, I'm from Chicago, I'm going to go home and take the Northwestern job. We're talking about a team that had never been to the NCAA tournament. I respect that. He ran to a tough situation. Their team this year, I mean, like Penn State, somebody just told me they had a shot at Texas. Doesn't surprise me, because I watched them play overtime games. They're a grizzled, tough team. They hit some tough shots. Buie hit a step-back three. Audige hit some tough ones. Their hustle on the offensive glass really bothered us. And it didn't surprise me that they came back at us.”
on UCLA advancing to a third straight Sweet 16 and having players who can get the job done when the game’s on the line
Coach Cronin: “Look, I was fortunate, I worked for two of the best ever to walk the college sidelines. My dad was a Hall of Fame high school coach. I was trained on how to win and how to coach winning basketball. You got to defend and take care of the ball and play smart. Obviously, you got to have players. Force another team to try to make shots to beat you. Being able to make adjustments and your players follow the adjustment. All that stuff is important. Chris was hurting us with the iso, I told these two to start trapping. We immediately got a steal. Like I said, man, when I got the job, people started asking about style of play. W-I-N. We got to teach guys how to win. There's a lot of ways to win. I would tell you our transition early is what got us the lead. I thought that was big because they're such a good halfcourt defensive team. It's not like we had a lot of practice to get ready for that. I was able to talk to the guys about when we get a stop, we're flying down for layups because we don't want to get into a game in the 50s.
“We just try to teach guys how to play winning basketball. You got to be able to play situational winning basketball because situations change. You got to play smart. Look, you got a guy that gets the ball to Tyger – he missed a free throw against Arizona, and in hindsight I'm glad, I'm glad. We weren't happy coming here. The odds of him missing again are very low, you know? That's just who he is. I would take players, though, over coach.”
on Northwestern having missed 12 of its last 14 shot attempts and if there was anything in particular that helped shift things on defense in the final eight minutes
Jaime: Yeah, I think on the switches, I was talking to Amari during the game, we were switching kind of flat. I talked to him. We talked to Coach [Cronin] in the huddle. We started getting up, switching up into them, bringing up the pressure again like in the first half. I think we shied away from it in the second half with just light switching. I think in the second half we picked it up a lot more.”
on Adem Bona and his left shoulder, getting hit in the game
Coach Cronin: “He's sore. He's extremely sore. If he gets hit on it in any way, he's sore. The fact that he's out there shows you what a warrior he is. He's really sore. I mean, he's playing with a brace on. I mean, he could get a hit in it, he could reach for a ball. Any type of movement like that is going to aggravate him and it's just going to be like that.”
on if there was discussion of keeping him out of the game
Coach Cronin: “He's going to be sore. There's always going to be a discussion. I don't know the details. It's going to happen.”
on being an explosive player and being able to elevate (athleticism)
Amari: “I would say it's getting there. Not where I want it to be, but this will do for the time being. Any athleticism that I can use for defense or offense, I'll take it.”
on the performance of freshman Dylan Andrews
Amari: “I was just saying moments like this he's built for. All our guys get in extra work. I've seen Dylan shoot thousands of free throws. To see him go up and hit two, in this environment, I'm not surprised by it all. He just steps up to challenges.”
on if this is a tough brand of Chicago basketball (having grown up in Chicago) that he is used to
Amari: “Yeah, I would say so. It was a nice, physical game, so … that’s something we always invite over here, just collectively as a group. I'm glad we got the win.”
on what it’s like to play with these freshmen on UCLA’s team
Jaime: “I think I told them after the first game, after you play your first game, you're not really a freshman anymore. We expect you to step up. There's a reason coach recruited you. Coach takes pride in the players he recruits to this program. You can see that in the freshmen he's brought in. They're so big for us. We wouldn't be in this position without them. I don't think they're freshmen anymore. They stepped up to the plate.”
Coach Cronin: “We are plus 10 with Dylan in the game, in his 15 minutes.”
on individual accolades, passing Bill Walton on UCLA’s all-time scoring list and what that means to him
Jaime: “That's crazy. That's insane. I'll be sure to tell Bill when I see him.”
on how much Bill has meant to the aura of UCLA’s basketball program and what that means to him
Jaime: “I mean, that's kind of crazy. I didn't know that. But it's funny, because we see Bill all the time in the mornings. He always does our games back at home. Just to be in a conversation with a guy that's so great like that, I mean, I'm just blessed. I'm just blessed to be in this position – blessed to play under such a great coach, blessed to go to this institution. I don't really know what to say. That's crazy.”