Postgame Quotes - UCLA 85, Wisconsin 83
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 85, Wisconsin 83
Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom (Los Angeles, Calif.)
January 21, 2025
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening statement
“Obviously, Wisconsin has a really good team. They’ve won five in a row in the Big Ten. Their only losses in our league are to the top two rated teams in our league. My point being, I think they have a great team. I told our team they roll out graduate senior and a sixth-year player, and I think John Blackwell is as good as any guard that we have played against, and I knew it watching it on film. They’ve recruited guys like Blackwell who nobody knew who they were for years. It will be interesting to see in the portal era if they can develop players, but they are a team that has a lot of returning players, and obviously John Tonje who is a great addition for them. They shot it well, they are extremely well coached. I am extremely proud of our guys. You have to stay ready and you have the right attitude and that is a credit to Aday Mara who didn’t play in our last game. Credit to Sebastian (Mack) who didn’t get in in the second half. We were playing well so I didn’t get him in until 12 minutes, and then William Kyle III blocks a shot who didn’t play the whole second half until he blocks a shot to win the game for us. That’s all we talked about when I talked to those guys, about staying ready and having a great attitude. So I commend those guys for doing what they had to do to win. They are a hard team to play against.”
on Aday Mara’s play
“If practice was open. I’m going to tell you how many times I look at the stat sheet after practice and he is 10-for-10 or 10-for-12, he’s 8-for-9, he’s 12-for-14, and it’s to a point where the time is going to come where he is going to have that kind of game. I commend Aday for having a great attitude, and dealing with not playing in the last game and being ready tonight. I thought this was a good matchup for him, with their (Wisconsin’s) size. They aren’t as fast as Iowa. I was concerned with the Iowa game he couldn’t get back in time. He changed the entire game, no question about it. I said this to you when we were struggling, William Kyle III and Aday are going to have to help us win. Eric (Dailey Jr.) and Tyler (Bilodeau) are good players, but it’s too small to play with them all of the time. We don’t rebound the ball when we need to in the Big Ten with them playing all of the minutes, and we have to get good point guard play. I thought Dylan (Andrews) and Skyy (Clark) gave us a lot of production, and they had 11 assists to one turnover, and 21 points from those two guys. Obviously, Sebastian was dominant down the stretch, but players win games, and I give those guys all the credit in the world. They are stepping up and starting to perform. There a lot of good players in this league. John Blackwell is a great player, Tonje had an unbelievable night shooting the ball.”
on if he knew that Aday Mara was going to have a big game
“One, I thought that this was a good matchup for him. Two, he’s just done it in practice; three, there’s been some games where he has had a great game. He has had some very good games for us back in November and December, he really has. He was very effective in the Gonzaga game… If you have to guard him straight up and legally it’s really hard to stop him. He hasn’t had a fair whistle much all year, tonight he got one. That stuff matters. But I thought he was really effective in the Gonzaga game.”
on Wisconsin’s shooting in the second half
“They shot it great, Blackwell hit one late, in an iso one-on-one against Dylan (Andrews). That was their last one. We tried to emphasize everything. It’s hard to take away everything from them. You try to keep Tonje off the foul line and he makes six threes. Try to keep Blackwell off the foul line and we couldn’t do it, he got there 12 times. It’s hard to take everything away from them . I would have liked to find a way to make our press more effective against them. But again, Blackwell is great and they have a lot of seniors, and Greg is a great coach. They are as good as anyone we have played or better. I mean you sit there and watch all their games. Size, talent, coaching, veterans, point guards, big guys, they have a bench, they bring in guys like Gilmore off the bench as a veteran, those guys are seniors. Bring good players off the bench and kids who are winners. They are bought in to who they are. I ama big fan of their program and have been for a long time."
on what made Sebastian Mack effective in the second half
“We got him in some space. He can deal with the physicality of the Big Ten better than some of our other guys He actually plays better when it gets like that. He reminds me of Jaren Cumberland who was a great player for me at Cincinnatti, who by his junior year was the player of the year in that league, he’s not really a drill guy. When it’s time to play and it gets chippy, he gets really good. You have to have a guy like that on your team.”
on Mack’s leadership on the court
“He’s growing, talking a lot more, taking responsibility. One of the things I’ve been trying to talk to the guys about that has been hard in the portal era is that Baz and I aren’t afraid to get in somebody's face. Jump in somebody's grill and tell them lets go. We need his toughness, and not just for him, I need him to inject that into his teammates. It was obvious he was doing that, very obvious. I’ve been trying to get him to do it in practice. I’d like Kobe Johnson to do it as well, I know he has that in him.
on what made him go with William Kyle III at the final defensive possession
“We wanted to switch everything, with Aday you have to show and recover, and I didn’t want to get caught in a recovery. You know Will is a switch guy, he can do it. Made me look smart.”
on beating another top-20 team and playing in the Big Ten
“Like I’ve said before, I’ve coached in the Big East, in 2011 there were 11 NCAA Tournament teams, and that is very possible in the Big Ten this year. Very possible that we have 11 NCAA Tournament teams. I understand, I think I watched Auburn, is probably the best team. But we have a lot of good teams (in the Big Ten). In 2011 our 9th place team won the national championship in the Big East with Kemba Walker, they went 9-9 in the league. So when you are in leagues like this you just have to win and get to the next one. A couple years ago we were 18-2 in the PAC-12, I just don’t see that happening in this conference, there are just too many good teams. You are always a week away from a losing streak which we have found out, because you can play pretty good and still loose in this league. They played well, they were 15-for-30 from three, I mean they played pretty well.”
UCLA center Aday Mara
on being on the podium after a good game
“It feels good. It’s the result of a lot of weeks of practicing hard. I just did what I used to do in practice. It feels good to be able to help the team. It feels really good.”
on his biggest impact in the game
“It was probably my offensive rebounding. I had four, I think. But the ones I didn’t grab, they fouled me, and I was able to score free throws. I think that was the biggest impact that I had.”
on his increased strength and how that has helped him improve his game
“I feel strong. I feel much better than last year. I have tried to work on that every day. After this, I am going to go to the weight room. I will spend a couple of hours there. I just feel much better.”
on the specific matchup with Wisconsin and what Coach Cronin said to him pregame
“Just to ‘Be ready’. I didn’t play last game, so he just told me to be ready to play. It was a good matchup with #22. He told me to be ready to play today. My teammates found me and I was ready to finish, and ready to score.”
UCLA guard Sebastian Mack
on Aday Mara’s increased strength
“I’m just going to say one thing – I’m not going to lie, Aday has been working non-stop. As a player, and seeing him be able to do that, it’s just great. He’s been ready for us when we needed it most and it was perfect. It just shows “next man up” and you just have to be ready.”
on the team’s play after coming back home
“On that losing streak, we didn’t show our toughness at all. We weren’t being as assertive and as dominant as we usually are. I feel like we got punched in the mouth a few games and that was what woke us up as a team. All of us have come from places where we have lost and we don’t want that feeling anymore. We tried to pack in as a unit, regardless of the coaches. We talked amongst ourselves and just figured it out.”
on William Kyle III’s block in the final minute
“It was crazy because when I looked back, I was just trying to get the rebound, but I just saw the ball and him flying. I feel like right there, that helped us a lot. He was ready as well. To come in and do something like that, that just shows that – as a team - we’re starting to click.”
on his impact in games with increased physicality
“Coach is always going to put me in those positions knowing the player that I am. That’s why I came to UCLA. He said, “I’m going to get you space, you just have to create something.” I just try as best as I can to score or create something for my guys.”
on Dylan Andrews’ ability to get into the lane and create for others
“I’d say it’s his confidence. He’s been working. I’ve been talking with him as a brother and as a teammate. I’ve been telling him, regardless of what it is, just keep your head forward and try your best. Just keep working because the work is always going to show.”
UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau
on being on the court at the same time as Aday Mara
“It’s great to have him out there. He had a great game. Unbelievable. He’s been putting in that work so just to see it come through is amazing. He’s so dominant in the post. We see it everyday in practice and we know we can always go to him. Defensively, he’s such a big presence down in the paint, battling with all these big guys. It’s awesome to have him out there.”
on how Aday Mara helps open up his game offensively
“I think it opens up a lot. They really got to get to him when he’s around the basket. It opens up a lot of spacing, a lot of driving gaps. It’s great to have him out there."
Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard
opening remarks
“Obviously, I thought defensively we were not anywhere near we were on Saturday, and that is a credit to UCLA. They took advantage of things we did not do well. Just our inability to get back under control – specifically Mara, I thought he came in and had great minutes. We had 13 turnovers and not enough offensive rebounds. We couldn’t get stops. It was kind of tough going in to that locker room after tonight’s game because it’s been over a month since we took a bump, but we will learn from this. And we will continue to work on things that we have to get better at and get ready for the next game.”
on UCLA’s Aday Mara
“Well, he changed the game because he made shots. And you can tell in the little bit of minutes that he does get, he is pretty effective. At 7-3, that is a long, a big tree to try and go over around the him, but his ability to get on the offensive glass and then he goes 8-for-12 at the free throw line, he’s opportunistic. The guards did a good job for them, with finding him. He took advantage of what he had.”
on the physicality of the game
“We expected to be physical and that’s the type of team UCLA is. They really challenge you on the cuts. Our 13 turnovers were self-inflicted and some were caused by them.”
on Wisconsin’s offense
“Offensively, we were fine. We scored 83 points. We should win. We just couldn’t keep (Sebastian) Mack from penetrating. Defense was our problem.”
on Wisconsin’s final offensive possession
“We had something else called, but we didn’t get to it. I would have to look through the tape and see how (William) Kyle (III) blocked the pass and how he (Blackwell) lost the ball.”
UCLA 85, Wisconsin 83
Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom (Los Angeles, Calif.)
January 21, 2025
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening statement
“Obviously, Wisconsin has a really good team. They’ve won five in a row in the Big Ten. Their only losses in our league are to the top two rated teams in our league. My point being, I think they have a great team. I told our team they roll out graduate senior and a sixth-year player, and I think John Blackwell is as good as any guard that we have played against, and I knew it watching it on film. They’ve recruited guys like Blackwell who nobody knew who they were for years. It will be interesting to see in the portal era if they can develop players, but they are a team that has a lot of returning players, and obviously John Tonje who is a great addition for them. They shot it well, they are extremely well coached. I am extremely proud of our guys. You have to stay ready and you have the right attitude and that is a credit to Aday Mara who didn’t play in our last game. Credit to Sebastian (Mack) who didn’t get in in the second half. We were playing well so I didn’t get him in until 12 minutes, and then William Kyle III blocks a shot who didn’t play the whole second half until he blocks a shot to win the game for us. That’s all we talked about when I talked to those guys, about staying ready and having a great attitude. So I commend those guys for doing what they had to do to win. They are a hard team to play against.”
on Aday Mara’s play
“If practice was open. I’m going to tell you how many times I look at the stat sheet after practice and he is 10-for-10 or 10-for-12, he’s 8-for-9, he’s 12-for-14, and it’s to a point where the time is going to come where he is going to have that kind of game. I commend Aday for having a great attitude, and dealing with not playing in the last game and being ready tonight. I thought this was a good matchup for him, with their (Wisconsin’s) size. They aren’t as fast as Iowa. I was concerned with the Iowa game he couldn’t get back in time. He changed the entire game, no question about it. I said this to you when we were struggling, William Kyle III and Aday are going to have to help us win. Eric (Dailey Jr.) and Tyler (Bilodeau) are good players, but it’s too small to play with them all of the time. We don’t rebound the ball when we need to in the Big Ten with them playing all of the minutes, and we have to get good point guard play. I thought Dylan (Andrews) and Skyy (Clark) gave us a lot of production, and they had 11 assists to one turnover, and 21 points from those two guys. Obviously, Sebastian was dominant down the stretch, but players win games, and I give those guys all the credit in the world. They are stepping up and starting to perform. There a lot of good players in this league. John Blackwell is a great player, Tonje had an unbelievable night shooting the ball.”
on if he knew that Aday Mara was going to have a big game
“One, I thought that this was a good matchup for him. Two, he’s just done it in practice; three, there’s been some games where he has had a great game. He has had some very good games for us back in November and December, he really has. He was very effective in the Gonzaga game… If you have to guard him straight up and legally it’s really hard to stop him. He hasn’t had a fair whistle much all year, tonight he got one. That stuff matters. But I thought he was really effective in the Gonzaga game.”
on Wisconsin’s shooting in the second half
“They shot it great, Blackwell hit one late, in an iso one-on-one against Dylan (Andrews). That was their last one. We tried to emphasize everything. It’s hard to take away everything from them. You try to keep Tonje off the foul line and he makes six threes. Try to keep Blackwell off the foul line and we couldn’t do it, he got there 12 times. It’s hard to take everything away from them . I would have liked to find a way to make our press more effective against them. But again, Blackwell is great and they have a lot of seniors, and Greg is a great coach. They are as good as anyone we have played or better. I mean you sit there and watch all their games. Size, talent, coaching, veterans, point guards, big guys, they have a bench, they bring in guys like Gilmore off the bench as a veteran, those guys are seniors. Bring good players off the bench and kids who are winners. They are bought in to who they are. I ama big fan of their program and have been for a long time."
on what made Sebastian Mack effective in the second half
“We got him in some space. He can deal with the physicality of the Big Ten better than some of our other guys He actually plays better when it gets like that. He reminds me of Jaren Cumberland who was a great player for me at Cincinnatti, who by his junior year was the player of the year in that league, he’s not really a drill guy. When it’s time to play and it gets chippy, he gets really good. You have to have a guy like that on your team.”
on Mack’s leadership on the court
“He’s growing, talking a lot more, taking responsibility. One of the things I’ve been trying to talk to the guys about that has been hard in the portal era is that Baz and I aren’t afraid to get in somebody's face. Jump in somebody's grill and tell them lets go. We need his toughness, and not just for him, I need him to inject that into his teammates. It was obvious he was doing that, very obvious. I’ve been trying to get him to do it in practice. I’d like Kobe Johnson to do it as well, I know he has that in him.
on what made him go with William Kyle III at the final defensive possession
“We wanted to switch everything, with Aday you have to show and recover, and I didn’t want to get caught in a recovery. You know Will is a switch guy, he can do it. Made me look smart.”
on beating another top-20 team and playing in the Big Ten
“Like I’ve said before, I’ve coached in the Big East, in 2011 there were 11 NCAA Tournament teams, and that is very possible in the Big Ten this year. Very possible that we have 11 NCAA Tournament teams. I understand, I think I watched Auburn, is probably the best team. But we have a lot of good teams (in the Big Ten). In 2011 our 9th place team won the national championship in the Big East with Kemba Walker, they went 9-9 in the league. So when you are in leagues like this you just have to win and get to the next one. A couple years ago we were 18-2 in the PAC-12, I just don’t see that happening in this conference, there are just too many good teams. You are always a week away from a losing streak which we have found out, because you can play pretty good and still loose in this league. They played well, they were 15-for-30 from three, I mean they played pretty well.”
UCLA center Aday Mara
on being on the podium after a good game
“It feels good. It’s the result of a lot of weeks of practicing hard. I just did what I used to do in practice. It feels good to be able to help the team. It feels really good.”
on his biggest impact in the game
“It was probably my offensive rebounding. I had four, I think. But the ones I didn’t grab, they fouled me, and I was able to score free throws. I think that was the biggest impact that I had.”
on his increased strength and how that has helped him improve his game
“I feel strong. I feel much better than last year. I have tried to work on that every day. After this, I am going to go to the weight room. I will spend a couple of hours there. I just feel much better.”
on the specific matchup with Wisconsin and what Coach Cronin said to him pregame
“Just to ‘Be ready’. I didn’t play last game, so he just told me to be ready to play. It was a good matchup with #22. He told me to be ready to play today. My teammates found me and I was ready to finish, and ready to score.”
UCLA guard Sebastian Mack
on Aday Mara’s increased strength
“I’m just going to say one thing – I’m not going to lie, Aday has been working non-stop. As a player, and seeing him be able to do that, it’s just great. He’s been ready for us when we needed it most and it was perfect. It just shows “next man up” and you just have to be ready.”
on the team’s play after coming back home
“On that losing streak, we didn’t show our toughness at all. We weren’t being as assertive and as dominant as we usually are. I feel like we got punched in the mouth a few games and that was what woke us up as a team. All of us have come from places where we have lost and we don’t want that feeling anymore. We tried to pack in as a unit, regardless of the coaches. We talked amongst ourselves and just figured it out.”
on William Kyle III’s block in the final minute
“It was crazy because when I looked back, I was just trying to get the rebound, but I just saw the ball and him flying. I feel like right there, that helped us a lot. He was ready as well. To come in and do something like that, that just shows that – as a team - we’re starting to click.”
on his impact in games with increased physicality
“Coach is always going to put me in those positions knowing the player that I am. That’s why I came to UCLA. He said, “I’m going to get you space, you just have to create something.” I just try as best as I can to score or create something for my guys.”
on Dylan Andrews’ ability to get into the lane and create for others
“I’d say it’s his confidence. He’s been working. I’ve been talking with him as a brother and as a teammate. I’ve been telling him, regardless of what it is, just keep your head forward and try your best. Just keep working because the work is always going to show.”
UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau
on being on the court at the same time as Aday Mara
“It’s great to have him out there. He had a great game. Unbelievable. He’s been putting in that work so just to see it come through is amazing. He’s so dominant in the post. We see it everyday in practice and we know we can always go to him. Defensively, he’s such a big presence down in the paint, battling with all these big guys. It’s awesome to have him out there.”
on how Aday Mara helps open up his game offensively
“I think it opens up a lot. They really got to get to him when he’s around the basket. It opens up a lot of spacing, a lot of driving gaps. It’s great to have him out there."
Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard
opening remarks
“Obviously, I thought defensively we were not anywhere near we were on Saturday, and that is a credit to UCLA. They took advantage of things we did not do well. Just our inability to get back under control – specifically Mara, I thought he came in and had great minutes. We had 13 turnovers and not enough offensive rebounds. We couldn’t get stops. It was kind of tough going in to that locker room after tonight’s game because it’s been over a month since we took a bump, but we will learn from this. And we will continue to work on things that we have to get better at and get ready for the next game.”
on UCLA’s Aday Mara
“Well, he changed the game because he made shots. And you can tell in the little bit of minutes that he does get, he is pretty effective. At 7-3, that is a long, a big tree to try and go over around the him, but his ability to get on the offensive glass and then he goes 8-for-12 at the free throw line, he’s opportunistic. The guards did a good job for them, with finding him. He took advantage of what he had.”
on the physicality of the game
“We expected to be physical and that’s the type of team UCLA is. They really challenge you on the cuts. Our 13 turnovers were self-inflicted and some were caused by them.”
on Wisconsin’s offense
“Offensively, we were fine. We scored 83 points. We should win. We just couldn’t keep (Sebastian) Mack from penetrating. Defense was our problem.”
on Wisconsin’s final offensive possession
“We had something else called, but we didn’t get to it. I would have to look through the tape and see how (William) Kyle (III) blocked the pass and how he (Blackwell) lost the ball.”