Postgame Quotes – UCLA 67, San Diego State 60
POSTGAME QUOTES – Exhibition Game
UCLA 67, San Diego State 60
San Diego, Calif. (at Viejas Arena)
October 17, 2025
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
on playing in an exhibition game with fans, as compared to a closed scrimmage
“Oh yeah, with 9,800 people here or something like that? It was great, way better. We got paid to come here. I wanted the toughest game we could get without getting on an airplane. And that, without question, is San Diego State. It’s always going to be San Diego State in California. If you don’t want to get on an airplane and you want a great game, come on down here. We got up 17-4. They’re not going to let you – they are going to foul, hold, grab, that is why we are here, because of their competitive toughness. That’s why Brian Dutcher is an elite coach. In the last 10 years, their winning percentage is great. We got everything we wanted out of it. And I didn’t tell our team, but I was happy they made the run at us because I wanted to see how Donnie and Skyy and the guys would react. I purposely did not call timeout. But you can do that when you have maybe the two best guards in the country.”
on what contributed to UCLA’s 17-0 start
“They couldn’t score – pretty simple. They couldn’t score. In the first half, they had four points in the paint. That’s why we were dominant.”
on how pleasing that was to see the Bruins secure an early lead
“I told them at halftime, if we keep giving up four points in the paint per half, we will win the national title. I mean, it’s pretty simple. We just did an unbelievable job of that. I’m not just saying this, that he is a bigtime coach [Brian Dutcher]. They will figure it out and get their team to come back at you. That is why we are here. It was a great experience. We will get stuff on film. I’m not happy with everything. But when a team makes a run and Trent Perry bangs in a three, and Jamar Brown bangs in a three – Skyy and Donnie are pushing the ball, and now Skyy had major cramping problems. That is why he only played 21 minutes. They will be in the top 25, hands down. We will get Dailey back, and they’ll get Gwath back. I know them. They are old. They have talent and they’re tough. They have size. To come in here and win, with Tyler Bilodeau making two baskets, we would have had no chance last year. No chance. So we are a different team, obviously.”
on if rebounding is a concern for this team
“Yeah, someone was telling me about an exhibition game that finished before ours and there were 83 free throws. You are on the road, like they’re going to make the refs call a foul every play or they will tackle and pus hand grab and be physical. I know that, and I say that out of respect – that is why we are here. So we can get that done to us. Yeah it isn’t for the faint of heart to come in here and get a rebound against these guys. Yeah, we have to get better at that. You talk about, ‘They’re not going to call a foul,’ but now it’s on film, and for our big guys it’s like, ‘I told ya, here it is.’ We showed the scrimmage to them from three years ago, so here, they’re not going to call it. We have to get 12-plus rebounds out of the five spot, per game. Steve and Book have to help us get there, got to get us there.”
on the Bruins guard duo of Donovan Dent and Skyy Clark
“Knock on wood, we ‘ll have them all season. I hope so. If you are lucky enough and you’re a pretty good coach, there are a lot of us out there, and the guy with the best payers usually win. Every time that they asked John Wooden, he said the same thing, that the team with the best players usually wins. Well, if you have the best backcourt, you have a chance every night. I still think that Donnie can get a lot of better. He is really trying, he and I get on the same page, and he’s smart. Now I told him, just keep getting fouled. He was doing it on purposes. A couple of times he got tackled. But to have a guy who knows that if he is struggling to score, let me just get fouled and go make a one-and-one. That is so big in a college game. It’s hard to run your offense on October 17 and throw a bunch of passes, be tricky with execution. Plus I don’t want to show everything.”
on what he saw from his team when San Diego State got back in the game
“Well we didn’t call timeout. Now, I don’t have the game in front of me, but we kept attacking, going at them and we immediately scored. Trent hit a monster three. We didn’t stop and stand and panic and get scared. We stayed on the attack. We stayed confident. As a coach, you can let them play and do that when you have confidence in an older team. That’s what I told them – I did it because I have confidence in you guys.”
on redshirt sophomore Brandon Williams
“He’s getting there. I’m still upset with his turnovers in the second half. He’s a great kid. Big strong guy, and trying ot pattern him after a Draymond Green. Got to quit standing behind the line. He can make one, but I played with a lot of guys who made one but I told them to pass me the ball, back in the day. Everyone can make one, that isn’t who he is. He gives us defense and toughness at 6-8, with switchability. That is what we’re looking for from him. But it is nice to have him back, with obviously him having redshirted last year. It’s good to have him back.”
UCLA 67, San Diego State 60
San Diego, Calif. (at Viejas Arena)
October 17, 2025
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
on playing in an exhibition game with fans, as compared to a closed scrimmage
“Oh yeah, with 9,800 people here or something like that? It was great, way better. We got paid to come here. I wanted the toughest game we could get without getting on an airplane. And that, without question, is San Diego State. It’s always going to be San Diego State in California. If you don’t want to get on an airplane and you want a great game, come on down here. We got up 17-4. They’re not going to let you – they are going to foul, hold, grab, that is why we are here, because of their competitive toughness. That’s why Brian Dutcher is an elite coach. In the last 10 years, their winning percentage is great. We got everything we wanted out of it. And I didn’t tell our team, but I was happy they made the run at us because I wanted to see how Donnie and Skyy and the guys would react. I purposely did not call timeout. But you can do that when you have maybe the two best guards in the country.”
on what contributed to UCLA’s 17-0 start
“They couldn’t score – pretty simple. They couldn’t score. In the first half, they had four points in the paint. That’s why we were dominant.”
on how pleasing that was to see the Bruins secure an early lead
“I told them at halftime, if we keep giving up four points in the paint per half, we will win the national title. I mean, it’s pretty simple. We just did an unbelievable job of that. I’m not just saying this, that he is a bigtime coach [Brian Dutcher]. They will figure it out and get their team to come back at you. That is why we are here. It was a great experience. We will get stuff on film. I’m not happy with everything. But when a team makes a run and Trent Perry bangs in a three, and Jamar Brown bangs in a three – Skyy and Donnie are pushing the ball, and now Skyy had major cramping problems. That is why he only played 21 minutes. They will be in the top 25, hands down. We will get Dailey back, and they’ll get Gwath back. I know them. They are old. They have talent and they’re tough. They have size. To come in here and win, with Tyler Bilodeau making two baskets, we would have had no chance last year. No chance. So we are a different team, obviously.”
on if rebounding is a concern for this team
“Yeah, someone was telling me about an exhibition game that finished before ours and there were 83 free throws. You are on the road, like they’re going to make the refs call a foul every play or they will tackle and pus hand grab and be physical. I know that, and I say that out of respect – that is why we are here. So we can get that done to us. Yeah it isn’t for the faint of heart to come in here and get a rebound against these guys. Yeah, we have to get better at that. You talk about, ‘They’re not going to call a foul,’ but now it’s on film, and for our big guys it’s like, ‘I told ya, here it is.’ We showed the scrimmage to them from three years ago, so here, they’re not going to call it. We have to get 12-plus rebounds out of the five spot, per game. Steve and Book have to help us get there, got to get us there.”
on the Bruins guard duo of Donovan Dent and Skyy Clark
“Knock on wood, we ‘ll have them all season. I hope so. If you are lucky enough and you’re a pretty good coach, there are a lot of us out there, and the guy with the best payers usually win. Every time that they asked John Wooden, he said the same thing, that the team with the best players usually wins. Well, if you have the best backcourt, you have a chance every night. I still think that Donnie can get a lot of better. He is really trying, he and I get on the same page, and he’s smart. Now I told him, just keep getting fouled. He was doing it on purposes. A couple of times he got tackled. But to have a guy who knows that if he is struggling to score, let me just get fouled and go make a one-and-one. That is so big in a college game. It’s hard to run your offense on October 17 and throw a bunch of passes, be tricky with execution. Plus I don’t want to show everything.”
on what he saw from his team when San Diego State got back in the game
“Well we didn’t call timeout. Now, I don’t have the game in front of me, but we kept attacking, going at them and we immediately scored. Trent hit a monster three. We didn’t stop and stand and panic and get scared. We stayed on the attack. We stayed confident. As a coach, you can let them play and do that when you have confidence in an older team. That’s what I told them – I did it because I have confidence in you guys.”
on redshirt sophomore Brandon Williams
“He’s getting there. I’m still upset with his turnovers in the second half. He’s a great kid. Big strong guy, and trying ot pattern him after a Draymond Green. Got to quit standing behind the line. He can make one, but I played with a lot of guys who made one but I told them to pass me the ball, back in the day. Everyone can make one, that isn’t who he is. He gives us defense and toughness at 6-8, with switchability. That is what we’re looking for from him. But it is nice to have him back, with obviously him having redshirted last year. It’s good to have him back.”