Postgame Quotes
November 20, 2015 | Men's Basketball
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 81, Pepperdine 67
November 19, 2015
UCLA Head Coach Steve Alford
opening statement
"This was obviously a pivotal game for us. We knew it was a three-game homestand, and to lose our first game, turn the ball over like crazy. I thought we played much better against Cal Poly, still really unhappy with our defense against Cal Poly, but tonight was much better. This was a veteran team who presents problems because of being undersized. We had problems because we're big-big again. Now this is three games in a row playing big-big. We've been in the 80s, so offensively things are starting to smooth out. I didn't like how we took care of the ball in the second half; there was a negative to our offense. We got a little bit stagnant in the second half and didn't value the ball as much, but overall offensively it was pretty good. We shot 50%, had a good inside-outside approach, we took good shots, high percentage shots. The positive was the defensive end. We gave 34 and 33; we haven't done that yet this year in back to back halves. Hopefully that's improvement. Other than the backboard, we gave up way too many offensive rebounds, but our defense was really sound. The only way they were scoring was off the offensive backboard. This was the best game we had to date on contesting shots, forcing teams into some difficult shots, and I thought that was a big key. And I thought the job Tony (Parker) and Jonah (Bolden) did on (Stacy) Davis was an incredible key for us. Tony proved he could guard and still get 15 and 15. So it was a big game for him. I thought Aaron was really good, our guard play was good, and I thought Bryce did a really good job of leading. That was the most vocal he's been."
on what the team worked on between games
"Transition defense. Everyone in this room could have emailed me on what to work on the last three days of practice. I thought we made some strides. We're getting ready to play a team that's great in transition and great on the backboard because they're extremely athletic and long. We're going to get a great test in Maui. I thought we showed some progress today."
on Pepperdine defending three-pointer
"We had four guys make 3s tonight, and Jonah had three really good looks. I thought Prince (Ali) came off the bench and gave us a huge lift. He got to the free throw line 7 times in 12 minutes. Because of the schedule, we've played three teams in row, three veteran very good basketball teams, and we haven't been able to get Alex (Olesinski) and Prince Ali in there and get a good flow going. Prince showed what he could do, which is give us big bench production, and that's important."
on UCLA's guard play
I thought it was good for about 25-30 minutes, then we got a little careless. We got a little bit careless after the half with the ball. Overall we were good, and the defense was very good. Isaac (Hamilton) was having some issues with Lamont Murray, but we weren't helping him much, and Murray was obviously very jacked up being in Pauley with his bloodlines. The last two games our guards have been pretty good."
on the Maui Invitational
"It's big because we play big competition on national television over the holidays. It's a chance to prove ourselves. We have great opponents, and we have to play well. It's a chance for us early in the season. It's not make or break, but it's an early season litmus test and a chance to prove ourselves. Hopefully we'll come out of there a better basketball team for playing."
UCLA junior guard Bryce Alford
on his 3-point shooting
"It was interesting that we knew about their 3-point defense. Last year they were in the top three. We really wanted to come out strong, and I think we did that."
on the team's perimeter defense
"We've been working on it since the opener, working on transitional defense and working on drills where we were outnumbered on defense was the emphasis all week."
on the guard play
"Since the first game, we made adjustments. We're playing together now. That first game we played as individuals."
on UCLA's season-opening loss last Friday
"It definitely was a wake-up call for us. That score is still up in our locker room and is a reminder of how we felt. That score will stay up all season."
UCLA freshman guard Aaron Holiday
on his performance
"My reaction was like the last game. I still had four turnovers, but I had a better shooting night. Playing against Bryce, Isaac and Prince has given me more confidence. I'm just trying to get better every day."
UCLA senior center Tony Parker
on his double-double
"My role is a little bit different this year since I'm playing power forward. I'm able to get more of a running start. I'm just being ready when my number is called. Coach always asks me to do the same thing - play hard and run the floor.
on guarding smaller players
"I'm getting used to it. We're just going to have to play smaller guys in the beginning of the season."
on he and Thomas Welsh guarding Stacy Davis
"We watched a lot of film on him. He's really a big guy. I spoke with Tom to make sure we're on the same page. I just want Tom to get a little more swagger and show a little more fire out there, but I think we do a good job together."
on playing in the upcoming Maui Jim Maui Invitational
"This is going to be a big tournament. It's a March Madness type of atmosphere. Any win would be a signature win out there, and it's a great test for us. We just have to go out and play well."
Pepperdine Head Coach Marty Wilson
"They had a lot of size and they took advantage of it, especially to start the game. They have a 6-foot-9, 270-pounder and then a 7-footer. We eventually adjusted how we guarded the ball screen. They made shots, though. Bryce Alford is a really good player, and he got them into a rhythm."
"I like how we battled back in the second half. We were just settling for easy shots to start. We aren't afraid of our lack of size, but when we are settling for easy shots that aren't falling, we have to be able to pound it inside. When we didn't shoot the ball well, we made some nice adjustments."
Junior guard Lamond Murray
"At the beginning, I wasn't really shooting well, so I just tried to get into a rhythm. I just tried to do whatever I could to help us win and keep us in the game. I felt we had a couple of plays where we had to make stops on defense to get us over the edge, but we just couldn't stop them."
