Postgame Quotes - UCLA 75, CSU Bakersfield 66
UCLA 75, CSU Bakersfield 66
Los Angeles, Calif. (Pauley Pavilion)
November 29, 2017
UCLA head coach Steve Alford
opening remarks
“It was pretty ugly offensively for us tonight. 2-for-17 from three tonight and the only ones we hit were from our two bigs so that’s unusual for us. I told the team that we showed growth defensively. Coming back from Kansas City that was probably our glaring weakness and that shouldn’t be because we should not be bad defensively. We guarded UC Irvine well and I thought we guarded well again tonight. We held them to 29 percent shooting so we did a lot of good things tonight on a day which is by far, in seven games, the worst we’ve played offensively. I have to give Bakersfield credit. They are extremely well coached. I have so much respect for coach [Rod] Barnes and he does just a terrific job. It was good to play them because it was the first team where we had to play against pressure. Whether it be pressing or what we call man-oriented defense which is just all up in you. We didn’t see that from Creighton, Georgia Tech or Wisconsin. No one else we have played was able to pressure on us like them. We got a lot from this offensively that we will learn from them. But I’m very pleased with the way we play defensively because we won the game because of that and that’s the brightest part.”
on more ball movement in the second half
“We talked at the second media timeout that we did not have an assist until the second media timeout. So we played eight minutes with no assists and that’s just not who we are. I think it was playing against that pressure because they were in us and denying the ball and we haven’t played against that. So it’ll be really good for our guys to see that on tape on how the ball really got stuck. This was a game where the ball really stuck. We talked about it at halftime. We were much better in the second half of moving the ball and got most of our assists in the second half. We shot it a lot better in the second half than we did in the first half. We had some little bouts of turnovers that we don’t normally do against the press but this is really the first team that pressed us like that. But this will be a learning experience from an offensive standpoint. The other thing that I really liked is that I think three weeks ago we lose this game because so much of what our defensive was about three weeks ago was how we were doing offensively. And tonight, for how bad we were doing offensively at times, our defense was consistently pretty good. And that’s a positive that’s growth defensively.”
on 3-point shooting
“I think we ended up just missing a lot of them. We hit one off the side of the backboard and I think we air balled one or two. I’ll have to look at the tape to see how many of them were contested. We got to the free throw line again so I thought we did a good job of that. We don’t want to get into the habit of losing the 3-point game 10-2. If there’s a glaring stat that is a negative that would be it.”
on points in the paint
“That’s something that this team has to continue to do is attack the paint. I think we can be a good driving team, I think we can be a good team in transition and getting to the rim and we have good bigs who can post and finish inside. They did a very good job of taking Thomas [Welsh] out as I don’t think he had a shot through the first part of the game. That’s not a trend we want. The more the ball can go inside out, that will our shooting. I think in the second half we ran the floor a lot harder and got to our spots in transition. We weren’t jogging, but we didn’t get to our spots in transition or get into our lanes in the first half.”
on Prince Ali staying in starting lineup
“Jaylen [Hands] hadn’t practiced at all. We found out late Tuesday that he was available and cleared by the doctors. He was day-to-day so for most of Tuesday it was a no until late that night it became a yes. He didn’t practice either Monday or Tuesday after our Sunday game. As far as the starting situation, it could fluctuate all year long. It’s going to be something that depends on how the team is playing more than anything else. I thought Prince did not have one of his best games tonight but he did some good things that helped us.”
UCLA freshman guard Kris Wilkes
on improving ball movement in second half
“Beginning of the first half, we just didn’t swing the ball enough. You see we didn’t have assists until the last 10 minutes or so, I think. The second half, we got more focused and swung it more, got more assists and I think that helped out a lot.”
on if CSU Bakersfield did anything specific defensively
“I think we just couldn’t knock down shots. I think we forced it too many times because they were up in us. They made us want to go to the right more, shoot more threes and contested stuff. Really, I think our defense helped us out in the first half a lot and so we stuck with it.”
UCLA junior guard Aaron Holiday
on ball movement
“We just needed to settle in, which we did toward the end of the first half when we started moving the ball in. It obviously wasn’t an assist because we didn’t pass the ball well in the first half and we got it going in the second half.”
on cold shooting from three
“For me, personally, it was just an off night, I guess. I got open shots and shots I wanted, just couldn’t make them. We can’t let that affect how we play defense and obviously other things on offense, which is get to the basket, cutting and all that. It doesn’t really matter, though. It’s going to be alright.”
on preparing for Detroit Mercy
“We expect ourselves to come out and play, just like any other game. We obviously like to run and if they like to run, we’ll obviously have a very quick game. We’re just going to come out and play our game and just see what happens.”
UCLA senior center Thomas Welsh
on ball movement
“It was huge. When the ball’s moving, you get good looks, you get good shots from everybody. That’s the thing. You can’t let the ball stick on offense. When we’re starting to find people, we get good looks, get good shots and good things happen for us.”
on defense picking up for offense
“I think that’s a huge key [because] some nights, shots aren’t going to fall. We were 2-for-17 from three, I think. That’s not what you want, but it’s great when you can still win and shots aren’t falling like that. That’s going to be a big point for us going forward as we continue to improve. I’m just really happy with the way we played defense tonight.”
on his role in the offense
“I just try to get every rebound I can offensively and defensively because I know it’ll finish a stop for us or get a good look for us on the offensive end. I’m just trying to be aggressive. I’m just trying to play hard and give it everything I’ve got every game and that’s just what I’m focusing on going in.”
CSU Bakersfield head coach Rod Barnes
opening statement
“This has been hard after a two-week road trip, but I’m really happy with our heart and effort. These guys really gave a valid effort and made us really proud. We just tried to make some adjustments and play as well as we could.”
on controlling the tempo
“They came out like they were supposed to and they hit some shots. We came out like we were supposed to as well, but we missed some shots.”
on 3-point shooting between halves
“It really wasn’t different. We really got better, but we missed some shots. We might have gotten tired, but we’re not a program to make excuses. We’ll come back to the gym and figure it out.”
on where team goes from here
“UCLA is very talented team and they really caused problems at the rim. Not only were their centers tall, but their wings are also long and I believe it disrupted our offense. They are a very offensive team, but like I said, we felt good because we controlled the tempo in the first half. If we have a game that’s in the seventies, we would have had a chance to win. There’s no way we can run and score with them in the eighties. I expected a run when they came out in the second half because of their talent. It really got too much ahead of us and it was hard to catch up.”
CSU Bakersfield redshirt junior guard Damiyne Durham
opening statement
“There is really no moral victory here. I’m really happy about how we played, but it wasn’t good enough. I really have to hit more shots and get more people involved. I also have to get to the line more.”
on Jarkel Joiner’s performance
“That’s my guy. I really want to roll with him and I have a lot of confidence in him.”
on UCLA’s length
“They’re definitely longer than we’re used to playing, but we were ready to roll with them. We just have to get ready to work. I’m ready to work, but it’s also feels good to go home after this road trip.”