University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Postgame Quotes - Cincinnati 77, UCLA 63
Cincinnati 77, UCLA 63
Los Angeles, Calif. (Pauley Pavilion)
December 16, 2017
UCLA head coach Steve Alford
opening remarks
โReally proud of our effort. Thatโs a really good basketball team with grown men. We have some young guys that will really grow from this. We just had a really tough first half handling the basketball, kind of like the second half against Michigan. If you take away the second half at Michigan and the first half here against Cincinnati, in terms of turnovers, it puts us in a different position. You get the same amount of offensive rebounds and same amount of total rebounds against this Cincinnati team, Iโm ecstatic about that. Shot attempts were about the same, you make 11 3-pointers against this team, that doesnโt happen very often. I just thought the difference was turnovers. That beat us by 12 points on turnovers, but it felt like more. They beat us by 14 overall and 12 of those were off of turnovers. So the whole difference in that game was pass-catch, ball movement. Our offense has to catch up but defensively we are really growing and maturing. I told the team in the locker room that we are starting to trust each other defensively and thatโs good. Our offense has got to catch up with that same kind of trust.โ
on Cincinnatiโs defense against Thomas Welsh
โThey doubled him in the first half but not as much in the second half, but they did double him in the first half. I think he started rushing things and rushing his shot. Whenever you see Tom shoot an air ball you know heโs rushing things. I havenโt told him yet but its respect to him that a team like Cincinnati is doubling you because they donโt always double the post, so thatโs an attribute to you and how much they respect you as a player. He will learn. Those are the things that Tom does, he learns and bounces back from these experiences. I thought it got a little bit rushed with his shooting. We also didnโt get him the ball early enough to get him going. It was probably 14-15 minutes before he got a shot. Thatโs too long for our offense for him not to get a shot.โ
on UCLAโs turnovers
โYou have to give credit to them because thatโs where they hang their hat. Theyโre an outstanding defensive team. They are big, strong and physical. So you give them a lot of credit, but you still canโt turn the ball over 18 times, 15 in the first half. Thatโs equating to 30 a game. But in the second half it was even, we played them even and the difference was turn overs. They forced us to not score a point for seven minutes. I havenโt watched the tape but I bet we had a bucket-load of turnovers during that stretch. So we arenโt giving your offense a chance. Then youโre giving a team like Cincinnati that doesnโt run a lot, but they do run on our mistakes. So I thought our defense did some really good things, they just scored a lot of their points on our miscues offensively. Weโre talking about ball handling and ill-advised passes. So those are some things that we have to fix and shape up quickly.โ
on Aaron Holiday
โThereโs a lot demanded of Aaron but thatโs because Aaron has demanded that because heโs a special player. So a lot will be demanded of him. His second half was better. His first half he had three turnovers and in the second half he had just one. I didnโt like the start of the game by Aaron and I didnโt like the start of the game by the team. The first half was not characteristic of our team and not characteristic of Aaron. Aaron knows the pressures on him to lead this group, to be a vocal leader, to be a calming force with poise and he understands that. He does a really good job for us. I thought his second half was much, much better.โ
UCLA junior guard Aaron Holiday
on UCLAโs turnovers
โI just donโt think we came out focused in the first half. We were lackadaisical, obviously, and we turned the ball over. Weโve just got to correct that.โ
on how tough it was to not be able to make up for last weekโs loss
โItโs always tough to lose. I donโt like losing, so itโs always tough for me. At the same time, you live and learn. Weโre a young team, and weโll figure it out.โ
on Thomas Welsh not getting his first shot until 15 minutes into the game
โThey played Tom well down low. I was trying to get him involved, and thatโs where a lot of our turnovers came from. We just have to figure it out. Thatโs my fault; obviously I didnโt tell him what to do. Thatโs on me.โ
on the upcoming schedule and coaching the younger guys up
โI know we just lost twice but I just keep telling them weโre going to be alright. Weโre a great team. We havenโt showed it yet, obviously, but weโre going to be a great team. Our defense is rising, our offense is rising, so just keep telling them weโre going to be good. Iโve obviously been through the war with Kentucky and all of them, so just let them know what Iโve been through and try to be the best I can.โ
on how much pressure it is to have the defenses focus on him and Thomas Welsh
โObviously, it showed in the first half. I turned the ball over trying to throw it in the post. Iโve got to come out and do better every night and play my best for us to win.โ
UCLA freshman guard Kris Wilkes
on the full-court press
โWhen they started pressuring us, we just played fast-tempo, and we turned it over a couple of times from that. Before the game, we talked about it, and teams are going to try to force us to turn the ball over with the pressure they put on us. We went into the game with the mindset that we werenโt going to let that happen, but unfortunately it happened in the first half.โ
on positives from the game
โFrom a half-court defensive aspect, we did pretty solid. On the rebounding side, we tied them in rebounding, and theyโre a great rebounding team. To do that I think is pretty great.โ
Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin
opening statement
โWe really canโt play much better than this on the road.ย We had 17 assists and created 18 turnovers.ย I think our toughness to execute, especially when they hit some threes, was really important.ย Once they tried to make their run, I was really proud on how we didnโt panic and how we used the clock to control the game.ย We canโt play much better that we did today.ย Weโve had a tough four-game stretch.โ
on if this was a revenge game
โNo, this was not revenge.ย I teach our team to get better every day.ย We donโt focus on that.ย You wouldnโt believe how these kids have a short-term memory.ย Theyโre just thinking about the next game and when they can get home to see their girlfriends.โ
on their defensive pressure
โWe were trying to wear down (Aaron) Holiday and take away his legs.ย They donโt have the same guards they had last year, so we thought that was to our advantage.ย Also, with the pressure, we thought we could get Big Tom (Welsh) running up and down the floor and it would get him tired.โ
on if this was a signature win
โAny road win is big.ย Steveโs a good friend of mine, so we try to schedule this game every year.โ
on Kyle Washington
โI told him that you just have to slow down.ย If he takes his time, the way he shoots his jump hook, he canโt be stopped.ย I scheduled this game for them.ย At UCLA, a nationally televised game on CBS, so now it was time for them to perform.โ
Cincinnati senior forward Kyle Washington
on their 18-0 run
โItโs like coach said, we used our defense to lead the offense.ย This is what our program is based on.ย Our defense makes our offense go.โ
on his experience playing against UCLA
โThis program is legendary.ย Theyโve got great players and potential All-Americans.ย Holiday and Welsh are definitely great players and prospects.ย We knew they had a lot of players who can shoot on the bounce, so we knew they would try to come back.โ
on UCLA being short-handed
โTheir eight-man rotation hurt them a little bit, so we played on this.ย Coach also told us that our defensive pressure may get to them.โ
on his overall performance
โI really wanted to come out and have a good performance.ย I felt like I didnโt play my best during March and the NCAA Tournament.ย Todayโs game was not really about revenge.ย It was just about me coming out and playing my best.โ
on Thomas Welsh
โI was really trying to jump the ball.ย Heโs a tough competitor and he likes to compete like I do.ย Like I said, heโs definitely a prospect.ย We came here ready to compete.ย This place is legendary.โ
on the Cincinnati Menโs Basketball alumni Kenyon Martin and Ruben Patterson in attendance today
โIt was good to have them here.ย They talked to our team, but I was also talking to Ruben before and during the game.ย He was really trying to encourage me.โ