Postgame Quotes - UCLA 83, Utah 64
UCLA 83, Utah 64
Los Angeles, Calif. (Pauley Pavilion)
January 11, 2018
UCLA head coach Steve Alford
opening statement
“Extremely pleased as I thought we played some really good basketball tonight. We had good effort as we played great to start the game, great start to end the half, great start to the second half and great start to end the game. Those are the things you have to do to win. Can you start both halves and end both halves? I thought those four four-minute segments were huge. How we start the half, how we closed the half and how we started the second half were going to be make it really difficult on them. I thought we were active defensively. Offensively, we took care of the ball, took good shots and made them.”
on play of Aaron Holiday
“There’s not many players in the nation better than him. He’s controlling the game now. I think where he has really grown is his feel of the game of how you can take over a game other than just scoring. He’s doing that. Not only did he have 20 points and six assists, but he is guarding [Utah’s Justin] Bibbins. It’s not like we have to put him somewhere else to conserve energy or try to keep him out of foul trouble. He’s really smart and goes about his business. He started the season slow shooting the basketball and now they’re starting to go in like they were his first two years. He does a lot of good things for us. He’s been extremely coachable over the years and he’s just grown and matured. He’s really helping our young guys a lot.”
on newcomers making impact
“It’s not just our freshmen. I’m proud of what Alex [Olesinski] and Prince [Ali] are doing, who didn’t play last year. G.G. [Goloman] is growing and Thomas [Welsh] continues to develop and the things Aaron [Holiday] is doing is at a really high level. They’re doing a great job of taking care of their bodies when we’re not playing. I give the players all the credit as they’re the ones getting it done. They’re following the game plan and developing better habits. We are going through a stretch here where our habits defensively are getting better. So we are able to do more things: zone, press, man. I think the guys like that. It seems like changing defenses seems to get these guys a little bit more engaged.”
on shooting better from 3-point range
“I think the ball is moving and we’re not turning the ball over. When you don’t turn the ball over it’s hard for teams to get out in transition. I thought we took their transition game away so they weren’t able to get a lot of easy scores. We’re very good in transition. We are sharing the basketball and taking good shots. We’ve known all along that we have guys that can make shots if we take good shots. Right now our habits are getting much better in valuing the ball and valuing the possession. There was a point in the game up 16 that we took a couple of bad shots in a row and when we got to the timeout, before I could even say anything they said ‘yea yea yea, we know that’s on us.’ Three weeks ago they would have been hanging their heads because I was chewing them. So they are learning. That’s all a part of what this experience has got to be. I see us growing and hopefully we can continue that.”
on play of Kris Wilkes
“He’s cutting harder and learning to utilize his drive the right way. What I mean by that is there is a difference between dribble-dribble shoot versus catch-dribble-make a play. He’s doing a much better job of having his dribble take him towards the basket either for the tight-cut layups he’s getting or the kick outs versus dribble-dribble-dribble into a three. That’s not his strength. In transition he’s learning to run harder so now he’s getting to that 3-point line quicker so it’s catch and shoot as opposed to catch, because I jogged now I have to take two dribbles to get to the line. Catch and shoot threes are much easier than dribble-dribble-dribble take a three. He’s doing those things and he’s starting to figure it out defensively as well and that’s one of the keys for those three freshman. Each game, each practice they need to keep figuring out defensively how to get better.”
UCLA junior guard Aaron Holiday
on if team is becoming more cohesive as the season goes on
“You can say that. We’re about 16 games in, so obviously we’re going to get in a rhythm and you saw that tonight, pretty much.”
on being added to the Wooden Award list and how his game has improved
“About the Wooden Award, just a blessing. That’s pretty much it. I don’t really worry about it much, I just go out and play.”
on how he’s grown since coming to UCLA
“Yeah, I think I’ve grown since I was a freshman. Obviously, I had different roles and they’ve gotten more and more each season. I think I’ve grown in playing defense, passing the ball, shooting. But I think I was always a good defender. I’m always used on their best guy and just try to stop him, pretty much.”
UCLA freshman guard Kris Wilkes
on team being able to perform without Thomas Welsh scoring 15-17 points
“It was terrific. I think we started off the game real well, how we made all those threes starting off. I think that played a factor in the rest of the game and we kept going on offense and we locked up on defense and I think that really helped.”
on team’s success from 3-point range
“It’s nothing much. I think over the course of this season, getting all of those shots that we practiced… makes it easier for the game. We come out here in games, keep knocking them down and we win games.”
on how his game has improved
“It’s way different than high school. Faster speed, bigger guys, smarter guys, quicker guys. Over the course of these games, I’ve grown to be more comfortable, fill my role with cutting and stuff like that. In practice, I work on all that stuff. It makes the game easier.”
UCLA freshman guard Jaylen Hands
on what sparked his big second half
“Starters did a really good job starting off the game. They had a kill, which is three stops in a row on both the start the game and then coming out at halftime. I just really focused on coming in and trying to keep the energy up. Brought a spark, I think…”
Utah Head Coach Larry Krystkowiak
opening statement
“Our zone was really lethargic to start the game and these guys can really shoot the ball. They had swishes. It was like a nightmare. They would make it and just press us. They’re great players, but all guys are great players when your hands are down. We just didn’t play tough defense. I don’t think they guarded us man-to-man until the 11-minute mark. They scored 21 points on turnovers. You can’t have 13 turnovers on the road.”
on Pac-12 competition
“Whether we’re playing against USC or any other team, we just have to have consistency in this league. Everyone has to do a lot better job coming out of the locker room.”
on senior guard Justin Bibbins
“The kid is very cerebral. He really asks a lot of questions and not just questions, just to be asking. There is a purpose for his questions. It’s like he anticipates what we, as coaches, are going to tell our players.”
on how they will improve
“We really don’t have any production at the three-spot and that’s not to disrespect our team. But in this league, there are a lot of guys at that position. We’re going to give guys some opportunities. We need production at that position.”
Redshirt freshman forward Chris Seeley
overall statement
“Man, it was really tough when I was in the hospital. I had to really get myself in shape. Coach has not really played me, so it’s really good to get out there. I really didn’t feel like myself initially, but I felt better after the surgery. I’m not sure why, but I just feel so much better. Coach has told me that I have to get in shape, so I did a lot of playing five-on-five and getting some extra conditioning in.”
Utah senior guard Justin Bibbins
opening statement
“They came out and hit shots and got hot early. We couldn’t shoot the three and they did that very well. Nothing really surprises me. I’ve played against a lot of teams in this conference. In this conference, you can’t take plays off.”
about playing against UCLA
“It was really fun for me. It was really great because I got to play against all my high school teammates.”
about his future plans
“I have no idea. I’m just focusing on this season. If I can continue playing basketball, that would be great. Everyone has that dream about playing in the NBA, but there are opportunities overseas.”