University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Postgame Quotes - UCLA vs. Arizona
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 90, Arizona 69
January 26, 2019
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UCLA interim head coach Murry Bartow
opening remarks
โIt was a good win, really proud of our guys. Great energy. I thought it started defensively โ we really defended well, we played our 2 and it was pretty effective - they shoot 33% for the game. Rebounding was 47 to 30, so we were obviously pretty good on the glass. Offensively I thought we moved the ball, shared the ball. Kris Wilkes really busted out for us tonight. We knew thatโs the player he is and itโs good to see him making shots, feeling good, looking confident. It was a good team effort for us tonight.โ
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on the teamโs spirit
โItโs more fun to win than it is to lose. I thought the difference tonight was putting together a pretty good 40 minutes. We won our first three and against Oregon State we played pretty well for about 30 minutes. We didnโt finish that game very well. USC, we were tied with 18 minutes to go but we didnโt finish it very well. We played about 32 minutes of really good basketball on Thursday night but we had that one stretch in the second half. But I thought tonight for 40 minutes we played pretty darn well. โ
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on the synergy of Hands and Wilkes
โTheyโre close. They like to play together. Jaylen can obviously score but heโs also a guy that can get nine, 10, 11 assists. It was really big for our team that Kris Wilkes got rolling. We started calling some things for him, he got rolling. Moses I thought played a great game, had great energy, and got another double-double. Itโs a good team victory for us.โ
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on Kris Wilkes
โHe just got it rolling early. We didnโt really call anything for him early. You could kinda see the look in his eye. You could see that he was confident, that he was making baskets. Then in the second half, we started to run a few more things directed for him to make sure we put the ball in his hands. He was just very confident. I like that he wasnโt giddy about it, he was very professional, didnโt change his expression much, but he was in a very confident zone.โ
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on the absence of Arizonaโs Chase Jeterย
โObviously it didnโt help Arizona that Jeter was out. Jeterโs a really good player and heโs big, heโs strong, he does a lot for them in the post. So the fact that heโs out of the game certainly didnโt help [them].โ
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on the rebounding
โWe think weโre a good rebounding team. If we look at the stats, weโre one of the best rebounding teams in the conference, if not the best. Weโve kinda got to do it collectively. Tonight, we had a lot of guys with four or more rebounds, led by Mosesโs 15. Looking at our free throws a little bit too, we shot free throws a little bit better. Iโm glad to see Moses has got that new bank shot from the free throw line, that was good. We shot the free throws a little bit better, and I thought rebounding was a big key in the game, we did a nice job on the glass.
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on Moses Brown
โItโs really big that he plays thirty-plus minutes because he really anchors our 2 Zone. If weโre gonna play a lot of 2, weโre just much better when heโs in the middle of it. Weโve tried to simplify the message with Moses. Just run, rebound, and have fun. We donโt really run much for him. But we want him to run the floor, rebound, and enjoy playing. As Iโve said 100 times, heโs so fun to coach because heโs such a great kid. He wants to be coached. So itโs fun to see him play well.
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UCLA freshman Moses Brown
on meeting UCLA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
โIt was my first time ever meeting Kareem. I always wanted to meet him and I always thought I would meet him here. That was it.โ
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on what Abdul-Jabbar said to him
โHe just told me to keep up the good work. He asked me what school I went to and he knew I went to Archbishop Milloy [High School]. We had a lot of things in common.โ
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on what itโs like to be guarded by smaller defenders
โYeah, it was good. Every time they threw it to me, I think something good happened. I got a lot offensive rebounds and defensive rebounds, but that was just a credit to me being active on both ends.โ
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on speaking to UCLA legend Bill Walton before the game
โBill Walton talks to me all the time before the game, just trying to get my head right going into the game. [Heโs] just telling me to work, but not only work hard, work smart.โ
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on what itโs like to play in front of former players like Abdul-Jabbar and Walton
โItโs really exciting. These guysโtheyโve been there and done that and they have so much to teach them. I just want to go out there and show it and just play to the best of my abilitiesโfollow in their footsteps.โ
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UCLA sophomore Jaylen Hands
on what team has to do to play well on a regular basis
โFocus. I think, today, Kris [Wilkes] had a spectacular night but more importantly, I think we just focused. We played the full 40 [minutes]. We never let down after the first half, so I think that we were focused. Our attitude is really good, but as long as we just focus, keep playing hard, communicating, staying together for a full 40 minutes, I think we can play with anyone.โ
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on how his ball movement helps his teammates score
โI think it was a team effort. You canโt assist unless your teammates make the shot. Kris [Wilkes] had a lot of them. He was on fire, so thanks to him. Everyone was doing their part. It wasnโt just me or just one individual. Everyone was playing well.
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on buzz heโs been getting from dunk against Arizona state and teamโs competitiveness in practice
โThe dunk was cool. I got a lot of attention for it, so that was cool. The highlight looked cool. Weโve been practicing hard, so a lot of fast breaks and layups for everyone else. Prince [Ali], Kris [Wilkes], Moses [Brown]โtheyโre the ones dunking all the time.โ
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UCLA sophomore Kris Wilkes
on what contributed to his career-high scoring performance
โI think, really, just my teammates giving me the ball. We shared the ball and I was just able to knock down shots tonight.โ
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on seeing his shots start to fall again
โIt feels really nice. Last game, our team lost and I was talking to the commentators and they were saying [that in] one game, [shots] are just going to fall. I didnโt think it would be right now, but it was just one of those nights where they fell and it was just a good team win. Iโm glad we finally got this win and, hopefully, we go in next week and get a road sweep.โ
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on Coach Bartow calling plays for him when he got hot in the second half
โItโs good, but it also means itโs up to me to make the right decision. If Iโm not open, swing it. I think, tonight, I was calmed down a lot more and wasnโt trying to force a lot of shots like I did previously in past games. It was just a good night overall, and [we] just have to come back and win.โ
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Arizona head coach Sean Miller
opening statement
โWe got killed both games. We just got blown out in both of these games. We canโt make a shot. At the end of the day, someone really has to throw that ball in.โ
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on Brandon Williamsโ performance
โReally played well this whole trip. Heโs in that same club, that club where we canโt make a shot. Against USC, he had a really nice floor game. Heโs playing the best basketball of his career. As a true freshman, itโs always hard to make that adjustment. As the games have gone on, heโs feeling more comfortable out there.โ
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Arizona freshman Brandon Williams
on positives from this week
โWeโre getting shots that weโre capable of making. Weโre just not making them. Weโre getting open looks, so we really just have to take advantage of our opportunities.
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on scoring 19 points
โI really donโt care about that because we lost. We have to stay with our defensive concepts. We gotta get ready for Washington State and Washington, theyโre really good teams. I think Washington is undefeated, we just have to stick to our defensive principles.
UCLA 90, Arizona 69
January 26, 2019
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UCLA interim head coach Murry Bartow
opening remarks
โIt was a good win, really proud of our guys. Great energy. I thought it started defensively โ we really defended well, we played our 2 and it was pretty effective - they shoot 33% for the game. Rebounding was 47 to 30, so we were obviously pretty good on the glass. Offensively I thought we moved the ball, shared the ball. Kris Wilkes really busted out for us tonight. We knew thatโs the player he is and itโs good to see him making shots, feeling good, looking confident. It was a good team effort for us tonight.โ
ย
on the teamโs spirit
โItโs more fun to win than it is to lose. I thought the difference tonight was putting together a pretty good 40 minutes. We won our first three and against Oregon State we played pretty well for about 30 minutes. We didnโt finish that game very well. USC, we were tied with 18 minutes to go but we didnโt finish it very well. We played about 32 minutes of really good basketball on Thursday night but we had that one stretch in the second half. But I thought tonight for 40 minutes we played pretty darn well. โ
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
on the synergy of Hands and Wilkes
โTheyโre close. They like to play together. Jaylen can obviously score but heโs also a guy that can get nine, 10, 11 assists. It was really big for our team that Kris Wilkes got rolling. We started calling some things for him, he got rolling. Moses I thought played a great game, had great energy, and got another double-double. Itโs a good team victory for us.โ
ย
on Kris Wilkes
โHe just got it rolling early. We didnโt really call anything for him early. You could kinda see the look in his eye. You could see that he was confident, that he was making baskets. Then in the second half, we started to run a few more things directed for him to make sure we put the ball in his hands. He was just very confident. I like that he wasnโt giddy about it, he was very professional, didnโt change his expression much, but he was in a very confident zone.โ
ย
on the absence of Arizonaโs Chase Jeterย
โObviously it didnโt help Arizona that Jeter was out. Jeterโs a really good player and heโs big, heโs strong, he does a lot for them in the post. So the fact that heโs out of the game certainly didnโt help [them].โ
ย
on the rebounding
โWe think weโre a good rebounding team. If we look at the stats, weโre one of the best rebounding teams in the conference, if not the best. Weโve kinda got to do it collectively. Tonight, we had a lot of guys with four or more rebounds, led by Mosesโs 15. Looking at our free throws a little bit too, we shot free throws a little bit better. Iโm glad to see Moses has got that new bank shot from the free throw line, that was good. We shot the free throws a little bit better, and I thought rebounding was a big key in the game, we did a nice job on the glass.
ย
on Moses Brown
โItโs really big that he plays thirty-plus minutes because he really anchors our 2 Zone. If weโre gonna play a lot of 2, weโre just much better when heโs in the middle of it. Weโve tried to simplify the message with Moses. Just run, rebound, and have fun. We donโt really run much for him. But we want him to run the floor, rebound, and enjoy playing. As Iโve said 100 times, heโs so fun to coach because heโs such a great kid. He wants to be coached. So itโs fun to see him play well.
ย
UCLA freshman Moses Brown
on meeting UCLA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
โIt was my first time ever meeting Kareem. I always wanted to meet him and I always thought I would meet him here. That was it.โ
ย
on what Abdul-Jabbar said to him
โHe just told me to keep up the good work. He asked me what school I went to and he knew I went to Archbishop Milloy [High School]. We had a lot of things in common.โ
ย
on what itโs like to be guarded by smaller defenders
โYeah, it was good. Every time they threw it to me, I think something good happened. I got a lot offensive rebounds and defensive rebounds, but that was just a credit to me being active on both ends.โ
ย
on speaking to UCLA legend Bill Walton before the game
โBill Walton talks to me all the time before the game, just trying to get my head right going into the game. [Heโs] just telling me to work, but not only work hard, work smart.โ
ย
on what itโs like to play in front of former players like Abdul-Jabbar and Walton
โItโs really exciting. These guysโtheyโve been there and done that and they have so much to teach them. I just want to go out there and show it and just play to the best of my abilitiesโfollow in their footsteps.โ
ย
UCLA sophomore Jaylen Hands
on what team has to do to play well on a regular basis
โFocus. I think, today, Kris [Wilkes] had a spectacular night but more importantly, I think we just focused. We played the full 40 [minutes]. We never let down after the first half, so I think that we were focused. Our attitude is really good, but as long as we just focus, keep playing hard, communicating, staying together for a full 40 minutes, I think we can play with anyone.โ
ย
on how his ball movement helps his teammates score
โI think it was a team effort. You canโt assist unless your teammates make the shot. Kris [Wilkes] had a lot of them. He was on fire, so thanks to him. Everyone was doing their part. It wasnโt just me or just one individual. Everyone was playing well.
ย
on buzz heโs been getting from dunk against Arizona state and teamโs competitiveness in practice
โThe dunk was cool. I got a lot of attention for it, so that was cool. The highlight looked cool. Weโve been practicing hard, so a lot of fast breaks and layups for everyone else. Prince [Ali], Kris [Wilkes], Moses [Brown]โtheyโre the ones dunking all the time.โ
ย
UCLA sophomore Kris Wilkes
on what contributed to his career-high scoring performance
โI think, really, just my teammates giving me the ball. We shared the ball and I was just able to knock down shots tonight.โ
ย
on seeing his shots start to fall again
โIt feels really nice. Last game, our team lost and I was talking to the commentators and they were saying [that in] one game, [shots] are just going to fall. I didnโt think it would be right now, but it was just one of those nights where they fell and it was just a good team win. Iโm glad we finally got this win and, hopefully, we go in next week and get a road sweep.โ
ย
on Coach Bartow calling plays for him when he got hot in the second half
โItโs good, but it also means itโs up to me to make the right decision. If Iโm not open, swing it. I think, tonight, I was calmed down a lot more and wasnโt trying to force a lot of shots like I did previously in past games. It was just a good night overall, and [we] just have to come back and win.โ
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Arizona head coach Sean Miller
opening statement
โWe got killed both games. We just got blown out in both of these games. We canโt make a shot. At the end of the day, someone really has to throw that ball in.โ
ย
on Brandon Williamsโ performance
โReally played well this whole trip. Heโs in that same club, that club where we canโt make a shot. Against USC, he had a really nice floor game. Heโs playing the best basketball of his career. As a true freshman, itโs always hard to make that adjustment. As the games have gone on, heโs feeling more comfortable out there.โ
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Arizona freshman Brandon Williams
on positives from this week
โWeโre getting shots that weโre capable of making. Weโre just not making them. Weโre getting open looks, so we really just have to take advantage of our opportunities.
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on scoring 19 points
โI really donโt care about that because we lost. We have to stay with our defensive concepts. We gotta get ready for Washington State and Washington, theyโre really good teams. I think Washington is undefeated, we just have to stick to our defensive principles.