Postgame Quotes – UCLA vs Kentucky (Dec. 17, 2022)
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 63, Kentucky 53
New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)
December 14, 2022
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening remarks
“Big win for us. Long week. We’re looking forward to getting home – it’s going to be 75 on Christmas. That’s my recruiting spiel. I would say that became a bloodbath. At some point that became a Big East game. Back in the Garden, feels great to be back. We were really tough down the stretch on the backboard and loose balls. That was the key for us. I was shocked that we had 35 at half. Watching Kentucky on film, they’re just so good defensively. They’re so big, so strong. They’re always so well-prepared, they had a whole week to prepare for us. It became a chess game of trying to get Jaime and Tyger into some positions to score. They’re two great players. Again, Jaylen Clark was great. We have a lot of freshmen, it’s a tough game for freshmen. Our veterans have to carry us in a game like this.”
on the performances this week
“We know what we’re capable of if we defend and play with the toughness we played with this week. When we take care of the ball – we had a few more turnovers than we’re used to tonight, but we’re still plus-five in that category – we also out-rebound Kentucky by one. We have enough talent. You have to be able to defend the other team. It’s really hard to win when you give up 79, 80 to ranked teams. Good luck. It’s hard to get a lot of points on Kentucky, it just is. They’re so big around the rim, so athletic on the wings. The game becomes a rock fight, bloodbath, whatever you want to call it. It’s just hard to get buckets. You have to be hard to score on. We’ve got to a point where our guys are embracing that, they know we’re going to go win the game with defense. If we have a great night offensively, we win by 20, but we’re going to win one way or the other and we have to stop the other team.”
on recruiting
“The new thing is tempo now. Look at their tempo. You know what I say? Look at the temperature. We’re going home and it’s 75, I’m grilling out on Christmas. I have better players, way smarter. A genius when [Jaquez Jr.] and Tyger are playing a two-man game. Amazing, isn’t it? The thing about being at UCLA, you have a chance to get guys who can really score. You can also try to pick a little bit, and get guys with character. We have both this year. Even our freshman – none of them played great tonight – but they’re all great guys. I mean great guys. They’re all going to be big parts of our program. But everybody is a better coach when we’ve got Jaime and Tyger.”
on Kentucky’s late cold streak against UCLA
“I think the key was that we rebounded. We were talking in the locker room, we got like the last 10 rebounds and loose balls. I’m not going to speak for Coach Cal. He had a couple young guys. I think they rushed a few. I know he didn’t want them to.”
on offense
“We’re third in the nation in offense. They changed. When I was at Cincinnati, they called me for clinics to talk on defense. Now I’m going to get called for offense.”
on game planning
“It’s not anything different. You can’t stop teams if you don’t play small. I’m not a huge talker of all the technical stuff we do. I worked for Bob Huggins and Rick Pitino. They’re two of the best six coaches in the last 40 years. Scouting, game plan, playing smart, how to win a game. I’ve been doing that for 27 years under those two and carrying on what they taught. There’s a reason people win. Certain programs win because they’re committed to the things it takes to win, and they’re uncomfortable. You’ve got to eat your vegetables.”
UCLA senior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.
on playing at Madison Square Garden in New York
“I’ve been in New York a handful of times, and I love it here. The city is amazing. Every time I come, it’s always an adventure. MSG is something I’ve always wanted to be a part of, always wanted to play in. When I found out we were coming here, this was marked on my calendar. I was excited, ready to go, ready to play. I’m just so happy we won here.”
on the defense
“Really, it’s just a mental thing. You say you’re bought in, and you’re in the game, it’s a lot different. A lot of it’s not really effort, it’s really just being aware of where you are on the floor and really just kind of lock in, to being in the right spot at the right times. The effort is always there. It’s just sometimes you’ve got to be really smart about it.”
on the physical nature of the game
“This one was really physical. Really physical. They’ve got big Oscar. That man is a tank. Seeing him play is different than when you actually play. I wanted to shout out our big men. Kenny, Mac, and Adem. I thought they played tremendous. They did a tremendous job getting around him, listening to the scouting report. I thought Mac played amazing when he got his minutes in. Big ups to those guys because they played great in my opinion.”
UCLA 63, Kentucky 53
New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)
December 14, 2022
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening remarks
“Big win for us. Long week. We’re looking forward to getting home – it’s going to be 75 on Christmas. That’s my recruiting spiel. I would say that became a bloodbath. At some point that became a Big East game. Back in the Garden, feels great to be back. We were really tough down the stretch on the backboard and loose balls. That was the key for us. I was shocked that we had 35 at half. Watching Kentucky on film, they’re just so good defensively. They’re so big, so strong. They’re always so well-prepared, they had a whole week to prepare for us. It became a chess game of trying to get Jaime and Tyger into some positions to score. They’re two great players. Again, Jaylen Clark was great. We have a lot of freshmen, it’s a tough game for freshmen. Our veterans have to carry us in a game like this.”
on the performances this week
“We know what we’re capable of if we defend and play with the toughness we played with this week. When we take care of the ball – we had a few more turnovers than we’re used to tonight, but we’re still plus-five in that category – we also out-rebound Kentucky by one. We have enough talent. You have to be able to defend the other team. It’s really hard to win when you give up 79, 80 to ranked teams. Good luck. It’s hard to get a lot of points on Kentucky, it just is. They’re so big around the rim, so athletic on the wings. The game becomes a rock fight, bloodbath, whatever you want to call it. It’s just hard to get buckets. You have to be hard to score on. We’ve got to a point where our guys are embracing that, they know we’re going to go win the game with defense. If we have a great night offensively, we win by 20, but we’re going to win one way or the other and we have to stop the other team.”
on recruiting
“The new thing is tempo now. Look at their tempo. You know what I say? Look at the temperature. We’re going home and it’s 75, I’m grilling out on Christmas. I have better players, way smarter. A genius when [Jaquez Jr.] and Tyger are playing a two-man game. Amazing, isn’t it? The thing about being at UCLA, you have a chance to get guys who can really score. You can also try to pick a little bit, and get guys with character. We have both this year. Even our freshman – none of them played great tonight – but they’re all great guys. I mean great guys. They’re all going to be big parts of our program. But everybody is a better coach when we’ve got Jaime and Tyger.”
on Kentucky’s late cold streak against UCLA
“I think the key was that we rebounded. We were talking in the locker room, we got like the last 10 rebounds and loose balls. I’m not going to speak for Coach Cal. He had a couple young guys. I think they rushed a few. I know he didn’t want them to.”
on offense
“We’re third in the nation in offense. They changed. When I was at Cincinnati, they called me for clinics to talk on defense. Now I’m going to get called for offense.”
on game planning
“It’s not anything different. You can’t stop teams if you don’t play small. I’m not a huge talker of all the technical stuff we do. I worked for Bob Huggins and Rick Pitino. They’re two of the best six coaches in the last 40 years. Scouting, game plan, playing smart, how to win a game. I’ve been doing that for 27 years under those two and carrying on what they taught. There’s a reason people win. Certain programs win because they’re committed to the things it takes to win, and they’re uncomfortable. You’ve got to eat your vegetables.”
UCLA senior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.
on playing at Madison Square Garden in New York
“I’ve been in New York a handful of times, and I love it here. The city is amazing. Every time I come, it’s always an adventure. MSG is something I’ve always wanted to be a part of, always wanted to play in. When I found out we were coming here, this was marked on my calendar. I was excited, ready to go, ready to play. I’m just so happy we won here.”
on the defense
“Really, it’s just a mental thing. You say you’re bought in, and you’re in the game, it’s a lot different. A lot of it’s not really effort, it’s really just being aware of where you are on the floor and really just kind of lock in, to being in the right spot at the right times. The effort is always there. It’s just sometimes you’ve got to be really smart about it.”
on the physical nature of the game
“This one was really physical. Really physical. They’ve got big Oscar. That man is a tank. Seeing him play is different than when you actually play. I wanted to shout out our big men. Kenny, Mac, and Adem. I thought they played tremendous. They did a tremendous job getting around him, listening to the scouting report. I thought Mac played amazing when he got his minutes in. Big ups to those guys because they played great in my opinion.”