Postgame Quotes – UCLA at Stanford (Dec. 1, 2022)
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 80, Stanford 66
December 1, 2022
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
on opening the game with a 17-0 run
“Yeah, but it was key, right? … You saw this week, the first road game is the scariest road game, especially with our freshmen, so I was really happy with the way we started out. We rode that the rest of the way. You’re not going to keep sustaining that. You’re not going to win by 40 against Stanford. They’ve got too many players. Jerod (Haase) is a good coach. They’re going to fight back.”
on Jaime Jaquez Jr. making two big buckets after Stanford’s run
“Our ball movement in the first half was as good as it’s been since I’ve been here. Side-to-side, it’s a layup drill. We shoot 63 percent in the first half with Dave missing four wide open 3s. Jaime and Adem missed dunks, or we shoot 70 percent. It’s all ball movement. (In the) second half, they picked up their pressure and eliminated some of our ball movement and then we reverted back to too much dribbling and let them in the game. But give them credit, they fought back.”
on how UCLA fought back after Stanford cut the Bruins’ lead to eight points
“We finally got some defensive stops. We were worried about our offensive struggles. We got back focused on the defensive end. That was the key.”
on Amari Bailey getting more comfortable each day
“Yeah, 32 minutes for him, a freshman on the road in his first road game, I thought he got tired in the second half. He was a much better in the first. That’s why I’ve been saying this to you for a long time. Dylan (Andrews), Will (McClendon), Abramo (Canka) – obviously, Dave’s going to play – but we’ve got to be able to play more guys to be able to maintain our intensity. That’s on me. I could have put them in. I told the guys in the locker room I thought that was part of our problem that we got tired. I have confidence in those guys.”
Senior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.
on hitting two big shots after Stanford cut UCLA’s lead to eight points
“I don’t know if that was necessarily the plan. It kind of just developed that way. A lot of my buckets came off assists from Tyger and Amari so I give credit to those guys.”
on if he’s ever been a part of anything like UCLA’s 17-0 run to begin the game before
“Not that I can remember off the top of my head. I’m sure there’s one game in high school or maybe one in college. I just don’t remember. To come out with that intensity is something that we’re going to need to do a lot this year.”
on what Stanford did differently in the second half
“They just started pressuring us and we could have done one of two things. We could have folded under that pressure – we made some turnovers, but we made up for it with our defense and trying to get great shots.”
on forcing seven turnovers and missing just two shots to begin the game
“I think the key was to disrupt their offense and not let them run their sets. They’re a major set play team, so if we don’t let them run their sets, we just thought they were going to be lost and not know what to do. We just wanted to keep that heat on them.”
on if getting more rest would help him and Tyger sustain intensity early in games
“I think so. 100 percent. I don’t like to come out. I definitely think those guys coming in is definitely going to benefit (Tyger and I). They’re great players and we know what they can do and we’re just waiting on them to show it.”
Freshman guard Amari Bailey
on if he’s ever been a part of anything like UCLA’s 17-0 run to begin the game before
“The last I can remember what is in high school, to be honest. That was a great way to come out and put our foot on their neck.”
on what allowed UCLA to pull away after Stanford’s second half comeback
“Just to remember what got us to that point, which was our effort on the ball, our effort on defense. But at the same time, taking care of the ball and not getting sped up.”
on if spreading out minutes would be helpful to keep fresh
“We have a team full of depth and guys who can go, 1-15. It’s a team sport and we’re going to be fine.”
on his putback dunk in the first half
“It felt great just to be able to play for my team, honestly. You live for those moments as a player.”
on UCLA’s press defense in the first half and what made it so effective
“Just our energy and our activity, honestly. I feel like it starts on the ball and that energy is transferred throughout the team and we were able to go on a run.”
UCLA 80, Stanford 66
December 1, 2022
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
on opening the game with a 17-0 run
“Yeah, but it was key, right? … You saw this week, the first road game is the scariest road game, especially with our freshmen, so I was really happy with the way we started out. We rode that the rest of the way. You’re not going to keep sustaining that. You’re not going to win by 40 against Stanford. They’ve got too many players. Jerod (Haase) is a good coach. They’re going to fight back.”
on Jaime Jaquez Jr. making two big buckets after Stanford’s run
“Our ball movement in the first half was as good as it’s been since I’ve been here. Side-to-side, it’s a layup drill. We shoot 63 percent in the first half with Dave missing four wide open 3s. Jaime and Adem missed dunks, or we shoot 70 percent. It’s all ball movement. (In the) second half, they picked up their pressure and eliminated some of our ball movement and then we reverted back to too much dribbling and let them in the game. But give them credit, they fought back.”
on how UCLA fought back after Stanford cut the Bruins’ lead to eight points
“We finally got some defensive stops. We were worried about our offensive struggles. We got back focused on the defensive end. That was the key.”
on Amari Bailey getting more comfortable each day
“Yeah, 32 minutes for him, a freshman on the road in his first road game, I thought he got tired in the second half. He was a much better in the first. That’s why I’ve been saying this to you for a long time. Dylan (Andrews), Will (McClendon), Abramo (Canka) – obviously, Dave’s going to play – but we’ve got to be able to play more guys to be able to maintain our intensity. That’s on me. I could have put them in. I told the guys in the locker room I thought that was part of our problem that we got tired. I have confidence in those guys.”
Senior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.
on hitting two big shots after Stanford cut UCLA’s lead to eight points
“I don’t know if that was necessarily the plan. It kind of just developed that way. A lot of my buckets came off assists from Tyger and Amari so I give credit to those guys.”
on if he’s ever been a part of anything like UCLA’s 17-0 run to begin the game before
“Not that I can remember off the top of my head. I’m sure there’s one game in high school or maybe one in college. I just don’t remember. To come out with that intensity is something that we’re going to need to do a lot this year.”
on what Stanford did differently in the second half
“They just started pressuring us and we could have done one of two things. We could have folded under that pressure – we made some turnovers, but we made up for it with our defense and trying to get great shots.”
on forcing seven turnovers and missing just two shots to begin the game
“I think the key was to disrupt their offense and not let them run their sets. They’re a major set play team, so if we don’t let them run their sets, we just thought they were going to be lost and not know what to do. We just wanted to keep that heat on them.”
on if getting more rest would help him and Tyger sustain intensity early in games
“I think so. 100 percent. I don’t like to come out. I definitely think those guys coming in is definitely going to benefit (Tyger and I). They’re great players and we know what they can do and we’re just waiting on them to show it.”
Freshman guard Amari Bailey
on if he’s ever been a part of anything like UCLA’s 17-0 run to begin the game before
“The last I can remember what is in high school, to be honest. That was a great way to come out and put our foot on their neck.”
on what allowed UCLA to pull away after Stanford’s second half comeback
“Just to remember what got us to that point, which was our effort on the ball, our effort on defense. But at the same time, taking care of the ball and not getting sped up.”
on if spreading out minutes would be helpful to keep fresh
“We have a team full of depth and guys who can go, 1-15. It’s a team sport and we’re going to be fine.”
on his putback dunk in the first half
“It felt great just to be able to play for my team, honestly. You live for those moments as a player.”
on UCLA’s press defense in the first half and what made it so effective
“Just our energy and our activity, honestly. I feel like it starts on the ball and that energy is transferred throughout the team and we were able to go on a run.”