Postgame Quotes – Gonzaga 69, UCLA 65
No. 11 Gonzaga 69, UCLA 65
Honolulu, Hawaii (at the Allstate Maui Invitational)
November 22, 2023
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening remarks
"I thought the first eight minutes, our intensity wasn’t what it needed to be. From there, we started competing a lot harder and gave ourselves a chance. I take my hat off to [Anton] Watson, he was 3 for 3 [from three] and 14 for 15 from the field. He was dominant, carried his team to victory. But I did think there were a lot of positives … Lazar [Stefanovic] had 16 points and eight rebounds, And I thought Ilane Fibleuil showed a lot of heart tonight, and Brandon Williams gave us positive minutes. We have a lot to fix, but I liked the way our guys never gave up despite the fact that we didn’t make a lot of shots and Watson was having a career night. They had guys making threes that don’t normally make them. I’ll take that and we have to get better.”
on the team’s week
“We’re playing hard. My goal for this tournament was to get us to learn how hard you have to compete. We just didn’t play hard enough early on the backboard, early in the game, and it hurt us. We had to get some guys out, and some guys in who would physically compete, to give ourselves a chance... We found a group of guys who can fight back, that’s important, but again hats off to them.”
on Gonzaga’s Anton Watson finishing with 32 points on 14-of-15 shooting
“We didn’t tell anyone not to guard him, give the kid credit, he hit some tough ones. Early on in the game we left him a few times and the ball went in, and he got in his rhythm. He had a couple really tough jump hooks. If you can make a jump hook from outside the paint on the baseline, that’s almost like a 10-footer, that’s a hard shot.”
UCLA junior guard Lazar Stefanovic
on trying to get in a rhythm with all the fouls stopping the game
“It’s part of the game, it happens to everybody. It’s the same for us as it is for them. The call was made, next play.”
on believing in the team down the stretch
“Of course, you always keep believing that you will come back. We were getting good shots. The ball went in, we were down three. We got a steal and had a possession. You believe and you play, you just don’t believe. You think you are going to win. You do your best to execute, and we had a pretty good look that did not go in and that’s basketball.”
on freshman Ilane Fibleuil’s night
“He gave us a big boost and helped us a lot. That’s the Ilane that we need every night. It doesn’t matter what happens, we need him like that.”
on how he feels about the team, after three games in Honolulu
“We’re growing as a team. We are still trying to get to know each other. It’s a new team. These are good games that are going to help us come together even more.”
Honolulu, Hawaii (at the Allstate Maui Invitational)
November 22, 2023
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening remarks
"I thought the first eight minutes, our intensity wasn’t what it needed to be. From there, we started competing a lot harder and gave ourselves a chance. I take my hat off to [Anton] Watson, he was 3 for 3 [from three] and 14 for 15 from the field. He was dominant, carried his team to victory. But I did think there were a lot of positives … Lazar [Stefanovic] had 16 points and eight rebounds, And I thought Ilane Fibleuil showed a lot of heart tonight, and Brandon Williams gave us positive minutes. We have a lot to fix, but I liked the way our guys never gave up despite the fact that we didn’t make a lot of shots and Watson was having a career night. They had guys making threes that don’t normally make them. I’ll take that and we have to get better.”
on the team’s week
“We’re playing hard. My goal for this tournament was to get us to learn how hard you have to compete. We just didn’t play hard enough early on the backboard, early in the game, and it hurt us. We had to get some guys out, and some guys in who would physically compete, to give ourselves a chance... We found a group of guys who can fight back, that’s important, but again hats off to them.”
on Gonzaga’s Anton Watson finishing with 32 points on 14-of-15 shooting
“We didn’t tell anyone not to guard him, give the kid credit, he hit some tough ones. Early on in the game we left him a few times and the ball went in, and he got in his rhythm. He had a couple really tough jump hooks. If you can make a jump hook from outside the paint on the baseline, that’s almost like a 10-footer, that’s a hard shot.”
UCLA junior guard Lazar Stefanovic
on trying to get in a rhythm with all the fouls stopping the game
“It’s part of the game, it happens to everybody. It’s the same for us as it is for them. The call was made, next play.”
on believing in the team down the stretch
“Of course, you always keep believing that you will come back. We were getting good shots. The ball went in, we were down three. We got a steal and had a possession. You believe and you play, you just don’t believe. You think you are going to win. You do your best to execute, and we had a pretty good look that did not go in and that’s basketball.”
on freshman Ilane Fibleuil’s night
“He gave us a big boost and helped us a lot. That’s the Ilane that we need every night. It doesn’t matter what happens, we need him like that.”
on how he feels about the team, after three games in Honolulu
“We’re growing as a team. We are still trying to get to know each other. It’s a new team. These are good games that are going to help us come together even more.”