University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Postgame Quotes - UCLA 99, Portland 77
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 99, Portland 77
at Cal State Fullerton (Titan Gym)
November 24, 2016
ย
UCLA head coach Steve Alford
opening remarks
โI thought we did a really good job especially after we settled down in the second half. It was two pretty consistent halves for us. We had twenty nine assists on eleven turnovers. When you make thirty six baskets with twenty nine assists, you canโt help but smile as a coach. Weโre really sharing the ball.ย We had six people in double-figures, so we have a really good balance. We can beat you inside or outside.ย I didnโt like our start defensively and didnโt like our mindset. I thought as the game went on we picked up our intensity.โ
ย
on UCLA sharing the ball
โWe had five guys with assists tonigh โ weโre just a team that shares the ball and it becomes contagious.ย They built some trust with one another on the preseason trip to Australia.ย We started the season 5-0, but weโre still a long ways away and we got a lot of work to do.ย We get Ike [Anigbogu] back tomorrow, which will help our depth, but weโre still a work in progress. Offensively, I love how weโre sharing the ball. We truly donโt care who gets the basket. Weโll pass up the open basket to get an even better look, and that is something that is fun to watch"
ย
on the defensive plan against Portlandโs pick and roll offense
โWe have been doing a pretty good job against a pick-and-roll defense, and we came into this knowing Portland is all about pick-and-rolls on offense. I just think we didnโt defend it well. Itโs more than just guard play, there is a big involved with it as well. I thought we played with our hands down and that we were soft and we allowed them to become comfortable especially in the first half. About 10 minutes into the game, I thought we started doing things pretty good.ย Other than them making an abundance of threes in the first half and in the last few minutes of the game, we held them to 37.7 percent shooting."
ย
on freshman Lonzo Ball
โI noticed that he plays like a freshman. Weโre playing a Big Ten opponent that has some experience to the team so it will be our best and biggest test we had so far this year. These type of things Iโll be saying in another week when we face Kentucky on the road.ย Thatโs our first road trip of the year. The freshmen are learning as they go, but theyโre doing a great job figuring out as theyโre learning these new experiences.ย This is the first tournament as men in college, next week will be their first road trip that they had in college. I just want to see them continue to grow. I thought today was a little bit of a slow start for him [Lonzo Ball], especially defensively. Since heโs so long and disruptive. I think the guys fed off him. If he has learned anything, itโs that this team really trusts him.ย Heโs not your typical freshman.ย The seniors Issac [Hamilton] and Bryce [Alford] went to him in Australia and told him to do what you do, that โWe need you to do what you do.โ For the seniors to give him that confidence, it has helped him build confidence out of that. Heโs just got even more confident, and he was a confident player coming in here. When he gets rolling, it really helps what weโre doing at both ends.โ
ย
junior center Thomas Welsh
on the Bruins ability to share that ball
โWeโve gone through a great start, and I think the Australia trip helped us with coming together and having a chance to get to know one another.ย We have a feel for playing with each other and it shows with our assists today.ย We only made seven shots that were unassisted.ย I think weโre starting to figure out each other every game, and itโs going to be about sustaining that and playing great defense every game.โ
ย
on UCLAโs offense
โItโs great. Itโs definitely exciting and fun to be a part of. We hopefully will keep packing Pauley Pavilion and getting fans to come out and support us. Itโs fun to play with these guards, and they know how to distribute the ball really well.ย Around the rim, they can make a play at any moment."
ย
on UCLAโs frontcourt
โItโs great because G.G. [Goloman] and TJ [Leaf] are both phenomenally great players. TJ has been great for us so far and GG keeps on getting better every day. Weโll get Ike [Anigbogu] back soon and some other guys from injuries. Itโs been a lot of fun so far, but we just got to learn from this game and keep moving forward.โ
ย
Portland head coach Terry Porter
โI thought the guys came out and really competed well. In the first half, we did a much better job knocking down shots. Second half, we knocked down shots at times, and they really got hot. They executed a lot better and got the shots going where they wanted to on the floor and going down the stretch, we just couldnโt consistently knock down shots and make plays for us.โ
ย
on UCLAโs Lonzo Ball
โHeโs got a lot of good skills. Reminds me of an old school Jason Kidd in college, just a big point guard with great vision who really plays the right way and plays unselfish. Heโs probably got a little bit better jump shot than Jason Kidd did coming out of college. Heโs got a lot of great skill, great vision, and a good feel for the game.โ
ย
on a strong defensive start and keeping his players motivated
โOur team is not that concerned. I think that, for the most part, we stay true to who we are and will continue to push our system and work our system. UCLA is a very talented team and we can talk all day about their ability to get out, but we really need to take care of the ball. UCLA got a lot of points off our turnovers, but Iโm not concerned about our mindset when it comes to how we feel we played. What we do, we take in stride, and we will do it better than before. We know how important it is to get our program to where it needs to go.โ
ย
on his expectations against Dayton on Friday
โOur team is always doing a good job responding to certain situations. We won our first three games and we had a certain situation where we didnโt play as well in the first half and we had to respond in the second half and we did that. This is kind of like that type of scenario. We played well in the first half and weโre taking all the good things out of that, and there are some things in the second half that we got to get better at. Dayton is a very good team and they did a lot of good things in the game that I watched them play earlier today. We just have to come out and play both ends of the floor. We know theyโre a high quality opponent and we have to be ready for them.โ
ย
Portland guard Jazz Johnson
on carrying the load for his team
โI just looked it as, this is a big team and this is a big opportunity. We really had nothing to lose because itโs UCLA, and we just had to be aggressive and fight as hard as we can.โ
ย
on pushing UCLA and how it compares to the West Coast Conference
โYou definitely get confidence from playing a game like this against UCLA. Coach Porter is really on me about playing aggressive and not playing passive. Being aggressive against a team like this should lead up to conference well.โ
ย
on his expectations for Friday evening versus Dayton
โWe just [need] to keep playing hard. All these teams are good teams, so we just have to keep fighting and show what we can do.โ
ย
UCLA 99, Portland 77
at Cal State Fullerton (Titan Gym)
November 24, 2016
ย
UCLA head coach Steve Alford
opening remarks
โI thought we did a really good job especially after we settled down in the second half. It was two pretty consistent halves for us. We had twenty nine assists on eleven turnovers. When you make thirty six baskets with twenty nine assists, you canโt help but smile as a coach. Weโre really sharing the ball.ย We had six people in double-figures, so we have a really good balance. We can beat you inside or outside.ย I didnโt like our start defensively and didnโt like our mindset. I thought as the game went on we picked up our intensity.โ
ย
on UCLA sharing the ball
โWe had five guys with assists tonigh โ weโre just a team that shares the ball and it becomes contagious.ย They built some trust with one another on the preseason trip to Australia.ย We started the season 5-0, but weโre still a long ways away and we got a lot of work to do.ย We get Ike [Anigbogu] back tomorrow, which will help our depth, but weโre still a work in progress. Offensively, I love how weโre sharing the ball. We truly donโt care who gets the basket. Weโll pass up the open basket to get an even better look, and that is something that is fun to watch"
ย
on the defensive plan against Portlandโs pick and roll offense
โWe have been doing a pretty good job against a pick-and-roll defense, and we came into this knowing Portland is all about pick-and-rolls on offense. I just think we didnโt defend it well. Itโs more than just guard play, there is a big involved with it as well. I thought we played with our hands down and that we were soft and we allowed them to become comfortable especially in the first half. About 10 minutes into the game, I thought we started doing things pretty good.ย Other than them making an abundance of threes in the first half and in the last few minutes of the game, we held them to 37.7 percent shooting."
ย
on freshman Lonzo Ball
โI noticed that he plays like a freshman. Weโre playing a Big Ten opponent that has some experience to the team so it will be our best and biggest test we had so far this year. These type of things Iโll be saying in another week when we face Kentucky on the road.ย Thatโs our first road trip of the year. The freshmen are learning as they go, but theyโre doing a great job figuring out as theyโre learning these new experiences.ย This is the first tournament as men in college, next week will be their first road trip that they had in college. I just want to see them continue to grow. I thought today was a little bit of a slow start for him [Lonzo Ball], especially defensively. Since heโs so long and disruptive. I think the guys fed off him. If he has learned anything, itโs that this team really trusts him.ย Heโs not your typical freshman.ย The seniors Issac [Hamilton] and Bryce [Alford] went to him in Australia and told him to do what you do, that โWe need you to do what you do.โ For the seniors to give him that confidence, it has helped him build confidence out of that. Heโs just got even more confident, and he was a confident player coming in here. When he gets rolling, it really helps what weโre doing at both ends.โ
ย
junior center Thomas Welsh
on the Bruins ability to share that ball
โWeโve gone through a great start, and I think the Australia trip helped us with coming together and having a chance to get to know one another.ย We have a feel for playing with each other and it shows with our assists today.ย We only made seven shots that were unassisted.ย I think weโre starting to figure out each other every game, and itโs going to be about sustaining that and playing great defense every game.โ
ย
on UCLAโs offense
โItโs great. Itโs definitely exciting and fun to be a part of. We hopefully will keep packing Pauley Pavilion and getting fans to come out and support us. Itโs fun to play with these guards, and they know how to distribute the ball really well.ย Around the rim, they can make a play at any moment."
ย
on UCLAโs frontcourt
โItโs great because G.G. [Goloman] and TJ [Leaf] are both phenomenally great players. TJ has been great for us so far and GG keeps on getting better every day. Weโll get Ike [Anigbogu] back soon and some other guys from injuries. Itโs been a lot of fun so far, but we just got to learn from this game and keep moving forward.โ
ย
Portland head coach Terry Porter
โI thought the guys came out and really competed well. In the first half, we did a much better job knocking down shots. Second half, we knocked down shots at times, and they really got hot. They executed a lot better and got the shots going where they wanted to on the floor and going down the stretch, we just couldnโt consistently knock down shots and make plays for us.โ
ย
on UCLAโs Lonzo Ball
โHeโs got a lot of good skills. Reminds me of an old school Jason Kidd in college, just a big point guard with great vision who really plays the right way and plays unselfish. Heโs probably got a little bit better jump shot than Jason Kidd did coming out of college. Heโs got a lot of great skill, great vision, and a good feel for the game.โ
ย
on a strong defensive start and keeping his players motivated
โOur team is not that concerned. I think that, for the most part, we stay true to who we are and will continue to push our system and work our system. UCLA is a very talented team and we can talk all day about their ability to get out, but we really need to take care of the ball. UCLA got a lot of points off our turnovers, but Iโm not concerned about our mindset when it comes to how we feel we played. What we do, we take in stride, and we will do it better than before. We know how important it is to get our program to where it needs to go.โ
ย
on his expectations against Dayton on Friday
โOur team is always doing a good job responding to certain situations. We won our first three games and we had a certain situation where we didnโt play as well in the first half and we had to respond in the second half and we did that. This is kind of like that type of scenario. We played well in the first half and weโre taking all the good things out of that, and there are some things in the second half that we got to get better at. Dayton is a very good team and they did a lot of good things in the game that I watched them play earlier today. We just have to come out and play both ends of the floor. We know theyโre a high quality opponent and we have to be ready for them.โ
ย
Portland guard Jazz Johnson
on carrying the load for his team
โI just looked it as, this is a big team and this is a big opportunity. We really had nothing to lose because itโs UCLA, and we just had to be aggressive and fight as hard as we can.โ
ย
on pushing UCLA and how it compares to the West Coast Conference
โYou definitely get confidence from playing a game like this against UCLA. Coach Porter is really on me about playing aggressive and not playing passive. Being aggressive against a team like this should lead up to conference well.โ
ย
on his expectations for Friday evening versus Dayton
โWe just [need] to keep playing hard. All these teams are good teams, so we just have to keep fighting and show what we can do.โ
ย