Postgame Quotes - UCLA 82, Western Michigan 68
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 82, Western Michigan 68
Pauley Pavilion (Los Angeles, Calif.)
December 21, 2016
UCLA Head Coach Steve Alford
opening statement
“Really proud of my team. We went really hard on Monday and Tuesday, and I hope that helps us down the road, but I like how we grinded against a really competitive team. I liked Western Michigan on film. They are well coached. I knew that. Wilder was a good player and Haymond got a lot of confidence after the Washington game. This was a dangerous team. We are one of the first teams to get to 13 games this early in the season. It’s not always going to be 20-25 point games. We had good defensive efficiency that was better than our offensive efficiency for probably the first time this season. I thought we did some really good things. We’ve had a lot of guys out and this break comes at a really good time. It’s been two decades since a team here has gone undefeated in non-conference play so it isn’t easy. I’m really proud of our guys to be able to do that. I couldn’t ask more from them in the non-conference season, they did a tremendous job.”
on defensive efficiency
“We were pretty consistent both halves. They shot a little better in the second half than the first half. We did a good job of only giving up five 3-pointers. We controlled the backboard a little bit better maybe in the second half but it was probably even. We kept them off the free-throw line so we didn’t foul. We forced 18 turnovers and blocked nine shots so I thought we were active with our hands and position-wise we were a little bit better. We as coaches will look at some things going into conference but overall I thought we made great strides defensively as a team. ”
on 3-point shooting
“We’ve played 13 games in not a big stretch of days. This might be the first game that we haven’t shot at least 30 percent from 3-point and we won by 14. That’s a good sign if all of a sudden we can’t shoot the three-ball like we are capable of shooting it. Tom [Welsh] has been out 2 and a half weeks and that affects the offense if you can’t shoot threes because if the three-ball isn’t falling you know that you can go to him. He is a pretty good option from 15 feet and we haven’t had that. To beat the teams that we have without him says a lot about this team. Tonight the sticking point was that we didn’t make the three, but we have made them at a very high level through 12 games and I still think that will be a big strength of ours.”
on if this game resembled a Pac-12 game
“I’m not sure. Some teams like to run and some like to be more controlled. We are going to face a lot of those things. The nice thing is that we have faced our share of teams that wanted to run with us and have faced teams that are much more controlled. We have been able to figure all of those out and that’s the encouraging thing. We have played against a lot of different styles and now that we move into league play hopefully that’s going to help us.”
UCLA Sophomore Guard Aaron Holiday
on mindset
“We just want to execute our offensive game plan for that game. Coach does a great job of giving us something to execute so it’s just our job to go out there and execute. It doesn’t matter if it’s fast paced or slow paced, we just got to execute.”
on being undefeated
“Personally, I don’t think about it to be honest. As a team, I feel like we are staying away from thinking we are the best just because we are 13-0. It’s just going to come down to keep playing hard.”
on defense late in the game
“Steals always give us energy. When we get steals we just go out and start running and when we do that we’re at our best.”
on improvement this year
“It’s really just confidence. This year I have lot more confidence than I did last year. Also, lots of hard work over the summer. I put a lot of work in this summer and I’m glad it’s finally starting to show.”
on holiday break
“It’s great to have a break from the game for a little bit and to come back strong for Pac-12 play. It should be a good game; it should be fun [to play Oregon]. They are very competitive and won the conference last year. We have to go in there and try to get one.”
UCLA Senior Guard Bryce Alford
on persevering
“That’s been the biggest thing for our team so far. It’s just finding a way regardless of how the course of the game is going. Whether we had a really slow start, didn’t shoot the ball well and didn’t guard the way we wanted to, especially in the first half. Whether we play well or not, we’re just going to try to find a way to win.”
on being undefeated
“The coaches told us about how special that is after the game. Anytime you do something that hasn’t been done for a while at a university like this, with a basketball program like this, it’s very special. We are going to cherish it. We have a couple days to take off and spend time with family. It’s very pleasing to know we ended on a high note and can come back with a fresh start.”
Western Michigan Head Coach Steve Hawkins
opening statement
“They are so talented. I felt like we played hard. We basically played the same way we did against Washington. We had good three-to-five minute stretches. They (UCLA) are a 10-0 run team just waiting to happen. We tried to slow the game down, but we started having turnovers, and we took some shots early in the shot clock. Those two things really turned the game around.”
on where they go from here
“We played a very difficult schedule. We played the No. 1 team Villanova, and the No. 2 team in the country. So we’re going to take all of this growth and learn from it. We’re going to pack it up in our suitcase and take from the performance and go from there.”
Western Michigan Junior Guard Thomas Wilder
on tonight’s performance
“We played with a lot of confidence; we were not scared at all. We are very confident in our abilities. I just felt as a team we were not nervous playing here in Pauley Pavilion. It’s just another game.”
on what do they take from this game
“Well, this is just like any other game. You have to get back in the gym, get locked in on the defensive end and prepare like it’s just another game.”
UCLA 82, Western Michigan 68
Pauley Pavilion (Los Angeles, Calif.)
December 21, 2016
UCLA Head Coach Steve Alford
opening statement
“Really proud of my team. We went really hard on Monday and Tuesday, and I hope that helps us down the road, but I like how we grinded against a really competitive team. I liked Western Michigan on film. They are well coached. I knew that. Wilder was a good player and Haymond got a lot of confidence after the Washington game. This was a dangerous team. We are one of the first teams to get to 13 games this early in the season. It’s not always going to be 20-25 point games. We had good defensive efficiency that was better than our offensive efficiency for probably the first time this season. I thought we did some really good things. We’ve had a lot of guys out and this break comes at a really good time. It’s been two decades since a team here has gone undefeated in non-conference play so it isn’t easy. I’m really proud of our guys to be able to do that. I couldn’t ask more from them in the non-conference season, they did a tremendous job.”
on defensive efficiency
“We were pretty consistent both halves. They shot a little better in the second half than the first half. We did a good job of only giving up five 3-pointers. We controlled the backboard a little bit better maybe in the second half but it was probably even. We kept them off the free-throw line so we didn’t foul. We forced 18 turnovers and blocked nine shots so I thought we were active with our hands and position-wise we were a little bit better. We as coaches will look at some things going into conference but overall I thought we made great strides defensively as a team. ”
on 3-point shooting
“We’ve played 13 games in not a big stretch of days. This might be the first game that we haven’t shot at least 30 percent from 3-point and we won by 14. That’s a good sign if all of a sudden we can’t shoot the three-ball like we are capable of shooting it. Tom [Welsh] has been out 2 and a half weeks and that affects the offense if you can’t shoot threes because if the three-ball isn’t falling you know that you can go to him. He is a pretty good option from 15 feet and we haven’t had that. To beat the teams that we have without him says a lot about this team. Tonight the sticking point was that we didn’t make the three, but we have made them at a very high level through 12 games and I still think that will be a big strength of ours.”
on if this game resembled a Pac-12 game
“I’m not sure. Some teams like to run and some like to be more controlled. We are going to face a lot of those things. The nice thing is that we have faced our share of teams that wanted to run with us and have faced teams that are much more controlled. We have been able to figure all of those out and that’s the encouraging thing. We have played against a lot of different styles and now that we move into league play hopefully that’s going to help us.”
UCLA Sophomore Guard Aaron Holiday
on mindset
“We just want to execute our offensive game plan for that game. Coach does a great job of giving us something to execute so it’s just our job to go out there and execute. It doesn’t matter if it’s fast paced or slow paced, we just got to execute.”
on being undefeated
“Personally, I don’t think about it to be honest. As a team, I feel like we are staying away from thinking we are the best just because we are 13-0. It’s just going to come down to keep playing hard.”
on defense late in the game
“Steals always give us energy. When we get steals we just go out and start running and when we do that we’re at our best.”
on improvement this year
“It’s really just confidence. This year I have lot more confidence than I did last year. Also, lots of hard work over the summer. I put a lot of work in this summer and I’m glad it’s finally starting to show.”
on holiday break
“It’s great to have a break from the game for a little bit and to come back strong for Pac-12 play. It should be a good game; it should be fun [to play Oregon]. They are very competitive and won the conference last year. We have to go in there and try to get one.”
UCLA Senior Guard Bryce Alford
on persevering
“That’s been the biggest thing for our team so far. It’s just finding a way regardless of how the course of the game is going. Whether we had a really slow start, didn’t shoot the ball well and didn’t guard the way we wanted to, especially in the first half. Whether we play well or not, we’re just going to try to find a way to win.”
on being undefeated
“The coaches told us about how special that is after the game. Anytime you do something that hasn’t been done for a while at a university like this, with a basketball program like this, it’s very special. We are going to cherish it. We have a couple days to take off and spend time with family. It’s very pleasing to know we ended on a high note and can come back with a fresh start.”
Western Michigan Head Coach Steve Hawkins
opening statement
“They are so talented. I felt like we played hard. We basically played the same way we did against Washington. We had good three-to-five minute stretches. They (UCLA) are a 10-0 run team just waiting to happen. We tried to slow the game down, but we started having turnovers, and we took some shots early in the shot clock. Those two things really turned the game around.”
on where they go from here
“We played a very difficult schedule. We played the No. 1 team Villanova, and the No. 2 team in the country. So we’re going to take all of this growth and learn from it. We’re going to pack it up in our suitcase and take from the performance and go from there.”
Western Michigan Junior Guard Thomas Wilder
on tonight’s performance
“We played with a lot of confidence; we were not scared at all. We are very confident in our abilities. I just felt as a team we were not nervous playing here in Pauley Pavilion. It’s just another game.”
on what do they take from this game
“Well, this is just like any other game. You have to get back in the gym, get locked in on the defensive end and prepare like it’s just another game.”