Postgame Quotes - UCLA 107, Washington 66
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 107, Washington 66
Seattle, Wash. (Alaska Airlines Arena)
February 4, 2017
UCLA head coach Steve Alford
opening statement
“We shot the ball well. We moved it well. We got our assists up again in the 20s. I just thought we played really well. We had a lot of guys play well tonight. I liked how we attacked the zone inside-out. We didn't stand. We had good movement like we normally have against man to man and we shoot the ball so well that I thought we got the looks that we wanted. I thought the big difference was our defense. By far it was our best. I think our efficiency was 81. We had more kills, which is three in a row for us that is something we chart, than we have had all year. I just thought we were active. We got a lot of deflections and that led to open court play which our guys are really good in.”
on four UCLA players scoring at least 20 points
“That can happen every now and again just because of the way we share it. It wasn't like any of those guys got an abundance of shots. They were very efficient because we got good looks. We drove it hard, we posted it when we needed to post it, we made jump shots when we had open jump shots, and we do have a team that has a lot of guys that can make jump shots. When you move the ball and share it and you defend and get the stops that you have to get, you become a hard team to play against and I thought we were tonight.”
on the play of freshman guard Lonzo Ball
“He is terrific. It really doesn't matter what hype he has as far as matchups and this kind of stuff. If you were with us the last two days, it's the same Lonzo each and every day. Lonzo just does what Lonzo does and that is prepare his team the best he can and do the things that he does to make everybody else better, and he made a lot of guys better tonight. He can beat you a lot of ways. He had five deflections at halftime. He beats you with his defense, he beats you with his ability to create for himself, and he can create for others. And then when you forget about him he makes two or three 3's in a row, which takes the lead from about six to 12. That is just what he does.”
on freshman Lonzo Ball making everyone around him better
“That is what a point guard does. Your best point guards do that, and Lonzo has been able to do that. We have guys playing really good roles right now. I thought Aaron Holiday was terrific off our bench. Bryce got going again. He was very efficient. Isaac got going in the second half. TJ Leaf had another double-double. I thought Ike after sitting out Wednesday really came back tonight and was very strong with what he was doing. Tom did a lot of good things and I liked what GG did off our bench. With having Ike out some, GG has been able to get some more minutes and that has made us a little bit deeper. So all eight guys that played the majority of the minutes I thought really played well tonight.”
UCLA senior guard Bryce Alford
on UCLA’s gameplan against Washington
"That was the game we wanted to play. It was the game plan we had coming in. We knew that they were a pretty good offensive team. We knew what we could do offensively against them but to hold a team that averages 80 to the mid 60’s is big time for us."
on the performance of freshman Lonzo Ball
"I thought he did a great job tonight. He didn’t say anything about any hype coming in to the game. He wasn’t trying to amp up the individual thing up against Markelle [Foltz] at all. He just kept his head down and knows when to show up.”
on UCLA’s balanced scoring attack
"Any time we can get our defense going the way it was today, we get out in transition and get the confidence going for our offense then there are an abundance of guys on this team that can get in the 20s like they did tonight."
UCLA freshman forward TJ Leaf
on whether the team had refocused in wins over Washington State and Washington
"I think so. Tonight our defensive efficiency was the best it has been all season, so that’s a huge bright spot for us after we worked so hard at that. We are just getting back to having fun and going out there and playing our hardest."
on UCLA’s improved defense
"Just not being lackadaisical and not taking any plays off. If we do that then we will be fine."
on the play of Lonzo Ball
"He is a team guy, no matter who he is playing against, he is going to try and get the win for the team. Regardless if that makes him take three shots or 20 shots, he is going to do whatever it takes to give the team the win and that’s what he did tonight."
on heading into this Thursday’s rematch against Oregon
"It’s going to be a great environment with two good teams going at it so it will be a lot of fun. We are all looking forward to it."
UCLA freshman guard Lonzo Ball
on matching up against Washington freshman Markelle Fultz
"He’s a shot maker. Obviously, we tried to play good defense as we could on him, but he still made shots. He’s a great player but I’m just glad we got the win."
on a change in UCLA’s defensive effort
"Just focus. We know what time of the year it is and we have to get ready for March."
on UCLA being able to get up and down the court
"Our team strength is in transition, so when we get out its always good."
UCLA 107, Washington 66
Seattle, Wash. (Alaska Airlines Arena)
February 4, 2017
UCLA head coach Steve Alford
opening statement
“We shot the ball well. We moved it well. We got our assists up again in the 20s. I just thought we played really well. We had a lot of guys play well tonight. I liked how we attacked the zone inside-out. We didn't stand. We had good movement like we normally have against man to man and we shoot the ball so well that I thought we got the looks that we wanted. I thought the big difference was our defense. By far it was our best. I think our efficiency was 81. We had more kills, which is three in a row for us that is something we chart, than we have had all year. I just thought we were active. We got a lot of deflections and that led to open court play which our guys are really good in.”
on four UCLA players scoring at least 20 points
“That can happen every now and again just because of the way we share it. It wasn't like any of those guys got an abundance of shots. They were very efficient because we got good looks. We drove it hard, we posted it when we needed to post it, we made jump shots when we had open jump shots, and we do have a team that has a lot of guys that can make jump shots. When you move the ball and share it and you defend and get the stops that you have to get, you become a hard team to play against and I thought we were tonight.”
on the play of freshman guard Lonzo Ball
“He is terrific. It really doesn't matter what hype he has as far as matchups and this kind of stuff. If you were with us the last two days, it's the same Lonzo each and every day. Lonzo just does what Lonzo does and that is prepare his team the best he can and do the things that he does to make everybody else better, and he made a lot of guys better tonight. He can beat you a lot of ways. He had five deflections at halftime. He beats you with his defense, he beats you with his ability to create for himself, and he can create for others. And then when you forget about him he makes two or three 3's in a row, which takes the lead from about six to 12. That is just what he does.”
on freshman Lonzo Ball making everyone around him better
“That is what a point guard does. Your best point guards do that, and Lonzo has been able to do that. We have guys playing really good roles right now. I thought Aaron Holiday was terrific off our bench. Bryce got going again. He was very efficient. Isaac got going in the second half. TJ Leaf had another double-double. I thought Ike after sitting out Wednesday really came back tonight and was very strong with what he was doing. Tom did a lot of good things and I liked what GG did off our bench. With having Ike out some, GG has been able to get some more minutes and that has made us a little bit deeper. So all eight guys that played the majority of the minutes I thought really played well tonight.”
UCLA senior guard Bryce Alford
on UCLA’s gameplan against Washington
"That was the game we wanted to play. It was the game plan we had coming in. We knew that they were a pretty good offensive team. We knew what we could do offensively against them but to hold a team that averages 80 to the mid 60’s is big time for us."
on the performance of freshman Lonzo Ball
"I thought he did a great job tonight. He didn’t say anything about any hype coming in to the game. He wasn’t trying to amp up the individual thing up against Markelle [Foltz] at all. He just kept his head down and knows when to show up.”
on UCLA’s balanced scoring attack
"Any time we can get our defense going the way it was today, we get out in transition and get the confidence going for our offense then there are an abundance of guys on this team that can get in the 20s like they did tonight."
UCLA freshman forward TJ Leaf
on whether the team had refocused in wins over Washington State and Washington
"I think so. Tonight our defensive efficiency was the best it has been all season, so that’s a huge bright spot for us after we worked so hard at that. We are just getting back to having fun and going out there and playing our hardest."
on UCLA’s improved defense
"Just not being lackadaisical and not taking any plays off. If we do that then we will be fine."
on the play of Lonzo Ball
"He is a team guy, no matter who he is playing against, he is going to try and get the win for the team. Regardless if that makes him take three shots or 20 shots, he is going to do whatever it takes to give the team the win and that’s what he did tonight."
on heading into this Thursday’s rematch against Oregon
"It’s going to be a great environment with two good teams going at it so it will be a lot of fun. We are all looking forward to it."
UCLA freshman guard Lonzo Ball
on matching up against Washington freshman Markelle Fultz
"He’s a shot maker. Obviously, we tried to play good defense as we could on him, but he still made shots. He’s a great player but I’m just glad we got the win."
on a change in UCLA’s defensive effort
"Just focus. We know what time of the year it is and we have to get ready for March."
on UCLA being able to get up and down the court
"Our team strength is in transition, so when we get out its always good."