Coach Mick Cronin Team
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NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Regional Semifinal: UCLA vs Alabama Sunday, March 28, 2021 Indianapolis, Indiana, USA Hinkle Fieldhouse and it was headed the wrong way, but the guys toughened UCLA Bruins up and just did an unbelievable job of battling, for a small Coach Mick Cronin team. Sweet 16 Postgame Media Conference And then Jalen Clark got us some big offensive rebounds. Not only did we start blocking off better, we started offensive rebounding, which gave us some life, some second chance points, and some second chances to score, UCLA - 88, Alabama - 78 some opportunities to get the ball in the basket. THE MODERATOR: We are joined by UCLA head coach So I'm really -- and I would say, you know, look, we had a Mick Cronin. We'll get started with an opening statement. lot of guys that had great performances, but David Singleton is just a tremendous kid. He's everything that MICK CRONIN: First of all, I want to congratulate Alabama UCLA is all about as a school, just a great kid, great family, on their season. To win the SEC Tournament and regular just great character, so happy for him. Just so happy for season is a tremendous accomplishment. They got some David. Just an unbelievable game for him. excellent seniors that play the right way. They play extremely hard. So congratulations to them. Q. Coach, you guys have been in a million of these finishes this season, but when they hit that big three, I've been on the other side of this, and it's like driving off a they had so much momentum, what was kind of the cliff. It's excruciating. So it should not be -- the excellent feeling, and what did you say in the huddle before season they had should not be dismissed. overtime that kind of sparked that big run there? That said, we held them to seven made threes. It was a MICK CRONIN: Not a lot. I just tried to stay calm with the huge key for us. We had guys -- I told our guys, you know, guys, just tell them we've got to continue to execute. I the deeper you go, you've got to keep us alive with your thought our guys had found a rhythm with them defensively performance on both ends. We have six guys in double and adjusted a little bit to their speed, and they'd kind of figures -- six. gone small, and it was going to be what it was going to be. They would run a pick-and-roll, get the switch, and try to I think somebody asked me -- in fact, my guy -- when I'm beat us off the dribble. done with this, I do radio. The UCLA guy said, well, what about scoring outside of Jaime and Jules? Scoring's not Cody Riley really had some big stops, some blocked shots. our problem. We've got plenty of guys that can put the ball Obviously, not easy for a guy his size to stay in front of in the basket. Can we stop Alabama, their speed, their Jahvon Quinerly, but these guys have been resilient all quickness, their three-point shooting, and then keep them year, man. I don't know if this is a fact, but we've got to be off the offensive glass? Second chance points, we were the only team left out here with no seniors. only minus two. So I thought that was going to be the big key for us. There's many times we could have packed it in, but I told them, they've been putting up with me for two years now I thought game plan-wise -- you can game plan to defend trying to beat into them competitive spirit and toughness the three, but when that ball comes off the rim and it's in because, when you combine that with talent, you have a the air and on the floor, you can't let the other team want to chance to do great things. They've allowed me to do it, win more than you. And our guys did it -- we're not the and you're seeing the results of it right now. most athletic team without Chris Smith and Jalen Hill, so our guys just did a great job. Early on, we were down Q. There seemed like there were a lot of turning points eight, 19-11, and we were already minus five on the glass, 106160-1-1222 2021-03-29 02:46:00 GMT Page 1 of 4 in this game, and you alluded to it. At about 17-9, you passing lane. I don't remember the last time, Sam, that we called a time-out. They were on a role at about the had eight steals, but those are big baskets, right? In a 11-minute mark, and that turned the game around, it game like this, you get two easy points are gold. So those seemed, for you guys. What exactly did you tell them? are huge plays by Tyger. What message? What did you emphasize in that time-out? Q. Coach Cronin, can you talk about the resiliency of your ball club, of being together and staying focused MICK CRONIN: Well, I think we got confused early on a after Johnny had fouled out? couple of -- trying to fight over some screens, and they beat us off the dribble. So we just simplified everything MICK CRONIN: Well, that's the advantage of having guys defensively in how we were going to defend it, and we like Jake Kyman and David Singleton. Tyger and Cody, were just going to have to deal with some mismatches we're thin at those positions, but we're deep on the wing. because we were trying to -- it was a strategic adjustment. Like I said, David Singleton was monstrous today. Jake Then it was also I discussed the rebounding situation. We Kyman hit some big ones in our last win. David's got 15 were already minus five on the glass. monster points for us. They've got so much talent that, if you give them second I thought Cody -- and then we tried to start getting the ball and third shots, they're going to beat you. So I discussed inside to Cody when Johnny fouled out, and he had a that, but then there was a strategic thing we did with their couple of big buckets for us as well. screening that just tried to simplify it for our guys, and that way we didn't get confused. I thought that helped us. Q. Mick, how much has this team's confidence grown from the end of the Pac-12 Tournament to now? Q. Hey, Mick, was there any thought to fouling? MICK CRONIN: Well, I would say that the Michigan State MICK CRONIN: Absolutely. win was a big turning point. And I'll just give you -- you know, from a psychology standpoint, last year we lost to Q. Because I was screaming for you to foul him. them in Maui. It was a dogfight. We played great. We were 2 for 15 from three. We couldn't score. But we MICK CRONIN: Here, I'm a foul guy. Our concern that he battled them physically, and it was progress because two had a time-out, and I had told -- he saw me -- Coach Oats years ago they were down -- this group of guys, some of saw me telling Tyger and the guys to foul. When Dave the guys were on this team -- David, Jules were freshmen. makes it, we're going to foul at half-court. My biggest Tyger was sitting out. Cody was playing. Chris Smith was concern was that, when we went to foul, they were going to playing. Kenneth Nwuba was on the team. shoot a half-court shot, and we were going to foul a guy shooting a three-point shot. Literally, they got embarrassed against Michigan State, I mean, like down 30 at half or something. It was bad. And You know, Bill, you cover the NBA, they don't foul for that the guys, for them to come that far to where they could reason. The pro guys are really crafty. So we thought with beat a program like Michigan State, I think it just did four seconds, you know, we had -- if we just make one wonders for their confidence. rotation and choke that side of the floor down, we steal that pass. They don't even get that shot off. Q. Mick, I don't know if you could recall this or not, but was there a different feel in the huddle when you guys That being said, yeah, I am a foul guy, but that's -- you got forced into overtime in this one than when you did know, that was my concern, Bill. They knew, and when we against Oregon State? went to foul him, he was going to shoot it. So obviously, the kids bailed me out. We played great in overtime. MICK CRONIN: Oh, for sure. Oregon State or Michigan State, we've been in a lot of them. Obviously, Oregon Q. Tyger Campbell had two steals, and he turned both State was tough because, obviously, Jules was down on of them into baskets on his own. Can you just talk himself for the free throw. Michigan State, I think I was about that one overtime where he picked off the pass extremely fired up because it took everything we had to and got the fast break bucket all on his own? catch a team like that with a Hall of Fame coach from down.