Rutgers Basketball Head Coach Steve Pikiell and guard Dylan Harper talk with the media following the win over UCLA on Monday night inside Jersey Mike's Arena.
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Head Coach Steve Pikiell Opening statement:
“Thankful for our fans they were great and gave us a great edge. Proud of our guys. It’s been a tough stretch. It’s good to have Dylan (Harper) back and healthy. Jeremiah (Williams) was tremendous today and Ace (Bailey) with a double-double, he blocked three shots. UCLA is a very good team. They’ve been ranked all season long. Obviously we were connected, we had a great energy, we outrebounded a really good rebounding team. They cause the most turnovers of just about anyone in the country so we handled that. I have a lot of respect for UCLA. It’s been a tough couple of weeks but these guys just kept fighting, are doing a tremendous job in practice and keep plugging.”
On toughness and game play:
“We just connected. We’ve shown signs of it. In this league you better be connected for forty (minutes) and I think we were connected for forty. We made our free throws down the stretch. We showed really good signs of getting better. It’s a young group. Jeremiah (Williams) came off the bench, Martini (Zach) gave us great minutes, Emmanuel (Ogbole) was outstanding. Every guy contributed to winning today and it was nice to see.”
On free throws in second half vs. first:
“We have guys very capable. This could be a very terrific foul shooting team. We missed a few but you have to fight through those obstacles. They (UCLA) are a very physical team. They are very handsy. I love the way they play defense. They hit you on every possession. So free throws were huge tonight because they’re going to foul and especially down the stretch when we have the lead, they’re going to foul so I’m pleased with our guys at the free throw line.”
On Dylan Harper:
“He was the leading scorer in the Big Ten until he got sick. He gives us a different dimension. He can rebound too. He can switch things defensively because he’s got great size. He’s a hard guy to guard. His best days are ahead of him. We have to get him one hundred percent healthy.”
On Dylan Grant, Tyson Acuff, and Lathan Somerville in starting lineup:
“They have been fantastic in practice. They’ve earned that opportunity. They gave us good minutes. Dylan Grant is coming. He’s blocking shots, he’s got length, he’s got good poise. We need everyone to keep getting better. Tyson (Acuff) has probably been our most consistent practice player so he deserved that. Jeremiah (Williams) comes off the bench and gives us great minutes and unbelievable energy. I’m never really worried about who’s starting. I just want to make sure that everyone is ready to play and that’s what I was most proud of. Those two (Dylan Grant & Tyson Acuff) guys have worked really hard and are really productive.”
On Rutgers offense:
“I think they’re (UCLA) the fifth-best defensive team in the country too so we played a great defensive team. We didn’t turn the ball over, that was a huge key. They generate a lot of turnovers. We made some timely plays at the rim. We just played better. We were more connected all the way around. When you have Ace hitting twenty points, ten rebounds, and blocking three shots it helps your numbers”
On being connected for forty minutes:
“They have to figure it out. We’re at the halfway mark. We practiced well for two days. They were smiling. I love when Jeremiah (Williams) is smiling and not playing referee. He’s unbelievable. I was happy to see that and the way they were communicating on the bench and in the huddles was just fantastic. We are growing up and we were able to be rewarded today for doing all of the things you need to do to be a good basketball team.”
On UCLA cutting lead to one & response:
“We’ve been in games like this before. We talked about finishing on the other end of the floor too. We got rebounds and we made some plays. That’s the kind of team that keeps attacking. It was great down the stretch to execute our free throws, get those big stops and hold them to 68 points. Sixty five is our number and we had them right at that number.”
Dylan on when he felt like he was back:
"I didn’t know the exact time. I think just how my teammates and coach trusted me. It made me feel like yeah maybe I was sick out for a little but I’m going to come back with the same goal to get a win."
Jeremiah on having Dylan back:
"Like coach said, the leading scorer in the Big Ten before he was sick was probably the best guard in the Big Ten too. When he’s back and healthy…. I mean he’s Dylan Harper."
On Zack Martini playing 13 minutes on both sides of the ball:
"I thought he was fantastic. He had two great practices before this. He was able to stretch the floor. He did some things for us, he was locked in. Honestly he gave us great minutes but I felt Emmanuel gave us fantastic minutes. He was a presence around the basket, and caught some passes that were hard to catch for a guy that big. Running the floor against physical guys, our whole bench was fantastic. They gave us energy, they were connected, they gave us defense. JMike hit huge free throws down the stretch. Proud of the guys, there are obstacles you know they fight through it. Everyone wants everything, but it's one of the things you have to earn.
On how well the team played against UCLA:
"They just had this good energy about them. Everyone accepted their roles and how we needed them to play. We really talked a lot about their leading scorer and not allowing him to get easy touches and do all that. Always try and tire the leading scorer out, we were able to do that. We need everyone, everyone is so important and has to chip in and help us."
On changing up the starting lineup:
"I don’t get too caught up on starting line-ups. I know everyone else does, Jeremiah played starting minutes tonight and he was, you know, a huge impact in the game and so what our bench. We’ll just keep plucking away, Dylan Grant gives us some length and some emergency defense. He's bouncy and comes in a lot of ways. Acuff has been very productive in games. Good thing about starting 11 guys is they know they are one day away from being in the starting lineup. I have faith in all of them. They just need to be ready. I'm more excited about the other guys and they were ready. There was no pout, whatever I can do to win that’s a sign of the team growth."
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