What Tommy Lloyd, Jaden Bradley and Koa Peat said after win over South Dakota State

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Closing out nonconference play, Arizona remained undefeated on the season after a 99-71 win over South Dakota State. The Wildcats will travel to Salt Lake City to play Utah in their Big 12 opener.

Here is what head coach Tommy Lloyd, Jaden Bradley and Koa Peat had to say following the win over the Jackrabbits:

Lloyd on fan attendance through the holiday break: “I want to thank our fans. It’s another Christmas break game. No students, but you basically have over 14,000 fans. You’ve done that a couple of games in a row, that’s just that’s not normal in this day and age. People are attached to their phones or prefer the comfort of a couch. So it’s pretty special and it’s great. My next challenge would be like, I hope we can find a way to sell out every Big 12 game. We need McKale to be a zoo. It needs to be a zoo in there, not only with the ZonaZoo, but all our native fans coming out of the woodwork, and they need to bring it. It’s a special place. The special place derives from our fans, and them bringing that effort and that energy to the arena, and it just makes it a great community event. So I’m thankful for a great turnout tonight from our fans.”

On what the game tonight means going into Big 12 play: “Well, we played a really good team in South Dakota State. I know they’re a really good mid-major program that has an opportunity to win their conference every single season, and has been to numerous NCAA tournaments. I don’t know the exact number. I know I played against them in the tournament, and it always seems like their names are there. They’ve got a great lineage of coaches. You go back to TJ, you know, their guy now is at Drake, this new guy. He’s doing a great job. I’m sure he’s a next up and comer in that region, and he’ll be coaching at a higher level school someday. So I was just really impressed with their physicality and the effort they played with, we weren’t able to kind of just push him out of the way. They fought back, and it was a really physical game, and that was great. It’s exactly what we needed. We welcome that and we know that’s going to be the norm night in and night out going forward as we head into conference play.”

On the nonconference results: “I’ll let you guys be the judge of how good it went. I’m not good at comparing one thing to the next. I’m just right now thankful to beat South Dakota State. I’m going to get ready for Utah, but what I will say, it went well. From the aspect I knew we were going to get challenged early, and we found a way to get through those games on the W side, they didn’t come easy. We learned a lot about ourselves, and then we were able to kind of come home after those first four or five games and really kind of reset and really start our build, I thought. I feel like the month of December, we got a lot better, and so I like how it’s set up, with the challenges early that we found a way to get through. We had some practice time in December. I thought we responded and got better, and I think it was good to have a little break over Christmas and then come back and I feel like our guys’ energy and effort in practices is where it should be and I thought tonight’s game was the perfect challenge.”

On staying healthy: “We’ve had injuries. Injuries are obviously an unfortunate thing, and we’ve avoided that and hopefully we’ll continue to avoid that. Our doctors, our strength and conditioning staff, and you know our trainer J rock, those guys do an amazing job working with me to help us manage it the right way. It’s definitely a democratic process with how we approach that and and I appreciate the contributions all the medical trainers and the strength and conditioning people make to our program.”

On the three point defense: “I’ll have to go back and watch it. I don’t know the exact number, at least a handful of them felt like they were broken plays where we were on the verge of getting a turnover, or really pressuring them, making them uncomfortable. We didn’t quite get it, and they picked up a loose ball or made an extra pass and banged in a three. That allowed them to hang in the game. They miss a few of those and the game can get away a little bit earlier, but I was just impressed with their ability to hang with it. When you’re on the road in those situations, if you’ve got to be able to flip the script on possessions, and when things don’t go their way, you’ve got to be able to hustle, pick up a loose ball, and bang in a timely shot. They really answered the bell today. I think they ended up shooting about 40% but you know, when you’re a coach like me, it feels like 60. Some of those floaters, they hit mid range shots. We’ve got to do a better job to contest on those. I’ll take my hats off to them, and they made a lot of timely plays that kept it within striking distance.”

On if he was looking for anything specific tonight: “The number one thing is we always want to key in our effort and our energy and I think we’re getting more consistent in that area across the board and just in making sure that we’re not overlooking certain strengths. Obviously we want to put pressure on the paint. We want to be strong on the glass and make sure that our guys prioritize that, because those are ingredients for being successful, night in and night out. I’ve seen lots of individual growth, but I think the stage is set to go into an incredibly tough conference and we’re going to be tested, night in and night out, and probably with the safe assumption to assume everything’s not going to go our way every day. I think we’re built for the long haul.”

On not having to rely on just one guy to win games: “There’s a strength in numbers, and there’s a strength in having significant contributors across the board, and it’s hard to key on one guy. We have really talented individual players who value playing team basketball and prioritize making the right play, and when you do that the scoring distribution will get spread out a little bit. Koa had a good rhythm and energy to him tonight. Probably was a little too aggressive on a few plays, but that’s good. He’s got to push that line of learning where that line is, and I want to do that. I’ve really been challenging him on the glass, but he had 14 rebounds. I think, yes, I mean, I was, I made sure I wasn’t looking. I made sure it wasn’t Tobe’s name. I’m really proud of Koa, because I’m sure he’s gotten a little annoyed with me making some comments here and there about his rebounding.”

On Bradley’s performance: “The great thing about JB is everything he does just equates to winning, not necessarily stats. He’s just not a stat driven guy, but he’s a really good passer. He’s a guy that just kind of plays the right way and gets off the ball, and when you get off the ball and make a simple pass it’s probably not going to always lead to a scoring opportunity, but the next guy might steal a hockey assist. So I just appreciate that he plays the right way. Never gets caught up in stats, and I just really appreciate how consistent he is on a night in and night out basis.”

On not committing too many turnovers: “I think that’s something you always got to be mindful of, but it’s a double edged sword. You want a team to be aggressive and opportunistic, and you got to kind of learn how to push the line and push the envelope there a little bit. It’s a simple deal. A lot of times, these turnovers, a lot of the time, is you just look across the board, and if everybody takes one mistake away from their performance that night. It might cut three or four turnovers down, and now you’re where you want to be. I think we also had a high number of assists tonight, right? So that’s the kind of give and take there. It’s really hard at the end of the day to isolate a single variable and just get locked in on that, because there’s so much give and take there. If you’re really conservative, you don’t turn the ball over, well, you might not give any assist. You might not score many points. If you are a crazy team and shoot quick every single time, you probably don’t have any turnovers, because you get shots on goal. So, there’s just lots of ways to look at it. So we want to have possessions that have real value and give us a real opportunity to put pressure on the defense. You cross the line there, and you’ll turn them all over a little bit. We’ll always be mindful of that, but I like where we’re at with how we’re starting to move in the offense. Now we got to figure out if we can just clean up a few things.”

On having three guys get a double-double: “I’m not surprised. I didn’t write it in my pregame notes. We have good players. We have good players who are starting to get comfortable. I feel like we’ve admitted this but I feel like we’ve really improved since the UCLA game. I think we’re a different team, and that’s exciting, because that’s what the build should be about.”

On if the freshman have exceeded expectations: “My best answer is, I’m withholding judgment. There’s a long road ahead, but I’m withholding judgment. Let’s also put it this way. I’m not putting any limitations on these guys, and I’m not going to be surprised if that ultimately is the outcome. We’re like, wow, we knew they were good, but maybe they’re even better than we thought. I think that would be a great thing, but we’re not there yet.”

On the ever changing world of college basketball: “It’s so crazy right now, you know? The only thing that I would say is frustrating is you just don’t know what direction things are coming from. You just try to coach your team. It’s not a compliance issue. Why doesn’t everybody know what’s going to be allowed and what’s not going to be allowed. Why are we surprised by things? Maybe that’s my fault for having my head in the sand and not being on social media. I could admit that it could be my fault. I think it should be a little more obvious what is going to be allowed and not allowed. If you’re talking about a real level playing field, let’s start with that. A couple years ago they said double transfers weren’t going to be eligible. So we literally had a guy in the NCAA office sit in my office tell us, don’t recruit double transfers. This is in the summer. They’re not going to be eligible. They’re going to deny all the waivers. Okay, we didn’t recruit double transfers. Well, that January, all the double transfers got eligible everywhere. So, like, there’s just literally no credibility, and it sucks. But you know what? I’m excited about Arizona basketball. I’m excited about playing at Utah on Saturday, and I’m not going to be a spokesperson for any of this stuff. So I’m done talking about it. I want to be a quote on Arizona basketball, and what we have going right now. Let’s stay locked into the main thing, Arizona basketball, and Arizona football winning the Holiday Bowl. That’s as good as deep as I can go in my rolodex right now.”

On preparing for Utah: “They’ve got a great basketball tradition there. They got a new head coach who I’m sure is trying to figure this college basketball thing out, and I’m sure he’s learning fast. So, we expect Saturday to be a knock down drag out.”

Bradley on getting to ten assists: “Just their tendencies on defense. We know they’re a very gappy defensive team, so just telling my shooters to stay ready. Ivan, Dwayne, Brayden, all of them, just stay ready. My bigs being my bigs, just simple pocket passes, and they do the rest.”

On if this game helps the team be ready for the Big 12: “Yeah, they’re great. They’re a great team. They can really shoot it. They can get after on the defensive end, and so that was definitely a great way to end the non conference.”

On the nonconference results: “It was definitely an outcome that we wanted, you know, undefeated. That’s behind us now. Getting ready for Big 12 play and we’re excited to start that.”

On getting his first double-double: “You know, the numbers are numbers and I definitely like the assist I get my teammates involved and the rest just take care of itself.”

On the versatility of South Dakota State: “They’re definitely a great team, stretch it from three, got some big guys that got some very close moves, so we did a decent job. Some stuff we need to clean up and work on, but that’s every game.”

On the difference in going into Big 12 play from last year: “Definitely need to go in there and prove ourselves, it’s our second year in the Big 12. So we definitely need to go in there and prove ourselves, and earn respect. It’s a very physical league, and every game, like Koa said, is going to be a battle, an away game or a home game. So just go in there and we just have to be a good team.”

On if Dell’Orso has shown athleticism in practices similar to the dunk he had tonight: “I think he dunked on Koa one time in practice. Delly’s been working, especially over the summer. You see his body is way different, he’s more athletic, so kudos to Delly.”

Peat on playing with more emotion than usual tonight: “I was just playing basketball honestly. The emotions come out. Coach always tells us to play with energy and play with an edge. So it’s something I’ve been trying to put in my game more, just screaming at the crowd, little stuff like that gets the crowd in it, and it’s special here in McKale. So it definitely helps get us ahead of the other team, when the crowd’s going crazy.”

On full court press defense: “I think we’ve had spurts where it’s been really good. Today it was all right, we got back in transition a couple times. They hit a couple threes. We got out of it, but just trying to work on that each and every day in practice, that’s something we really work on. I think we’ll keep developing and get better at that. I think just our versatility defensively. We have a lot of long, big guys that you know could move around the court, and then we got guys like JB and Brayden that are flying everywhere.”

On going into conference play: “I feel good going into Big 12 play now, but like JB said, we’re 0-0 now going into that. We’re going to keep getting better each and every day. I just trust my teammates, trust the work I put in. I just went out there and played my game, always trying to make the right play, if that’s me scoring or passing or going after a loose ball, getting a rebound put back, just trying to play the game and make the right play every play.”

On what his teammates have said about Big 12 play: “I haven’t really talked too much about it. We’ll do that tomorrow. We have a little meeting, but I got recruited by a lot of Big 12 schools, so I know a lot about them, and I know it’s a physical and tough league. Every night is going to be a dog fight. So I’m excited for that, and that’s what I came to Arizona for, was to play on the big stage and play with great teammates like Jaden Bradley and Tobe Awaka, just going to Big 12 play excited.”

On the freshman as a whole: “Those are my guys. I love them on and off the court, especially off the court like we’re hanging out on the game, going to get food together. It’s just special to come in here as a freshman and have those other freshmen next to me. It makes my job easier to come out here every day and practice and go my hardest, because I got guys like that on my team. So I’m excited for what’s to come, and I think we’re gonna keep getting better.”

On regaining focus after the holiday break: “I think it was business as usual. Coach was harping on us for a beginner’s mindset, coming in with different energy. That stuff’s behind us now. It’s kind of a new season, so coming at it like is our first game tonight, and going out there with energy and playing our hardest.”

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