UCLA men’s basketball guard Jules Bernard talked to reporters about the Bruins’ 96-78 win over Long Beach State on Thursday, breaking down what it meant for his team to get back on the court after an extended COVID hiatus, how Tyger Campbell impacts his scoring and how much it meant to have Cody Riley return means to the lineup.
JULES BERNARD
What is it about the Long Beach State matchup?
I’m not sure…I just go into every game trying to play my heart out, be aggressive, try to make plays for my team. I don’t know what it is about this certain matchup, but I just try and go into every game the same way: Be focused, play hard, play with energy, and hope for the best results.
What did you feel you did well?
Just taking my time, I had open shots, my teammates found me. I missed a few, but I didn’t let my confidence waver. The next open shot I had, I took it, and I made some. Just opening the floor up by getting teammates involved, finding my teammates when they were open for an open shot, and it just opens up the floor for me and to make plays for my team.
Started slow?
Yeah, I think so. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that some of our games were cancelled but as players, we wanted to play those games. Fortunately, it gave us time to keep preparing, get our wind back, build our stamina, so I think that helped a lot. It was our first game back, so there were obviously a few struggles. People might be huffing wind and stuff like that, but once we caught our second wind, I felt like we caught our rhythm. It was a good first game, but we got to figure out how to sustain our energy throughout the whole game.
Cody back?
It was great. That’s my guy. The first bucket was his bucket, patented dribble to the right, spin back to the left for a strong bucket. I was happy for him. It’s good to see that he’s feeling comfortable and feeling sort of confident in his legs and his conditioning, so it was a great sight to see.
Tyger?
Yeah, he’s big time. He’s a big time player and he’s going to have big time performances like this. 11 points, ten assists is huge and we expect that from him. We know what type of player he is, and it’s really a treat when you have someone who can handle the ball and find teammates and create for himself as well. We have a lot of talent, and having him at the head, at the point guard is amazing.
Important to get this game in before Cal?
It was great. Long Beach is a great team, they have great players who can really go. Just to get a game under our belt was great for us. We have sort of a feel for how the pacing is and getting our legs back, so this was definitely a great game, great opponent. We’re just glad we got a win, got a game under our belt.
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