Cal Head Coach Wyking Jones

 
Statement on the game:
"I'm very happy with the team's performance tonight. I felt like we came out of the gates focused, ready to play, locked in and we were able to carry that momentum throughout the game. I thought our defense was a lot better tonight. There was a lineup change, and I'm so proud of Kingsley Okoroh for accepting the role of coming off the bench. 16 minutes, six blocks — he does his job. I'm so proud of that man. He was our defensive player of the night— very proud of him to be mature enough to accept the role of coming off the bench and giving us what he gave tonight. Happy with the team win. Very balanced, and hopefully we can build on it."
 
On effect of lineup change:
"It really opened up the floor. Having Justice (Sueing) at the four position really opened up the floor because you have to guard him. Sueing is shooting 40 percent from three, so you do have to guard him— which really opens up driving lanes for our guys who are really good at penetrating the basket. It gives guys like Don (Coleman) and Darius (McNeill) room to maneuver and do some things out there. It also allows for Kingsley (Okoroh) and Marcus (Lee) to not be so congested when they catch the ball in the post— there's four guys out there who can catch a pass, shoot it and can do good things off the bounce. It opened up the floor, gave us better flow — we could switch one through four. Defensively, it just gave us really better flow. I think that as long as my power forward and small forward continue to rebound the ball, this is what we'll look like for the rest of the season. I think that is the only advantage another team could have on them. As long as we continue to rebound the ball like we did, this is the way to go.
 
On effect of win on the team:
"We experienced extreme high and lows in Hawaii. We had three really good days of practice, and we really weren't nice to them at all. We were tougher and more demanding of them, and they responded. They took it, they embraced it and we made some changes that can hopefully continue to push us to improve game in and game out. We took major steps back (in Hawaii), but I'm a silver linings type of guy. If we don't do what we did in Maui, me and my staff don't go back to the drawing board, and try to figure this thing out— and we made some major adjustments, pressed less, fell back into man— and saw the results."
 
On Darius McNeill's performance:
"I just see him getting more and more comfortable being out there, leading a team. He still made a few freshman mistakes, but gaining more and more confidence will help that. He came out ready to play, instead of letting us dig ourselves into a hole and trying to fight back."

California Guard Darius McNeill

 
On if he could feel that he was shooting so well tonight:
"No, actually I didn't. I just came out being aggressive and let the game came to me, and that was an outcome."
 
On what's changed in his play from early in the season to now:
"I had a conversation with Coach Wyking, and he just told me play through the system and let the game come to me. The first two games, I would say that I was just nervous and now I'm starting to get a feel for college basketball and now I feel comfortable. I feel like I'm maturing."
 
On how it felt to get back in the win column:
"It feels good. The energy will be different around the locker room and at practice. I think we are going to get back on the right track and have a great season."
 

California Guard Juhwan Harris-Dyson

 
On joining the starting lineup:
"For me, it felt the same, I'm just playing out there. Coach Wyking trusting me to be out there with those guys and being able to compete with my brothers is really great."
 
On how he feels from a conditioning standpoint:
"I feel like the coaches have been doing a great job with me of putting in extra work. I was just happy to get out there when we played Wofford. That was my first game back just trying to get me adjusted before we went to Maui. They were kind of managing my minutes in Maui and I was just giving it everything that I could, but I feel like I'm back to 100 percent now."