Andre Kelly and Matt Bradley also spoke to us today. Below is a full transcription of what they said.
Q: Hey Andre, Coach Smith of San Francisco said he recruited you pretty hard. Does that add any additional meaning to this game?
Andre Kelly: “Yeah, they were recruiting me really hard. It’s a great school. I really liked the coaching staff and everything over there. But, I went to Cal. This is the right place for me. So, that was basically that and I suppose with the game, I don’t really approach it any different than I’ve approached any other game. Go in there and play hard and that’s about it.”
Q: You’ve taken a big role early on in your Cal career. How have you been able to make the jump from high school to college as well as you have? What has that adjustment been like?
Andre Kelly: “Coming into this year I have my own personal goals. I just came in really wanting to play and work hard. And I worked really hard throughout the summer and before I got here I worked really hard after my high school season. So, I’m just glad that work really paid off. I’ve been starting and I’m doing alright so far, so I’m going to keep working hard and I’m still getting use to the role, it’s kind of a big role, especially for me being a freshman. I just take it game by game and looking to people that are older than me. Some of the veterans on the team and looking to some of my coaches and that helps a lot. Staying confident, I think. Realizing there’s going to be ups and downs throughout the season. And I’m not trying to get too high or too low, but just having a good balance.”
Q: You guys are in the middle of your Bay Area centered schedule. How nice is this part of the schedule for you guys?
Andre Kelly: “It feels really really good. Being back home, being in Berkeley, being able to sleep in my own bed, here. Things like that. We went to China over there, it was really cool. The culture over there was a great experience and New York was also a great experience. Going over there and seeing everything they have. So, those were some really cool trips. It was a little tiring at times. Traveling, getting use to different time zones, so that was a challenge. It definitely feels good to be back in our arena, playing in our own gym, being around my peers, being around in a familiar setting.”
Q: Andre, have you gotten much of a look at San Francisco? Any thoughts on their center Jimbo Lull?
Andre Kelly: “Yeah, we’ve been going over what they like to do. I’ve seen him, he’s a pretty big guy. I’ll work hard guarding him. So, I’ve seen a few clips of him, I know a few of the guys that were recruiting me, like Nate I believe it is, I know him a little bit and things like that, so they’re looking like and we’ve kinda seen how they play. So, we’re just getting ready for them right now and things like that.”
Q: Talk about the environment at Saint Mary’s and how that helps to prepare you for Pac-12 play and other tough environments.
Andre Kelly: “It was great. It was fun playing in front of a crowd like that. It’s not too big of a gym, but totally packed. It really gets loud in there. You can’t really hear all the time, I think that’s really good for us. Especially heading into Pac play because our games are going to be packed, when we get in the game we’ll need to talk loudly on the court to keep all hearing other and things like that. And when the crowd gets loud and it’s a lot of people and it’s exciting, it really gets you more energy when you’re playing. You don’t want to get sped up in a game, but it’s definitely good to have your adrenaline flowing, so it can keep you going a little harder.”
Q: Hey Matt, Coach Smith at San Francisco said he recruited you really hard, just wanted to know how much you considered San Francisco and if this does anything to add to the game.
Matt Bradley: “San Francisco is a really good program. I did consider it. I committed really early, so I didn’t really give them much of a chance to recruit me as far as he wanted to, I believe. But that’s a really good program, he’s a really good coach, and coming into this game I’ve known that they’re really talented. I saw what they had last year. I looked into the program a little bit, so I know it’s going to be a battle. I kinda know more about him than my other teammates coming in.”
Q: Can you talk about how you’re playing right now? There’s moments where we see you where you step things up a gear and go into attack mode. Just talk about how you’re seeing the game right now.
Matt Bradley: “So, I feel like, like you said, I’m going off in really good stretches of the game, I’ll score a bunch of points and then I’m kinda quiet. So, I think what I need to work on is being more consistent throughout the game and being an impact. It’s just been in small stretches with the teams that we’ve beat and I’m just growing, learning a lot right now, typical freshman, but I think over time I’ll do a lot better.”
Q: After going abroad to the Middle Kingdom and swinging by the Big Apple, what is this portion of the schedule like for you guys?
Matt Bradley: “We’re glad to be back. Coming back and having to play right away was a lot of adversity because everybody was tired, but I think that made us a little bit tougher and right now we’re still just competing and learning each other and having to just play hard, but at the moment, in time I think we’re going to do a lot better. In this part of the season, before conference play, I’m excited.”
Q: Wyking said he’s asking Andre to work on his offensive rebounding and you to work on your facilitating. What do you need to do to step up in that department in terms of getting your assists up?
Matt Bradley: “I think when I drive, I need to work on kicking it out more and getting my teammates more touches and not just mainly being focused on trying to score when I get to the rim. I think it’s just going to come with time. Right now, I’m not doing too well on assists, but I think just trying to get into the lane and make passes out to my teammates to hit threes and on ‘Dre and I can get him on the circle and he can get a dunk or two. I think that’s going to help out a lot, but I think over time I’m going to learn that, and I’ll be able to do that much better.”
Q: Six games into your career, is college hoops everything you thought it would be? How has it been?
Matt Bradley: “Yeah, it’s been a big jump. It’s been really good. I didn’t actually expect it to be like this. It’s been a lot better. Just the traveling and how serious this is. I’m on a big stage right now and I feel like I need to take advantage of it. It’s been really good. Right now, we’re really young and the main thing is it’s a learning process right now, but I’m really enjoying it. It’s been really good, though.”
Q: San Francisco has a lot of juniors and seniors. Even though you guys are really young, are you seeing improvements and getting a sense of the direction of this Cal program?
Matt Bradley: “Yes, I do. I think what we have to do is come in and compete with them. This game we’re really focusing on them and our matchups. We matchup with them very well and I think every day just coming in to compete. We can’t really worry about how old they are or how much experience they have. If we come up there and play hard and listen to the coaches and buy in to what they’re saying, we should come out with the win. And yeah, come in there and fight.”
Q: Hey Andre, Coach Smith of San Francisco said he recruited you pretty hard. Does that add any additional meaning to this game?
Andre Kelly: “Yeah, they were recruiting me really hard. It’s a great school. I really liked the coaching staff and everything over there. But, I went to Cal. This is the right place for me. So, that was basically that and I suppose with the game, I don’t really approach it any different than I’ve approached any other game. Go in there and play hard and that’s about it.”
Q: You’ve taken a big role early on in your Cal career. How have you been able to make the jump from high school to college as well as you have? What has that adjustment been like?
Andre Kelly: “Coming into this year I have my own personal goals. I just came in really wanting to play and work hard. And I worked really hard throughout the summer and before I got here I worked really hard after my high school season. So, I’m just glad that work really paid off. I’ve been starting and I’m doing alright so far, so I’m going to keep working hard and I’m still getting use to the role, it’s kind of a big role, especially for me being a freshman. I just take it game by game and looking to people that are older than me. Some of the veterans on the team and looking to some of my coaches and that helps a lot. Staying confident, I think. Realizing there’s going to be ups and downs throughout the season. And I’m not trying to get too high or too low, but just having a good balance.”
Q: You guys are in the middle of your Bay Area centered schedule. How nice is this part of the schedule for you guys?
Andre Kelly: “It feels really really good. Being back home, being in Berkeley, being able to sleep in my own bed, here. Things like that. We went to China over there, it was really cool. The culture over there was a great experience and New York was also a great experience. Going over there and seeing everything they have. So, those were some really cool trips. It was a little tiring at times. Traveling, getting use to different time zones, so that was a challenge. It definitely feels good to be back in our arena, playing in our own gym, being around my peers, being around in a familiar setting.”
Q: Andre, have you gotten much of a look at San Francisco? Any thoughts on their center Jimbo Lull?
Andre Kelly: “Yeah, we’ve been going over what they like to do. I’ve seen him, he’s a pretty big guy. I’ll work hard guarding him. So, I’ve seen a few clips of him, I know a few of the guys that were recruiting me, like Nate I believe it is, I know him a little bit and things like that, so they’re looking like and we’ve kinda seen how they play. So, we’re just getting ready for them right now and things like that.”
Q: Talk about the environment at Saint Mary’s and how that helps to prepare you for Pac-12 play and other tough environments.
Andre Kelly: “It was great. It was fun playing in front of a crowd like that. It’s not too big of a gym, but totally packed. It really gets loud in there. You can’t really hear all the time, I think that’s really good for us. Especially heading into Pac play because our games are going to be packed, when we get in the game we’ll need to talk loudly on the court to keep all hearing other and things like that. And when the crowd gets loud and it’s a lot of people and it’s exciting, it really gets you more energy when you’re playing. You don’t want to get sped up in a game, but it’s definitely good to have your adrenaline flowing, so it can keep you going a little harder.”
Q: Hey Matt, Coach Smith at San Francisco said he recruited you really hard, just wanted to know how much you considered San Francisco and if this does anything to add to the game.
Matt Bradley: “San Francisco is a really good program. I did consider it. I committed really early, so I didn’t really give them much of a chance to recruit me as far as he wanted to, I believe. But that’s a really good program, he’s a really good coach, and coming into this game I’ve known that they’re really talented. I saw what they had last year. I looked into the program a little bit, so I know it’s going to be a battle. I kinda know more about him than my other teammates coming in.”
Q: Can you talk about how you’re playing right now? There’s moments where we see you where you step things up a gear and go into attack mode. Just talk about how you’re seeing the game right now.
Matt Bradley: “So, I feel like, like you said, I’m going off in really good stretches of the game, I’ll score a bunch of points and then I’m kinda quiet. So, I think what I need to work on is being more consistent throughout the game and being an impact. It’s just been in small stretches with the teams that we’ve beat and I’m just growing, learning a lot right now, typical freshman, but I think over time I’ll do a lot better.”
Q: After going abroad to the Middle Kingdom and swinging by the Big Apple, what is this portion of the schedule like for you guys?
Matt Bradley: “We’re glad to be back. Coming back and having to play right away was a lot of adversity because everybody was tired, but I think that made us a little bit tougher and right now we’re still just competing and learning each other and having to just play hard, but at the moment, in time I think we’re going to do a lot better. In this part of the season, before conference play, I’m excited.”
Q: Wyking said he’s asking Andre to work on his offensive rebounding and you to work on your facilitating. What do you need to do to step up in that department in terms of getting your assists up?
Matt Bradley: “I think when I drive, I need to work on kicking it out more and getting my teammates more touches and not just mainly being focused on trying to score when I get to the rim. I think it’s just going to come with time. Right now, I’m not doing too well on assists, but I think just trying to get into the lane and make passes out to my teammates to hit threes and on ‘Dre and I can get him on the circle and he can get a dunk or two. I think that’s going to help out a lot, but I think over time I’m going to learn that, and I’ll be able to do that much better.”
Q: Six games into your career, is college hoops everything you thought it would be? How has it been?
Matt Bradley: “Yeah, it’s been a big jump. It’s been really good. I didn’t actually expect it to be like this. It’s been a lot better. Just the traveling and how serious this is. I’m on a big stage right now and I feel like I need to take advantage of it. It’s been really good. Right now, we’re really young and the main thing is it’s a learning process right now, but I’m really enjoying it. It’s been really good, though.”
Q: San Francisco has a lot of juniors and seniors. Even though you guys are really young, are you seeing improvements and getting a sense of the direction of this Cal program?
Matt Bradley: “Yes, I do. I think what we have to do is come in and compete with them. This game we’re really focusing on them and our matchups. We matchup with them very well and I think every day just coming in to compete. We can’t really worry about how old they are or how much experience they have. If we come up there and play hard and listen to the coaches and buy in to what they’re saying, we should come out with the win. And yeah, come in there and fight.”
