WATCH: David Singleton, Tyger Campbell on UCLA Men's Basketball's Rivalry With USC

UCLA men's basketball guards David Singleton and Tyger Campbell were the two players made available to the media before practice on Thursday.

Singleton talked about his perspective on the USC rivalry as a Los Angeles native, as well as how much of an impact the past few losses in the crosstown matchup will have on Saturday's game and how it differs from the Arizona rivalry. Campbell also shared his thoughts on the recent history with the Trojans and what he did to help flip UCLA's negative momentum in practice on Monday.

DAVID SINGLETON

LA guy – how much do you want to reverse trend and start new trend in UCLA's favor

We want to reverse very much. Personally, coming from LA, the rivalry, it's going to be an exciting game. It's going to be... I expect a big crowd from USC. And we want to win. We've been heartbroken far too many times. They just had the better shot at that game, but we want to reverse the trend definitely.

Script pre-game huddle?

I don't script it. I feel like the best pre-game speeches come from the heart. I never script. I only say our last going out message. That's the only thing that I repeat. But every game it's something different because every opponent is different. I try to engage our team, get us pumped up every game. And to do that, you have to have some variety. I tend not to script it. I tend to read a lot of books, like Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson, watched The Last Dance. Something to get my mind going, keep us motivated depending on the opponent.

Re-watched buzzer beaters?

I watch it constantly. Especially after the Stanford game. That was probably the first thing I watched after the Stanford game at 1 in the morning. Because I want to remind everyone since Cronin has been here we have not beat USC. So we have to come in with a chip on our shoulder and we have to come in and use that as fuel because we don't want to go through that again, obviously. They're gonna bring the heat because it's UCLA vs. USC. I mean, who wouldn't?

Bulletin board material change anything?

It doesn't really catch my attention. They're gonna say what they want to say. Win, lose, or draw, we're just gonna give our effort, play the basketball that we know how to play. All the social media, all the hype, it really doesn't take our attention. All that matters is what happens in between those lines, 94 feet. They can say what they want, we're just focused on basketball.

Question from the chat: Which shot did you rewatch?

Coming from Burbank, so I was bored, so I decided to pull up that game. I just decided to watch the most recent game because I just wanted to get some material for what to say to the guys and how to come in today's/tomorrow's practice. I just want to motivate our guys, just make sure our guys are ready. I take it personally whether people are mentally ready or not. I feel like it's my job to keep us engaged and keep us locked in.

What did it feel like when you saw shot from that game again?

I didn't feel anything with the game because there's nothing I can do about it. I'm just using that as fuel for today and tomorrow's practice and the game Saturday.

Difference between USC and Arizona rivalries from player's perspective?

From a player's perspective, I feel like UCLA-USC is a crosstown rivalry. They're both great basketball programs, Arizona and USC, but USC-UCLA, I feel like this is the better of two brothers going at it head-to-head. And UCLA-Arizona is like your best friend rivalry. Like, we have something prove but's not really crosstown, it's just who's more elite that day. But crosstown rivalries, it's like, USC [UCLA vs. USC i think] is like every sport, even program and academics – it's like the king of Los Angeles. Rather than UCLA-Arizona, it's a little different, butit's the same mentality. It's like when Kobe said, 'Different animal, same beast.' It's kind of like that. It's really hard to explain, but it is a little different. But I respect them both and I frankly enjoy the rivalry, I enjoy that passion for the game. It makes the game really fun.

Buzzer-beater in your guys' favor?

Any win is a win in my book. It would be pretty nice if it was a buzzer-beater, hopefully we'll do everything in our power to not let it come down to the wire. But any win is good for us. Coach always says, 'All we need is a one-point blowout for every game.' So if that leads to a one-point blowout and we come home with a win, I'm fine with that.

TYGER CAMPBELL

Thoughts and feelings towards the USC rivalry?

Well I understand the importance of it, the rivalry and the history behind it, going back and forth, but I honestly just look at it as we gotta go across town and get a win on Saturday. We're preparing the same way, we're gonna have a good practice today and just get ready to hopefully win on Saturday.

Putting more into this knowing you haven't beat USC under Cronin?

Of course there's fire there, playing here for three years, not beating them yet, but we're just approaching it like every other game. We just gotta come out there, play a good team game, spread the ball, pass it and just do whatever coach needs us to do to get the win.

Caught on video in the first Arizona game saying something in the huddle, people misinterpreting that as you talking about Kriisa?

I just don't know what you're talking about, but yeah. You said they caught me in the huddle?

In the video saying..."something him," Kriisa retweeted it after the rematch saying the feeling's mutual, but someone said you weren't talking about him?

Yeah, I mean, I don't even remember what you're talking about, honestly. So I don't know about the social media stuff. I don't follow it, make too much of a big deal, I don't know if he tweeted at me. But yeah, it was probably something heat of the moment within the huddle. I don't really worry about the other team or any other players on the other team no matter what team it is. So yeah, if I said something crazy, it wasn't targeted towards anybody, might just have been me getting worked up or something.

USC's Instagram made a Tyger vs. Lion graphic about you and Ethan Anderson last year? You see that?

Nah, I didn't. Like I said, I don't really follow any social media banters, I don't know if that's what I would call it, back and forth on the internet, I don't really believe in that. I didn't see that, sounds like a pretty cool graphic, but yeah, I'm not really worried about any graphics on social media, let's get it done in real life.

Cronin said your practice Monday was maybe your best as a Bruin, what do you remember from it that set it apart?

Coach said that? I didn't even know, I just thought I was shooting the ball well. Obviously I thought I had other practices like that this year, but it didn't really separate itself as far as like a good practice for me. So I was just making shots, I guess, and spreading the ball well, doing what coach needed me to do. So I guess it was a good practice, I'm thankful coach said that.

Follow Connon on Twitter at @SamConnon
Follow All Bruins on Twitter at @SI_AllBruins
Like All Bruins on Facebook at @SI.AllBruins
Subscribe to All Bruins on YouTube

Read more UCLA stories: UCLA Bruins on Sports Illustrated
Read more UCLA men's basketball stories: UCLA Men's Basketball on Sports Illustrated