Jan. 15, 2004
Quotes from San Diego State's press conference on Thursday, January 15.
Head Coach Steve Fisher
on UNLV:
"They don't have all the names that all of us remember, but they have the athletes. Marcus Banks is gone and I think we're happy for that, but they have (Jerel) Blassingame, the L.A. City College point guard transfer. He is lightning quick and can get into cracks and seams and is playing really good basketball. They've got (Odartey) Blankson, the transfer from Marquette who sat out last year and maybe was Marquette's best rebounder. Now he's expanding his game, so they've got guys we haven't seen before but can play. They'll be extremely athletic and they'll put a lot of pressure on us."
on what a win against UNLV would mean:
"It would be phenomenal for us to take care of home court and go into that trip to Colorado State and Wyoming with two wins. Every game at home, you have to make sure you're ready to go into a great confrontation. If you play hard and well, then you're going to have a chance to win. We know the significance of every conference game. We have one down, 13 to go."
on the challenge of defending UNLV:
"You would hope that we would be able to defend them. Every game is a little different kind of challenge. Vegas is not going to have the 6-foot-11, 250-pound guys that we have to stop in the post, but they're going to have great athleticism with guys who are going to run the floor on every possession. We're going to have to run with them. We can't give 94-foot baskets where they're beating us up and down the floor, beating us off the dribble with quickness to get to the rim and to get to the free throw line. That's what Vegas does. They shot 27 free throws against Utah. They got to the basket off the dribble and some of that was just taking it out of the net and beating them down the floor, so that's a challenge for us in this game. The harder we guard, the more they're going to drive and that's one of their strengths. We have to have a good balance of hard pressure, yet not letting them put it to the floor and go right by us to the rim."
on whether SDSU is overconfident from BYU's game:
"I hope that wouldn't even be on anybody's mind. We won a game and had to hang on for dear life to do it at home. We feel good about ourselves; that's what winning does for you. I like that. And yet we have reminded our players every day since Monday night's BYU game that you should be proud of what you did, but don't think about what you did. Instead, think about what you have to do today to beat Vegas tomorrow. I think we've got enough maturity that the veterans won't allow the freshmen to think too much about what happened against BYU."
on whether UNLV is a better team this year than last:
"I think Vegas can hurt you in more ways this year than last year offensively. And probably, one through five, they guard you harder, so what that will mean when we play, I'm not sure. They have not proven that they've been the three-point shooters that they were last year. Yet you watch them shoot and they've got good technique. (Demetrius) Hunter is an exceptional three-point shooter. If you get another guy shooting it the way he does, then they pose monumental problems. I would say they're every bit as good, if not a better, basketball team this year than they were last year."
on if the Cox Arena crowd will likely influence UNLV:
"It's always good when you play at home and when you get a crowd the way we had it going Monday, it's immensely helpful. I do know that they (UNLV) are going to come in here a little angry, maybe a whole lot angry, for losing their home opener (to Utah, 72-67) and they're going to want to get even on the boards by winning a tough road game. I hope the crowd is a factor. They came in here last year after USC humiliated them in Vegas and beat us to death and we need to make sure we remember how badly we were beaten three times last year when we played them."
Aerick Sanders
on Wesley Stokes:
"(Wesley) Stokes is an instant floor general. When stuff breaks down he can create his own shot and create for others. Many times he has created shots for me, both by the pass and because he can beat his man off the dribble. He has a great knowledge of the game, and it is like playing with another coach out there. He is a great floor leader and I am happy he is here."
Chris Walton
on how big it would be to begin MWC action 2-0:
"For us to start 2-0 in the beginning of league play would be huge. However, starting off with two home games, we expect to start 2-0 because holding home court is what you have to do if you want to win this conference. The fact that we do start with two home games means we need to start 2-0."
on Wesley Stokes:
"In the past we have had good point guards. Deandre Moore did a great job for us, but he is different from Wesley in the way they play. Recently Wesley (Stokes) has come into his own and begun to feel more comfortable being in game situations with a lot of us. He has begun to play more under control and letting the game come to him, and it is really showing in how well he is playing."
on how SDSU is able to win despite not always shooting well:
"Monday night I was shocked when I looked at the stats sheet and saw what our shooting percentages were (37.9 percent from the field and 30.0 percent from three-point range) and that we were able to come out with a victory. You just have to give credit to our defense. When shots aren't falling, you can't control that, but you can control how hard you play on defense and how hard you go to the glass and all the little things you don't see on the stat sheet. Our team played great defense. When our team doesn't shoot that well, we have to pick it up on defense and that is what is going to win us ball games."
Brandon Heath
on the crowd being a factor against BYU:
"I was able to feed off the crowd a lot. It was really fun being able to play in an environment like that. I have never played in front of a crowd like that. The crowd had a lot to do with us winning the game. (Mark) Bigelow said in the interview room that he couldn't hear me come from behind and I was able to get the steal. When the crowd is giving us support like that it is really to our advantage."