Feb. 19, 2004
SAN DIEGO -
Head Coach Steve Fisher
Fisher's opening comments:
"I looked on our schedule and saw that in the last 30 days, we've won one game and that is not good enough. So our goal in the next 30 is to win them all. And you can't win them all if you don't win the next one and Wyoming is the next one and our goal is to come out and play like gangbusters and get ourselves a victory. Also, Aerick Sanders has made first team NABC All-District 13. He's the third Aztec going along with Randy Holcomb (2001-02) and Michael Cage (1981-84) to make first team all-district. We're really proud of him, an honor he deserves and we're hoping that he will perform in that same capacity on Saturday."
Fisher on the end of the UNLV game:
"That one ended with plays that are unacceptable if you hope to win, especially down the stretch. I said after the game, that I wrote on the board, "Poise under pressure" and we didn't have that at the end of the game when it mattered most. A bad shot's better than no shot and we got no shot on a couple possessions down the stretch. But we've been pretty good, to be honest with you, on turnovers. We have not been a team that has been prone to high-volume turnovers, but in that game we had bad decisions that led to turnovers that probably cost us the victory."
Fisher on three-point shooting percentages:
"(Wesley) Stokes, (Brandon) Heath and (Marcus) Slaughter combined are 21-of-97 (in Mountain West Conference play), a tick over 20 percent (21.6 percent) and you can't win if you can't make shots. I talked with all of them making sure they get good shots. For the most part, we have obviously struggled greatly from three-point range, especially in conference play. When we set that high-ball screen, they're not about to fight over the top of those high-ball screens. They're going to duck under and dare you to shoot that. We've got to be able to pick and choose and maybe wait for a great look instead of a good one. I think a quote that (assistant coach) Gary Grant used when talking to Wesley, was "Try to get your first basket to be an easy one." We need to try to get in and find a way to get confidence by making that first shot rather than having the first shot be a three, like it was at Vegas. Even though it was a wide-open three, I think sometimes you need to say, well I'm going to move the ball and get that same shot with 10 seconds to go rather than 10 seconds into the shot clock."
Fisher on how much losses like the one against UNLV wear on the team:
"I think it wears more on the coaches than the players and that's probably good. I found myself to be real candid with you, fretting more over this last loss than any to date and I've got to make sure that I don't let that show through to the team when we practice. When you lose six out of your last seven and lose them in the fashion that we have it's hard, even though if I'm going to lose, I'd rather lose one at the buzzer or in overtime like we have. It makes you replay every possession down the stretch and you think of what you could have done to help and what could have made a difference, a call or play, and yet there's nothing we can do about it today - just leave it at the doorstep and learn from it and hopefully that will happen. The best thing about our team is that they've been resilient with high energy at practice and great attitudes. And I have to make sure that that maintains itself. Some of you have watched practice and even though I'm not the proverbial screamer and yeller, I do some of that in practice. I let them know when I'm not pleased. I do more ranting and raving and criticizing in practice than I do in a game. But we can't let that affect us because if you do, we're not going to win. We're not good enough to just show up and win but we're good enough if we bring energy, which we have, and we play well, which we have in spots, then we can win. We need to find a way to obviously win these close games and having poise at the end and making good decisions. Doing the right things help you do that and we haven't been able to have enough of it obviously."
Fisher on how much the team needs a win:
"I think a win is the magic elixir that we need right now and yet we do situational scrimmages in practice. You play the situations in practice that you feel will help you in the game. Winning has a way of boosting you up and losing has a way of chipping into your confidence, but you can't succumb to that. That's sometimes the tough part, but that's the job description. We've got a game on Saturday with a team's that's got the same number of wins that we do that beat us at their place that we're capable of beating, if we play well. Yet, they beat Utah in their last game and they're feeling pretty good about themselves as they come in here for the game."
Fisher on Marcus Slaughter:
"I have said all along that I truly believe that we have two of the better freshmen in the country (along with Brandon Heath). Brandon started out like a house of fire and Marcus had a phenomenal first game and has kind of been the second guy talked about. Now Marcus has been steadily building statistics and credibility and I like what I see in Marcus. He's got wonderful athleticism and he rebounds by instinct, with long arms. He's going to be a very very good player. At spots this year, he hass been that. He had 15 rebounds against Vegas, eight offensive, and made some good plays. We had him guarding the best perimeter/wing player from the other team at times and he's responded. I really like Marcus and how he's grown and the best thing about him is the fact that he's going to get nothing but better."
Fisher on Wyoming guard Jay Straight:
"Straight had 30 against us in the last game and was the difference. In the end when we cut it to three, he came right back and buried a three on us. We have to make sure we don't give him easy baskets, which means lay-ups and free throws. We have to contest his three-point shots and hope that he's not shooting it well, and hope we can contribute to that by having a hand in his face. But he's a very good player, tremendously quick, and can drive you back and step back and shoot it before you can close him out. He's good and we've got to do our very best on him and hope he doesn't make too many threes."
Fisher on incoming SDSU recruit Lorenzo Keeler:
"Lorenzo is what a team like San Diego State needs right now, a guy that can score, a guy who's not afraid to take and make a big shot. Lorenzo's a guy that because of his success is playing with great confidence where every shot he takes he believes will go in. He can create his own shot and he can shoot it off the catch and I think that will bode well for him not only as he goes into tournament play for Escondido, but when he comes here at San Diego State. We're really thrilled that he's going to be part of the program, glad that his hand has healed and that he's able to be out there for his high school team."
Senior Aerick Sanders
Sanders on being named NABC First Team All-District:
"It shows that hard works pays off. I am happy about the award, but I don't want it to take away from my teammates. I would rather not have the award and be first place in the conference than get the award and be in the situation we are right now. I put in a lot of time in the off-season with conditioning and working out so the recognition feels good. But right now I am more concerned with victories."
Sanders on how much the team needs a win:
"We are in dire need as we put in hard work on the practice floor, focusing on the game plan, time and time again and just keep coming up short. But it is my job, as well as the other upperclassman, to keep the younger guys working hard, because we know we can beat any team in our conference. We just have to get rid of our mistakes that we have been making over the past few games."
Sanders on the potential of freshman Marcus Slaughter:
"The sky is the limit for Marcus as long as he stays humble and works hard. He has a bigger upside than me, because he is more athletic as he has showed throughout the season. He has a body that has the capacity to fill out way more than I have over my four years. I think he can dominate in the paint with his athleticism and the mismatches that he can create on the court from a rebounding aspect."
Sanders on the potential of getting on a roll heading into the conference tournament
"Without a doubt I believe we have the potential. After our last couple of games we have just kind of shook our heads, discouraged that we lost, but still saying that we can win. The thing that is looking bright about our team, despite the fact we have not been winning, is that people are starting to up their play. Marcus has improved his play as of late and Manker is coming off the bench and starting to shoot well and that is what we are going to need to make a run. We need other people to step up that haven't been playing, and for other people to make baskets. Because when it is time for us to play three games straight in the tournament, I am not going to be able to play 40 minutes, just like all of the other starters, so bench play is going to come into play and become a key. Right now everybody just has to step up their game to another level."
Freshman Marcus Slaughter
Slaughter on his improved play throughout the season and how becoming a starter has impacted his play:
"I started out the season great against Long Beach State. Then I kind of fell off, and had about eight disappointing games. Now I have started to pick it up and my confidence has been building as my team has started to believe in me. They keep telling me to "go get some rebounds, score within the offense, and play your game" so I am just trying to play hard and so far it has been working out. Moving into the starting lineup has let me know that coach has confidence in me, which has helped me to relax and play better."
Slaughter on how he thinks he compares with senior Aerick Sanders when he was a freshman:
"A lot of people tell me that when Aerick came in that he didn't play that much but he worked hard. Coach has told me that if you want to get to the level that Aerick is now you have continue to work hard in the weight room and on the court. As far as rebounding, I have been told that I am having a better season. But where Aerick is right now is where I want to be, so I am glad he is here for at least one year so that I can look up to him and see how much work it takes to get to where I want to be."
Slaughter on what Aerick Sanders has taught him this season:
"He taught me that you have to be poised under pressure. As far as rebounding you have to know which ball you can go after. Don't go over the back because you can get called for a lot of fouls being an aggressive rebounder. And avoid fouls. In this conference you are going to get a lot of fouls called when you are inside. Be strong when you get an offensive rebound and then you have to go straight up and always finish when you get fouled so you can have the opportunity for a three-point play."