Nov. 30, 2004
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San DiegoStateUniversity
2004-05 Men's Basketball
Press Conference Quotes (11/30/04)
San DiegoState head coach Steve Fisher
On the game with Univ. of San Diego:
"I think both teams are excited to see what is in store for this year's city rivalry. The last four matchups have been hard-fought, highly contested games, with the result in doubt until the last minute. This year you can probably expect more of the same. This game is good for both programs, the fans, the city of San Diego and San Diego county."
On why the games with San Diego are closely contested:
"I think part of it is the proximity of (San Diego State and San Diego), but mainly it is because the two teams that are pretty evenly matched."
On San Diego center Brice Vounang:
"Brice Vounang hurt us last year before he got a reputation for being good. He is a load inside, big, strong, he wants the ball and he knows how to score. He has proven he can score against the best when he went against a big Arizona team and had 28 points. We cannot let him repeatedly catch the ball in the post."
On senior forward Chris Walton:
"Chris (Walton) is game-to-game right now. He will not play Wednesday against San Diego and I would say he is doubtful for Saturday against UC Santa Barbara."
On rematch with Santa Barbara:
"The game could not come sooner for us. We were hoping to play them the Sunday after they beat us. My only wish is that we were playing them again at home."
On the rivalry between San Diego State and San Diego:
"Someone told me yesterday that it is not UCLA against USC, and I said it is better, because it is us. It is in our gym, and it is going to be exciting. Many of the opposing fans know one another, as do the players, and I think it lends itself to good college basketball."
Sophomore Forward Marcus Slaughter
On the rivalry between USD and SDSU:
"With a cross-town rivalry, you always get excited for those games. Last year, coming in as a freshman, all the seniors were telling me how big this game was. Everyone was telling me that this is one of the biggest games of the season. It's a big game for us because we want to keep the City Championship here at San Diego State."
On last year's road woes:
"Last year, I think we won one game on the road that was at USD. The road is tough and we learned from that last year, so this year we get to prove to ourselves that we are a good team and we can win on the road. This is a great example with the UC Santa Barbara game, our first on the road."
Sophomore Guard Brandon Heath
On the amount of close games between USD and SDSU:
"I don't know what it is. I have only played in one game against USD. Last year, we were up 18 and they (USD) managed to make a run and come back. I like playing in this game because it's very exciting. It's a cross-town rivalry. They say they're better than us. We say we're better than them. It's just a great game to play in."
On the three-pointer he made with 20 seconds remaining:
"I didn't think it would have come down to that, but I loved it. I love when a game is that close. I like having the ball down the stretch and my teammates depending on me to make the right decisions to win the game."
On USD:
"(Brice) Vounang hurt us last year and stopping him is going to be key for us. He is one of our main focuses on the defensive end."
On the season's first road game at UC Santa Barbara:
"We have to go in there and get some revenge because I feel it's a game we should have won. I am also excited that it is a road game. A lot of people say we can't win on the road so I'm eager to prove that we can win games on the road."
Junior Guard John Sharper
On the team's inconsistency:
"I don't know what the inconsistency is all about. We are trying hard to get going from the start. We're still working hard. I think with time, we'll get to the point where we'll start getting big leads in the first half and get big wins."
On the rivalry between USD and SDSU:
"I think it's big for both the players and fans. I know it's a player's rivalry for us because everyone knows that when they come to our gym and we go to their gym, it's going to be a big game. I know the fans of San Diego are going to love to see us play because they know they are going to see a good game."