Jan. 9, 2006
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Men's Basketball
Weekly Press Conference Quotes
January 9, 2006
Cox Arena at Aztec Bowl
Head Coach Steve Fisher
On last Saturday's loss to Air Force:
"We put ourselves in a position where we had a chance to win, which is what you want to do. But we didn't win, which is the disappointing factor. We had a terrible seven-minute stretch that ended the first half. They went on a 21-2 run when we were ahead 21-13 and it should've been a three or four-point game at the half. We had a violation then they hit a buzzer-beater to go up by 11 at the half. Then we came out and made almost every shot we took in the second half to give ourselves a chance to win against a very good team. They were good from three-point range. We were flying at them and they made some big-time three-pointers to win the game."
On Wednesday's opponent Utah:
"We've played them some pretty good games. Yet to win in this league, you have to win on the road. Utah is one of the harder places to win on the road in the country. They have had long winning streaks at home at their place. The names and faces have changed, but it will still be a hard job. We need to go in there and play with the same type of toughness we did at Air Force and try to find a way not to play close, but to win. And to do that, we have to do a good job of not allowing (Luke) Nevill to just come in get two feet in the paint and catch the ball, because he's getting better. I watched him early and I watched him the last couple of games in league play. It doesn't always look pretty, but he's getting better. It's getting harder to keep him from scoring when he's catching it in that low block. (Bryant) Markson last year was arguably their second-best player, reaping some benefit from all the eyes on (Andrew) Bogut, but he's good. He's a three-year starter who is tough and he can create mismatches because he's big enough to post-up. He's also good enough off the bounce to drive by people. So they'll be good."
"We need to get a road win. And I do believe we'll have a chance to get a road win on Wednesday. But we're going to have to play well. I think that's the nature of anywhere you go. If we play well, we'll have a chance to win against anybody at any place. If we play average, especially on the road, we'll have a hard time winning."
On the importance of reducing turnovers:
"Turnovers were critical at Air Force. I made the statement that if we turn the ball over less than Air Force, we'll win. We had 15 turnovers, they had eight. That was a huge disparity. We had 75 possessions against Colorado State and we had 53 against Air Force. We can't turn the ball over 15 times with only 53 possessions. I think at Utah, we'll be somewhere in between. We won't get as many (possessions) as we did against Colorado State, but we'll get a few more against Utah. But we can't turn the ball over."
On rebounding from the tough loss to Air Force:
"We can't let it linger. I put the tape in of the Air Force game on the bus ride from Colorado Springs to the Denver airport. They watched the whole game without the luxury of stopping it. And I said that's the only time you'll get to watch the tape of Air Force. When we get back (to San Diego), we're moving on to Utah. That's what we have to do. We can't let it linger too long and we can't celebrate too long. We have to be able to move on. I genuinely feel that after the way we competed at Air Force, our kids were tremendously disappointed. But they felt good about their effort and the way they hung in and found a way to get back into the game that could've been a lopsided 15-point loss. We had a chance to win. It wasn't a three-point game that we cut from 10 points, we had a chance to win."
On junior forward Mohamed Abukar:
"He's a gifted scorer. When he shoots the ball, he always appears to be on balance and you almost think that every one is going to go in, which I like. He had a great game shooting 10-for-12 against Colorado State. He should make things easier for other people as time goes on, because you can't give him clean looks. And it might mean running another person at him on occasion. He needs to get into condition. He's still not where I believe he will be. He brings us a dimension that we need; he gives us another legitimate scorer that adds to the two that we already have."
On freshman point guard Richie Williams:
"Richie is a guy that makes things happen and he's not afraid to try to make things happen. He hasn't always made the right things happen. He did that against Air Force. He was like a little water bug a few times and a couple of times he was too far off of his man to close. He penetrated and got guys layups and he penetrated and turned the ball over. He made a three-pointer with six seconds to go to give us a chance to win. I like Richie a lot. I think he will continue to grow and get better. He's doing it on the fly a little bit. He's got to be able to get in and make a play that doesn't lead to a turnover. I've told him that he sometimes leaves his feet not positive with what he wants to do. But he's going to be a good player for us."
SDSU Men's Basketball
Player Quotes
January 9, 2006
Cox Arena at Aztec Bowl
Junior guard Brandon Heath
On the tough road loss at Air Force:
"It was a game a lot like we expected. It was going to be a close one. One thing we've got to learn as a team is to recognize when teams are making runs, especially on the road, so we can stop the bleeding a little earlier. It was a hard-fought game and we came back with a loss, but we are going to learn from it and be ready for them when they come here."
On playing on the road:
"It's a little harder. You've got the crowd and their home court advantage, but it's still basketball. It's no different, you still have to go out there and do what you are expected to do."
On breaking out of his slump:
"I didn't do anything differently; I just had a couple of bad games. Everybody is going to have bad games and it's about how you bounce back. I knew I was going to bounce back; it was just a matter of time and when."
Freshman guard Richie Williams
On the difference from a non-conference game to a conference game:
"You come out with a lot more intensity, you can feel the hype. At Air Force, the fans and everybody were all into it - there was a lot of hype to it. We put ourselves in a position to win the game, but we just didn't come up with the play. But in conference games, I can see a big difference between non-conference games."
On what part of his game he needs to improve on:
"My jump-shooting. I haven't been very consistent on my jump shooting but I think I'm showing a lot of poise; like knowing when to run and when to slow it up and knowing time management and taking control of the team."
On the difficulty of playing on the road:
"Everybody always takes pride in protecting their home court. When teams come here, we're fighting not to lose on our home court in front of our home fans so we're going to make all the plays we need to win on our home court and have that momentum and have our home fans on our side. Other teams feel the same way too; they don't want to lose on their home court so they are going to do what they have to do to win."