March 1, 2007
SAN DIEGO - SDSU Men's Basketball
Press Conference Quotes
Cox Arena at Aztec Bowl
Head Coach Steve Fisher
On seniors Brandon Heath and Mohamed Abukar:
"They've been fantastic for me, this athletic department and this college. But I'm not willing to have it stop now. So we'll be good if they're good. It's a fitting tribute that they will be honored along with David Velasquez on Saturday in our final home game against TCU."
On the leadership value of the two seniors:
"As a rule, it's important to have leadership. Usually leadership grows as you experience things. Brandon in particular has been to all of those road venues and knows what it's like and knows what to expect. He's a tremendously hard worker on the practice floor, so Brandon leads by example. Mohamed's first game was in late December a year ago, and we've been like the stock market on a huge upswing since he put on a San Diego State uniform. We've had maybe the greatest period ever here after Mohamed arrived last year. So it's great to have guys who are not only experienced, but who can play a little bit. And they can play."
On how Heath and Abukar compare to the former Aztec duo of Randy Holcomb and Al Faux:
"That's a good question, and I don't have an answer for it. Al Faux was an unrecruited walk-on, who was just so good that you wonder how all of us (coaches) missed so much. Randy was a high school All-American and a much ballyhooed junior college All-American. He was self-driven and he drove everybody. He would not accept anything less than winning. Randy was the catalyst and Al was the finisher and the guy who was unafraid. Randy led vocally, and they were very, very good. They were a good twosome to start with. They found ways to make plays to win, just as (Heath and Abukar) have done."
On TCU:
"TCU started the season with back-to-back victories, and everybody was asking if they'd be the surprise team of the league. Then they went on to lose 11 straight. But to the credit of (head coach) Neil Dougherty, his assistants and players, they never quit trying and fighting. When we played them at their place, they had the ball down three points with 12 seconds to go. They had leads in the second half. They dominated us on the glass. Now they're playing with great confidence. They beat Air Force and Wyoming in back-to-back games, so now they're on another two-game win streak. They will present challenges for us. Kevin Langford is being touted by the Dallas media as being the newcomer of the year in our league. He had a career-high 24 points against Wyoming and is playing very good basketball. They are a very physical and aggressive team that will compete hard for every possession. It will be a good game. They are a team that is athletic, and they have lost several very close games. That's what this league is all about. I would be shocked if we didn't come out with the same energy that we've had our last few (home) games. Those games were against teams that had already beaten us when we played them at their place. So we need to be ready to go, because they're a good team."
Senior guard Brandon Heath
On his final home game on Saturday against TCU:
"It'll probably be very emotional for me. I might even shed a few tears. My time here at San Diego State has been great. We're just going to try to go out with a bang, leave on a winning note and try to get a (win) on Saturday."
On TCU:
"TCU is playing great basketball right now. They're coming off great wins over Wyoming and Air Force, and it will be a dogfight on Saturday. We're not taking them lightly at all. We're preparing for them just like we would for any other team. We will be ready to play. We know they're going to come ready to play hard, and we will be ready, too."
Senior forward Mohamed Abukar
On his final home game on Saturday against TCU:
"It's going to be exciting playing here for the last time at Cox Arena, playing in front of some family and friends, playing in front of the students for the last time. We're going to try and wrap it up with a win and go out with a bang."
On Tuesday's loss at Utah:
"I still have digested the (Utah) game. I'm still a little sick to my stomach (over the loss). To tell you the truth, I really don't know what happened in that game. We can't dwell on it. (TCU) is a team that has been playing very well lately, so we have to finish up on Saturday with a lot of energy, play the way we know how to play, keep playing the way we've been playing at home and we should be fine."