March 10, 2008
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Men's Basketball
News Conference Quotes
Cox Arena at Aztec Bowl
Head Coach Steve Fisher
On facing Air Force in the MWC Tournament after having played them last Saturday:
"We have struggled to score points in two games against Air Force, so we've got three days and one more game to try and figure them out. You would hope that holding them to 46 points is enough for you to win, but we struggled ourselves to score and they are a team that makes it hard for you to score. They are a hard team to play from behind against. If they get a lead, they milk the shot clock even further. Normally we have in the vicinity of 70 possessions in a game; we had 52 against Air Force. So you have to maximize them when that's all you have. We were also 9-for-18 from the free-throw line. All that being said, Lorrenzo missed a three-pointer with us down two, with two seconds left on the shot clock. So we had chances, but we didn't quite get it done. Now we have another chance on Thursday against the same Air Force team. I'm excited about our prospects. If we play well, we're going to have a chance to win and not just the first game."
On how to succeed against Air Force's defense:
"In a perfect world when you play Air Force, you shoot every shot out of transition. They don't let that happen. We had seven first-half scores (on Saturday). We had six points off transition, two baskets and two free throws. So we have to find a way to do that (more). When we scored our first basket in transition, it might've been our first points. Then they took a timeout because their theme is not to give up conversion baskets. So we have to try and force the issue without turning the ball over, and they're saying at the expense of offensive rebounding, we're going to get five people back."
On whether he feels good about the team's seeding this year since his 2001-02 squad was seeded fifth and won the MWC Tournament:
"In 2002 at this stage, I was confident we were the best team in the league. I believe we had won five out of six with the only loss being close overtime loss at UNLV. I thought we were the best team in the league. Right now, I don't think we're the best team in the league. Can we go there and be the best team for three games? Yes, absolutely."
On whether he thinks this team can sneak up on teams heading into the tournament:
"I think at this stage, the excitement is going to be there. You're going to be excited about playing in a tournament. We're smart enough to know that if we want to make the NCAA Tournament, we're going to have to win three in a row. So we will have the incentive. I think that when you are supposed to win, sometimes it can be more difficult, which is why BYU should be complimented for winning back-back conference championships outright when they were picked to finish first. As for us, we're going in as the fourth seed and I think it's going to be another close low-scoring game (against Air Force). If we make enough plays and shoot better than 50 percent, which I'm confident we will, we'll have a great chance to win."
Junior Lorrenzo Wade
On if SDSU is the best team in the conference:
"You would have to say that going into the conference tournament that BYU is the best team because they are the regular-season conference champions. Things change when you get to Vegas though, crazy things happen. We are going to practice hard; we have to prepare ourselves. You never know what will happen but me personally, I think we are the best team.
On being the underdog in the tournament:
"We might be the underdog on paper but teams know that we are capable of winning the conference tournament championship. I do not think we are really the underdog in Vegas, I think we will still on the radar."
On this week's game vs. Air Force:
I am pretty excited about the fact that we get to play them less than a week after the loss. I kind of got the same feeling I had when we played Vegas at home. I was struggling with that one for a while. We had to wait a few weeks until we got to play them. I am definitely excited about this week.
On if it is too simple to say that SDSU has to make more shots or if Air Force does something that creates problems for the Aztecs:
"It is easy to say that we have to make more shots. They defend really well, especially with the zone they run. I just think we have to execute; be a little more crisp with the things we do on the court. Some teams leave a little bit more room for error. Our athleticism a lot of the time makes up for that but I think with them we just have to be efficient and crisp."
On the importance of transition baskets:
"It is easy to say (that it is important). They offensive rebound with one person and they send four guys back and they all have a designated area, so it really slows up your fast break. A lot of teams will send two or three guys to the offensive boards. With them, in order for us to get fastbreaks, we will really have to rebound, outlet the ball and get five guys running down the court.
Freshman Billy White
On the regular-season finale vs. Air Force:
"It was frustrating for all of us. We were frustrated that we lost. We played our hearts out. Balls were not falling our way. We are going to prepare all this week and get back into the gym and get the stuff done that we need to do that we did not do in the game and try to get the win on Thursday."
On having a lot of time to prepare for Air Force:
"It is going to help us a lot (to) get the stuff done that we did not do when we were in the game like I said. We need to practice hard all this week and on Thursday be prepared to play."