Dec. 29, 2008
Recap | Final Stats | Notes | Game Action
SAN DIEGO -
San Diego State-Arkansas-Pine Bluff Postgame Quotes in PDF Format
San Diego State Head Coach Steve Fisher
On the win against Arkansas-Pine Bluff:
"It's nice to have a game where you can play everybody and take a deep breath with six or seven minutes to go and feel like you're going to get out with a victory. These are hard games going in for coaches because you want to make sure that you're prepared mentally to play. Often times players look at records and they come out and they don't perform. The nice thing about our team is they continue to play unselfishly. I think they appreciate that in one another. It carries over; it's the domino effect. One guy gives up the ball and the next guy feels comfortable to give it up because he knows he's going to get it back. I like our team; we've got a good team. We finished nonconference with 10 victories and that's nice. Now we go into league play where all of us know nothing will be easy. There will be no easy victories. It doesn't matter who you are or who you're playing or where you're playing them. We have a very tough Air Force team on the road to start with. It will be nice to have Tuesday through Friday to prepare for them. We're excited about the start of the conference play and we look forward to playing well as we get into it."
On his assessment of the Mountain West Conference:
"I really haven't watched anybody. A couple of times we played people on the heels of; Colorado State, we played Northern Colorado so I watched a little of that game. I haven't watched them. I know BYU is running up a lot of points. Vegas beating Arizona the way they did was very impressive. Utah has played probably the toughest nonconference schedule and they've had some nice wins. I think it will be a very competitive league. I would say that it doesn't matter who you are, you can win. I think that's good for the league. I think it will be closer than people will think. The guys who weren't quite as good last year are all better."
On this win taking the Aztecs into conference play:
"We're a team that guards pretty hard. We're a team that makes it hard for you to get a lot of easy looks. We're a team that has done a good job of taking care of the ball and we did that again tonight."
On Mehdi Cheriet's progress:
"I think Mehdi is settling in nicely. I keep telling him, and he gets tired of me saying it, that `Mehdi I need to get you more minutes, Mehdi I need to get you more minutes.' He says `yes I know coach." But I like him. I think what we saw when we recruited him you're seeing a little bit more of now. His ability to face the basket and make a three point shot and not hurry it; he's got a good feel for how to play it too. He's a good solid defender. We're going to need him as this conference season goes into play. Everybody needs a big guy who can stretch the defense and Mehdi's the guy what will make you come out to guard him. Mehdi's a good player."
On being able to give the whole bench playing time:
"This is the best scout squad we've had since I've been here. If you throw Brian Carwell and Tyrone Shelley in with the mix of guys you saw get in that haven't gotten very many minutes, they really have done a great job in helping to prepare all the guys who do get all of the minutes. It was nice to get them some minutes tonight. I thought they did a pretty good job."
San Diego State Forward Ryan Amoroso
On what the team takes away from its game vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff:
"With a team like Arkansas-Pine Bluff, who came in at 1-9, they have been struggling to find a win, but they have been preparing themselves for conference play. With a team like that, we kind of had to bring our own energy tonight. We had actually had more support from the fans than we anticipated and that was great. It was a game for us to solidify our concepts and try to build on that going into our first conference game vs. Air Force."
On his assessment of the team going into the Air Force game:
"I think we had to build our identity around our defense. It's not something you stop working on. It's something that's drilled everyday during practice and it's conceptually, it's really big for us. We kind of hang our hats on our defense and hopefully we can make the necessary adjustments and do what we have to do come conference time."
On the Mountain West Conference:
"It's a fun league and it's getting better every single year. It's getting harder. It's getting bigger, faster, stronger. The Mountain West right now, I believe, is on a very, very big rise. It's a fun conference to play in. It's a fun conference to be a part. It's even more fun to prepare for some of these big-time teams."
On getting everyone involved:
"What all the fans don't see is how hard Jason (Deutchman), Bryce (Smith), Bryan (Horton), Tim (Island), all those guys, bust their butts every single day. Coach (Fisher) even said in the locker room after the game that they got some well-deserved minutes and maybe deserve more. The guys have done a great job all year of going with the concept of team and not complaining. They have done what they're asked and that is to show up and get us better at practice. Hopefully, they continue to get chances to get in there for us."
San Diego State Forward Mehdi Cheriet
On his comfort level:
"I am starting to get more and more comfortable. It was not really easy because I transferred. The players were already here and they had their place on the team. I didn't really know how to find my place. I think am starting to find my place on this team."
On the hardest part of his transition from the junior college level to SDSU:
"Being patient. I work hard in practice, I work hard in school and I am far from home. It's not easy everyday when I don't play that much, if I don't play that well; it's not easy for me. And my family is far. I have to be patient and continue to persevere, work and work. Even I don't play well or play a lot, I have to continue to work in practice. Today, it paid off."
Arkansas-Pine Bluff Head Coach George Ivory
On the team's season-opening 11-game road trip:
"It's been pretty rough, but that's something they've been doing for years here. We just need to continue to get better. It will feel real good to get back for home game (Jan. 3)."
On San Diego State:
"We made too made unforced turnovers, but that has been the story for us the whole preseason. We weren't driving the ball to the hole to get free-throw shots."