March 1, 2008
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Postgame News Conference: Coach Steve Fisher|Postgame News Conference: Players
SAN DIEGO -
San Diego State-Colorado State Postgame Quotes in PDF Format
San Diego State Head Coach Steve Fisher
Postgame Press Conference
Opening statement:
"This was a good victory for us. I have watched enough tape on this team, including our game at Colorado State where we were very fortunate to hit a three-pointer to win by one, to know that they are capable of playing with anybody. They were ahead of Wyoming, 29-12, in their last game. They were ahead of Air Force by 11 in the second half and they got beat by two at TCU. So, I am very pleased with the way we played. I thought we guarded effectively, especially in the first half on (Marcus) Walker. Our goal was to not allow Walker to get an excessive number of touches and wide open shots. I thought between D.J. (Gay), Richie (Williams) and Matt Thomas, we did a good job of guarding him in the first half. He became a little more open and aggressive in the second half."
On the game:
"When you make shots everything else looks better, and we made shots tonight. The three-point shooting started with D.J. and went to Kelvin (Davis). It was a good victory and I was really happy we could have our two seniors start and finish in a fashion that is fitting for the last regular season home game."
On Lorrenzo Wade:
"I thought Lorrenzo, especially in the second half, did a great job of finding people and delivering the ball to guys for easy baskets. That is what should happen when he is such a focal point of the defense when he touches the ball."
On preparing for Air Force:
"We will go on the road to senior day at Air Force, which will be an emotional game for them. We need to make sure that we are as prepared as we were tonight. We need to swing the first blow and act and make them react to us. I am hoping that we get a little bit better and win another game."
From the Postgame Radio Interview
On the team's defensive effort:
"It became a little bit of a concern out of the gate, but I really like the way we guarded. When you make shots, everything else looks a little better too. We made some shots, starting with Billy (White) and D.J. (Gay) and then (Ryan Amoroso), which put (Colorado State) on their heels.
On SDSU's three-point shooting:
"I really think D.J. Gay (gave us the momentum) early in the game. Shooting can be contagious at times. You make a couple and then everybody thinks that they are going to make the next shot that they take. So, it really was good to see us, when we had those open looks, to take them and to put them down. We were 10-for-19, and I don't know if we can do that every night, but we will be a really dangerous ball club if we can shoot the ball the way we did tonight."
On the offensive game plan:
"When we played (Colorado State) at their place, we had 46 points in the paint. So, we said we have to throw the ball inside because there will be long stretches where they're a small lineup, and we must take advantage of it. I thought Lorrenzo (Wade) maybe pressed a little bit early, but I thought he was so good passing the ball. He had a career-high 11 assists and really did a great job of finding people for open layups."
On the significance of reaching the 20-win plateau:
"Back when we were struggling to win eight games, we talked about having a program. And to have the ability with pride to say that we won 20 games three consecutive years is significant. We need to not rely on having to win one at the conference tournament to get (to 20 wins). We need to take this energy, go to Air Force on their senior day and find a way to get a victory at a place that is very hard to win at."
Junior forward Lorrenzo Wade
On the play of freshmen D.J. Gay and Billy White:
"They stepped up a lot. D.J. started to really step up back at Utah and Billy might have started a couple games before that. We need that from these guys. They are playing like they're not freshmen anymore. At this point in the season, we need every ounce of energy and every boost that we can get from each person on the team. They are doing their job. This program will definitely be left in good hands eventually."
On the momentum SDSU will take into the Mountain West Conference tournament:
"Going into the Mountain West Conference tournament, every win is big. Colorado State has played teams close coming into this game. Fortunately, we were able to create a gap and they weren't able to recover. But, now we have to get ready for Air Force. It is a very tough place to play, regardless of record or who they have on the team. They like to slow the game down and keep it low-scoring. So, we have to change our game plan and be prepared for that. If we can get that win, we will definitely have some good momentum going into the conference tournament."
Junior center Ryan Amoroso
On his strong offensive effort:
"I think for the most part, I was set up pretty well by all my teammates. They put me in positions that made the game come a little easier for me tonight."
Freshman guard D.J. Gay
On the game:
"It was very nice to get a win like this. The game at Vegas was tough and we worked hard this week to prepare for this game. And as you can tell, we came back and played really well tonight. (Colorado State) is a good team, but I think that we were well prepared and we were ready to play."
Colorado State head coach Tim Miles
On the game tonight:
"We were outclassed tonight and what I mean by that is there was a lot of talent on the floor tonight we could not contend with. We lost Gardner and now we are handling that, whether we are going to shut him down for the year or see how his range of motion is and try and bring him back. His surgery is not scheduled until right after the Mountain West tournament. It was just a tough night and after that we just did not have sync offensively. But the problem I thought was defensively. We tried to make a mess of the paint and didn't. White hurt us inside and kind of just came up with loose balls and offensive rebounds. He was really good just coming up with basketballs, which he does well. Amoroso came in and did more of the same, then, boom, he hits his first three. They are not a great three-point shooting team, they are an average three-point shooting team. They came out 10 of 19."
On how passes into the post became turnovers:
"We (had) 11 turnovers, which is a pretty good number, but a guy like Jesse Woodard had six of them which is even for a point guard is way too high. We needed some other guys to step up and those guys that did step up, I was happy with the way Andre McFarland played. I thought he looked like a Mountain West player tonight, I really did. He made some plays, came out of nowhere and got offensive rebounds. We know he can make flat-footed shots and I thought he did a pretty nice job."