Jan. 28, 2009
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SAN DIEGO -
San Diego State Head Coach Steve Fisher
On the win:
"I was very, very pleased with how hard we competed. We played very, very passionately and it showed. They were 6-for-24 from the field in the first half and that wasn't them missing easy shots; we guarded them. We guarded them individually, starting with Richie (Williams), and we guarded them collectively and we guarded them intelligently. We talked at halftime about, `You're going to have turnovers, you're going to miss shots, but if you play as hard as you did for the first 20 (minutes), you're going to be a hard out for anybody.' We were able to maintain that for the second 20 minutes. We did not have a great shooting night; we missed some shots and turned the ball over a little too much. We could not work any harder and, for the most part, any smarter defensively. I made the comment on the radio that Richie Williams needs to be mentioned and mentioned again for how good he is defensively. I think he's as good a defensive player as there is in the country and we fed off of him. He is relentless and he never tires and he's playing with such intelligence now. He's about three-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio and he's all over the floor. He spearheads us, but it wasn't just Richie, it was everybody. It was a really good win for us against a good team. We feel good about the win, but we feel better about the way we got the win."
On scoring almost as many points in the paint as TCU scored in the game:
"We said let's get to the free-throw line and we didn't do that. We only shot five free-throws. We did a nice job of attacking the glass. We did a nice job of finding those open spaces and early, especially Lorrenzo (Wade), had their attention when he got the ball in the short corner. He made some great passes for layups out of the gate. You have to be able to get some baskets going to the rim. We were able to do that. Obviously we did a nice job of defending (Kevin) Langford who's a very difficult guard for everybody and had been in the past for us. I thought we did a nice job in terms of (Ryan) Amo (Amoroso) and Tim (Shelton) not letting him go where he wanted to without some bumps and contesting him a little bit. We provided some assistance with other players."
On the 8-0 runs being critical in the game:
"I said, `I've talked to you before, but I'm going to let you know when you're on one and I'm going to let you know if they're on one. Let's not give them any and let's see if we can get two.' That was one of our four bullet point keys to the game; have two runs of eight to nothing or better. We were able to do it. That's what basketball is about; you've got to maximize yours and minimize theirs. We did a good job of that tonight."
On the team's communication:
"We did a nice job of sharing the basketball and it's contagious. If you don't have sticky fingers and move the ball, it makes that next guy want to also do the same thing. We're a group that truely likes one another and I think that shows. If the guy is open, we give him the ball. We've got five or six guys who are capable of scoring double-figures any night out. We've got to give them touches. I thought tonight a couple times we made a couple too many passes when it looked like we had a chance to just turn and go to the rim. I'd rather have it that way than having one guy getting it, lowering his head and shooting it every time he touches it. We've done a pretty good job of that all season, moving the ball, sharing the ball. I think that's been a trademark of us."
San Diego State Forward Lorrenzo Wade
On seeing the floor:
"I feel like I saw the floor better during the first half. My teammates are doing a really good job of cutting which made my job a lot easier in the second half. That way the other team is afraid to double team because they know I am able to pass the ball to (my teammates).
On having a large crowd:
"It's always good to have a big crowd and especially the support of your peers. It makes you want to go out there and play a little bit harder. They've done an excellent job and put us over the top. They allowed us to bring our defensive intensity back and pressure all game long."
San Diego State Senior Forward Ryan Amoroso
On the team's dominance during the game:
"Mainly it was just getting a hold on (Kevin) Langford because he's been doing a great job lately. At Wyoming I know he had a career high of 36 points. The coaches put it on me and Tim (Shelton) to come out and do everything we could to stop him. Tonight we kind of made it tough for him."
On tonight being team basketball:
"Tonight I think, to a point, we were almost too unselfish. There were a lot of plays that many of us could have taken a good shot but we were passing which led to a few turnovers. We got that corrected and I think we all like the end result."
San Diego State Senior Guard Richie Williams
On the pressure of this upcoming Saturday:
"It is a tough conference and everyone is in control of their own destiny. Colorado State is a good team, they beat UNLV early on and UNLV is a tough team. We're going to have to treat this game like any other game. It's one by one and play it like it's our last."
TCU Head Coach Jim Christian
On San Diego State:
"They're a good basketball team. They can hurt you in a lot of ways. We played extremely hard, but offensively we played poorly. We have some guys who are really struggling right now and unfortunately we don't have a lot of depth, so when guys struggle you have to try to play out of it."
On SDSU's success against TCU:
"Just their athleticism especially. They're more athletic than us. They're one of the best defensive teams in the league, which showed tonight. With their depth and athletic ability they have, they can really wear teams out."