Feb. 9, 2009
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Weekly Basketball News Conference
Cox Arena at Aztec Bowl
SDSU Head Coach Steve Fisher
On women's basketball head coach Beth Burns' 200th career victory:
"I would like to begin by offering an Aztecs men's side congratulations to Beth Burns on her 200th victory and also to encourage everybody here in San Diego to come out and watch her team as they play a first-place Utah team coming in. They've done a magnificent job. We talked to recruits about the best thing that could happen is for us to be playing in the NCAA tournament after conference tournament. She's well on her way to doing that. Hopefully we will be too. Congratulations to Beth and the Lady Aztecs."
On Wednesday's game at Utah:
"We are excited about 7-2. We are determined that we will go to Salt Lake City and play well against a very good basketball team that rarely loses at home and is playing terrific basketball. The issues they create for us are well known; they have 7-foor-2 in center (Luke) Nevill, surrounded by a lot of really good players with experience. They bring (Shaun) Green and (Tyler) Kepkay off the bench who are as good of shooters as there are in the country. They're good. This is not luck. This is a very good basketball team. Our aim is to go in and compete the way we did here and find a way to scratch out a victory."
On the team's health status:
"Our health status is iffy. We did have (Tim) Shelton back today for a little bit for practice. Lorrenzo (Wade) came in after he saw the doctor again and did very little, but at least he was here. I would say we've got a chance to bring both of them on the trip with us on Wednesday. Whether they play or not will be determined by how they feel tomorrow and how they feel on Wednesday."
On whether or not Tim Shelton or Lorrenzo Wade will play:
"I have a rule that's a little fluid. If you don't practice the day before the game, you can't start. Both of them practiced a little bit today, so I would hope that they don't have a setback after today. If they can do at least what they did today, I'll be encouraged"
On if beating Utah already this season will help or hurt SDSU:
"It lets us know we're good enough to beat them. We beat them here last year and they popped us pretty good at their place when we played them a second time. What we did in the first game was we did a really good job of defending a team that's hard to defend. They had 16 turnovers; we had six. I'm sure they're talking about that, that they're not going to have 16 turnovers. I thought we defended them first on how we guarded in the post. Shelton started, but as you remember (Ryan) Amoroso came in and had 15 first-half points and scored seven straight during a stretch and played the best half of his career at San Diego State. We're going to need our bigs to be able to guard them without fouling in the post. We're going to need to be able to feed off of Richie (Williams). Richie Williams has become, in my opinion, as good a defender as there is in the country. He makes it hard on the other team to figure out what he's going to do when the ball goes into the post and he's become a terrific on-ball and help-defender."
On how this team compares to the 2005-06 one that made it to the NCAA tournament in Salt Lake City:
"There's no comparison in terms of what we're doing. That one was the NCAA tournament and we hadn't been to the tournament, had never won in the tournament and we still haven't. We're going in now in hopes to be in first place all by our self after we play the game. It's a huge game for both teams. They're playing exceptionally well and so are we. We have rekindled an attitude that we are a good defensive team after we got handled pretty good by Wyoming and after BYU put 77 on us; we've defended better. We'll be tested on Wednesday; they can spread you out; they shoot the three well. They can dominate in the post. When you foul them they don't miss free throws. This is a good team."
On this team's comparison to 2005-06 team:
"It's hard for me to say right now. We were 13-3 with that group of guys. Kyle (Spain) and Richie started on that team as freshmen. They were good. They were 13-3. They did more than talk about it and go through the halfway mark; they wound up the outright conference and conference tournament champions. I'm hoping that we're talking about that come March."
On if it's unfair for people to say that the season is a failure if they are in the NCAA Tournament:
"We're playing to win the conference and if we win the conference we'll be in the NCAA (tournament). If you're asking me this right now, yes we'd be disappointed if we didn't go to the NCAA (tournament). We all know fortunes change in a heartbeat in what we do. You can play well and lose two in a row, like (UNLV) has done in overtime. You can play well and lose three in a row. You lose three in a row and you're out of the conference race. We're just trying to get a little bit better. Hopefully we'll get a lucky bounce and make a play when we have to have it; make a shot; defend one more time than they do to get that next victory. Even though you say down the stretch we've got lots to be determined in the next seven games. We've got four of them at home, which is always nice, but we go to Utah who is tied with us for first; we go to New Mexico who thinks they should be in first given some of the tough losses that they've had, and they just beat (UNLV) at their place. We've got lots to play for and a lot of very meaningful games before we start thinking anything really. You close your eyes and you dream about playing in the NCAA tournament; that's what everybody dreams about. We're no different. If you get looking too far ahead, things happen."
On what it takes to get to 200 wins, like Coach Burns just did:
"It takes good players to get 200 wins. It takes an amount of time. Most of us, Beth no, but most of us have a little grey when we get to 200. It's a credit to longevity and the people that you are with. Beth has done a magnificent job. We all know that. Now she's doing it a second time here, which is even more exciting for her I know."
Senior guard Richie Williams
On rankings and team receiving votes in the polls:
"That's what happens when you win. If we continue winning hopefully we'll get more, but that is the least of our concerns. Take care of business on Wednesdays and Saturdays and we'll be fine."
On Utah being the main competitor to SDSU's title run:
"I don't know about main, but they are one of them. We could lose to anybody any day. They are the most important one because they are the next one. We just take it one game at a time and let things fall into place."
On if having a poor RPI ranking and having a NIT bid means a bad season:
"It doesn't necessarily mean a bad season, but it would be disappointing for us. We practice hard every day, every week, to win every game. At the end our hopes are to be playing in the NCAA, one of the top 64 or 65 teams."
On what the difference will be if Lorrenzo Wade doesn't play:
"It would be very difficult. Utah is going to be a totally different team than they were when they came here in the first half of conference. They run better; every aspect of their game is top notch when they are at home. We are going to need to be full force and if we do end up being shorthanded, we have to deal with what we have. It's not like we haven't been in this situation before this year so it will be nothing new for us. We're just going to go out there and compete and hopefully pull out a win."
Senior forward Kyle Spain
On comparing this team to the team his freshman year that went to the NCAA tournament:
"If I'm not mistaken, we have the best start in Aztec history. From my freshman year to this year, these are two completely different teams. I think we are playing well as a team right now and I think we have everything that it takes. We definitely have the potential, we have the chemistry and we have the talent. It's not a one man show; everyone can produce. We just have to stick to our defense and I think we'll be good."