March 4, 2009
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
SAN DIEGO -
Colorado State at San Diego State Postgame Quotes in PDF Format
SDSU Head Coach Steve Fisher
On Kelvin Davis:
"It was so very nice to see Kelvin Davis honored in the fashion that he was. I think it gave all of us goosebumps to have him receive that award that will be presented on Monday at the championship game in Detroit at the Final Four at a breakfast with people from all over the United States. He has been exemplarily in how he has dealt with the cancer that he has had. He has been an inspiration, to not only our team, but to this community and we are so proud of Kelvin. It was so nice to see him receive this honor.
On the game:
"This was a good win for us, that if you go back and watch their games they have been playing much better. They can score in a variety of ways and to get a victory at home was significant. To get our 20th win was important and now we prepare for UNLV. Our six seniors will be playing their last home game and we need a crowd of the fashion that we saw when we went to New Mexico and when we were in Utah to give them the send off that they deserve, but to also help us get a victory; it is extremely important. I am pleased with the victory and now we look forward to UNLV on Saturday."
On if the team breathes a sigh of relief after getting this type of game behind them:
"This league is filled with good teams and it doesn't matter if they are home or away. We expected to win, but we expect to win every game. No one is going to roll over. Marcus Walker is as good of a player as there is in this league. He can score bundles and score quickly. You're always more apprehensive when people are saying, `Well we will win this one, lets just get to Las Vegas.' It just doesn't happen, you have to prepare, you have to compete, you have to respect your opponents and you have to play. I thought we did that tonight."
On Richie Williams' growth while at San Diego State:
"Richie has turned into the kind of winner that you saw at Steele Canyon and has taken that and taken several steps forward. From a leadership standpoint, from a point guard standpoint and he has 10 (units) to graduate that he is taking right now. He has done what we hope all our sons and daughters will do when they go to college; he has become a man. He has accepted a responsibility and he is not afraid to say I'm sorry or it's my fault. He is a non-excuse maker and as a coach you love him to death. As a parent I'm sure mom and dad love him to death. We are privileged to have him and he is a terrific young guy."
On what the difference was tonight as opposed to the last two games:
"We played hard and we played hard (last week). I think there are little things that can create all sorts of momentum swings. Tonight we missed some free throws that made some cracks but then we guarded and (they) weren't able to get one basket closer. We talked at halftime about making sure that turnovers dont lead to easy baskets. We had six first half turnovers and it led to 12 points. We talked about taking care of the ball. We too many turnovers in the last couple of games that lead to easy baskets that were momentum swings."
San Diego State Senior Forward Lorrenzo Wade
On breathing a sigh of relief after playing a team that's improved throughout the season:
"This is a team that's been getting better with every game in the conference. They did a good job of closing the margin of deficit, so they're a scary team in a conference game. I don't think you want to run into these guys, especially Marcus Walker - he's a speed racer out there."
On having anxiety at the end of the game, considering their last two losses:
"You know you're going to take your punches during the game. We have done a good job of not focusing on the things that had occurred. We have to move on from it. We know we're a better basketball team and we didn't show that in two games. We can't let that deter us from playing our game at the end of a basketball game. They did a good job of knocking down a couple of shots. We just had to stop the bleeding."
San Diego State Redshirt Freshman Forward Tim Shelton
On his success tonight and winning "player of the game":
"My teammates were making plays for me. I caught the ball in positions where I'm supposed to score baskets. They made it easy for me. I caught the ball and put the ball in the basket around the basket. I give credit to my teammates."
Colorado State Head Coach Tim Miles
On Colorado State's play:
"If this was a neutral-court game in Las Vegas, it goes down to the wire. The two things that really cost us, was not making any shots in the second half. I thought our shot calling was just okay; we had some of the wrong guys taking the wrong shots at about the wrong time."
On San Diego State's Tim Shelton:
"He came up with about four out of six plays that were six 50/50 balls, where it's loose on our end or loose on theirs and he didn't get credit for a steal or a rebound. But he came up with about four of those 50/50 balls that really controlled San Diego State's destiny. When that ball is loose, you have to anticipate, go to your spot and come up with it. And I thought San Diego State, especially Shelton, did that just better than we did."
On San Diego State:
"San Diego State can make you look bad and they're a pretty good home team. They made us look bad early. Those first eight minutes where they got twenty points, we looked bad. But after that, we really had them under control. For the rest of the game they only got 48 points. That's really good defense for us."