March 17, 2009
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SAN DIEGO -
San Diego State-Weber State Postgame Quotes in PDF Format
San Diego State Head Coach Steve Fisher:
Opening Statement:
"I was very pleased with our effort, with our toughness, and I knew it would be that way with the way we practiced on Monday. I talked to the seniors prior to that and they came out and competed like crazy on Monday, which made me feel good. They were ready to practice and they showed it.
On the game:
"This is a team that we played tonight, you go back and look at some of the tapes I saw, they make shots and they make a lot of them and we didn't allow that to happen tonight because of how we guarded. I'm pleased with the effort. I'm pleased with how we shared the ball offensively, so it's a good start. It gives us one rung on a goal of playing five games and winning five games. I really liked our crowd. We were not big in numbers, but they were spirited. So the thing that I'm hoping is for our game on Friday being played over at USD at Jenny Craig Pavilion, we need to pack that place and that would be a great home court atmosphere for us and that's something we need. I'm very appreciateve of the fact that our administration fought hard to get an alternate site and that the NIT saw fit to find a way to get that game on the right day for us to be able to host."
"We ended the half on a 11-0 run. You do that by defending hard and effectively reboudning the ball and we did a nice job at sharing the ball. We moved the ball in the first half very effectively and got guys who can make shots with good looks. When you did that with a good team you're going to make some, and we did that with a good team. And I want to end with... We don't view this as a consolation tournament. We view this as the most important tournamen that's going right now because it's our tournament. I had the privilege in `97 to coach a team that went to New York and won the NIT. It's a phenomenal memory and it would be something that would last forever for all of us and that's our goal."
San Diego State Senior Lorrenzo Wade
On not being selected to the NCAA Tournament:
"I gave it a few hours because we realized we had another task at hand. You have to let it go. Regardless of how many games we win now, we're not going to be in the NCAA tournament, but what we can do is make it to New York and play well in the NIT. So as a team, we came in and we practiced hard and we just stayed focused. We've been through enough things this year, so we can battle through a little adversity.:
On the team:
"As a whole, I think the sky is the limit. We have so many guys that are interchangeable. A lot of us are similar in height and weight. Coach (Fisher) is doing a good job of giving us reps in practice in every position. You have guys like Billy White, that if it was necessary, he can get out on the wing and play the three. I think it's going to be very critical for us getting further in the NIT, being interchangeable especially defensively. Hopefully we won't get into any foul trouble, but if so, we have guys that can pick up the slack.
San Diego State Sophomore Billy White
On his motivation:
"My motivation was to get a victory and I know that everybody on the team thought the same thing, so we just tried to play hard tonight and try to get the win and that's what we did, try to move on to the next game and practice hard and try to get another victory."
Weber State Head Coach Randy Rahe
Opening Statement:
"I was really, really proud of our kids. I thought we did what we've been doing all year long and we played our tails off. I've got as good a group of kids as anybody in the country; I'll put them up against anybody. We played a really talented San Diego State team tonight. I think the thing that impressed me the most about their team was how ready they were to play after the news they received on Sunday. A lot of teams would have probably packed it in a little bit, but I did not see that from their team. They were excited to play and that is a very talented basketball team. That is the most talented in the Mountain West and that is a team that deserved to be in the NCAA tournament; not only be in the tournament, but they could win a couple of games in the tournament. I think that's how good they are. I was really proud of our kids. We fought hard. It wasn't one of our best nights, but I do think they had something to do with that."
On who San Diego State reminds him of out of the opponents they have played this year:
"I was going to say maybe Arizona a little bit. We've played some good ones. We played Utah, we played BYU; they're different than those two teams because of their athleticism. Maybe closer to Arizona or Southern Miss. These guys are better. BYU has a good club, and so does Utah and so does Utah State. Talent wise, this is the most talented team, in my mind, that we've played this year. They've got all the pieces covered."
On allowing SDSU to go on runs:
"I thought we had trouble making shots. I thought we got some pretty good looks and I think their pressure had something to do with it. They were up into us; their size, their length, their athleticism. It made it hard to run some of our stuff at times. I thought we missed some open looks that if we make them, it might changes things a little bit. They're a team that can go on a run in a hurry."
Weber State Senior Guard Kellen McCoy
On having multiple SDSU players guarding him affecting him:
"They were two different defenders. When (Lorrenzo) Wade would be on me, his length kind of bothered me and I wasn't able to see the passing lanes as well. When (Richie) Williams would guard me, he was all on me, pressuring me up the court. I couldn't really get around him that well. They both really guarded me well. They both did a really good job."