March 27, 2009
SAN DIEGO -
San Diego State News Conference Quotes
Aztec Athletics Center
San Diego State Head Coach Steve Fisher
Opening statement:
"We are extremely excited to still be playing. We're proud of the fact that we will be representing ourselves, this program and our league in the NIT in Madison Square Garden. Our job is not finished and we're definitely all on point with that thought. We want to finish the job and win two games. Baylor will have a lot to say to the contrary from their prospective. Scott Drew I have known for quite some time. His dad, Homer Drew, is a good friend of mine. Scott's the son of a coach, he's always been a coach and he's a terrific coach. Baylor has had limited success in postseason play, maybe not unlike us. They're very excited to be where they are. They're a team that struggled early in the Big 12, went from man-to-man to zone (defense) and all of a sudden they became a really good team. They played terrific down the stretch; beat Nebraska, Kansas and Texas and played Missouri to the wire in the conference tournament, and then won on the road, which is hard to do. (They) won at Auburn, a team that I think was 20-2 at home. We're meeting a red-hot team, a very good team, a senior-led team that will come in very excited like we will. We're anxious to play and we are looking forward to an opportunity to win two more games."
On how much he knows about Baylor:
"I've watched tape on them. They're good. They've got three really good guards; (Curtis) Jerrells the point guard and (Tweety) Carter and (Henry) Dugat, who played a lot for them last year. They create a lot of problems for you and then they go 7-0 center, 6-9 four-man and 7-1 off the bench. They can present a lot of problems. They're athletic. They're a great free-throw shooting team. They are able to spread the floor, attack you off the dribble. They're a good basketball team."
On what he sees as the biggest challenge with Baylor's match-ups:
"We're going to have to play good basketball; business as usual. Take care of the ball. Rebound the ball. We will see zone (defense) probably for 40 minutes. They've gone now to a zone so we're going to have to do a good job of attacking the zone. We're going to have to be able to make some perimeter shots. If you don't make shots, then they'll squeeze it in even more and make it virtually impossible for you to throw it inside. The challenge for us will be to be able to have some thoughtfulness, but then be able to put the ball in the right places against their zone."
San Diego State Forward Ryan Amoroso
On if he is excited about Tuesday's game:
"How can you not be excited? It's kind of a culmination of everything that we have worked for. It's nice to finally see some of our hard work pay off."
On what he saw from SDSU before transferring from Marquette:
"I saw a coaching staff that had been to the summit before; they knew how to get there. They are a staff that knows how to handle a game like (Tuesday's). I think this year, late in the season, the Mountain West Conference Tournament, and now the NIT; it's just a credit to their preparation and getting us ready as well. That was a big reason why I came (to SDSU), to win and to compete at the highest level. And it has paid off."
On playing in Madison Square Garden:
"The first time I played there was in the Big East Tournament during my sophomore year at Marquette against Georgetown. (Madison Square Garden) will take your breath away at first, with all of the tradition you see as soon as you walk in and the aura surrounding the building. It's a very incredible place to play and we are very fortunate to be able to end our senior years in a building like the Garden in front of friends and family."
On balancing the excitement of being in NYC and playing the game:
"I would say after our shootaround at the Garden; it is going to be much more mental than anything. A lot of mental preparation and making sure that we will be ready for that two-three zone we think we are going to face."
San Diego State Forward Lorrenzo Wade
On what he saw from SDSU before transferring from Louisville:
"I actually saw Brandon Heath, Marcus Slaughter and Mohammed Abukar. I knew that those three were really good players and I knew that they would all be seniors the year that I became eligible. I knew that I really wanted to play with a group of guys like that. I felt like that was a core group of guys that could turn this program around and they were actually the ones that got all of this started."
On playing in Madison Square Garden:
"It's very exciting. My mom will make the trip, which will be great. What I am going to do is watch some of LeBron and Kobe's highlights in the Garden because they go off when they play there. Maybe we can make some of that magic happen."
On balancing the excitement of being in New York City and playing the game:
"I don't know. I haven't figured that out yet. I figure we will get there on Sunday, we will have a practice and a shootaround in the Garden. By then we should be acclimated to the atmosphere and I think we will be OK from there. Once the ball goes up in the air, it's the same game that you have been playing all of your life."
On how satisfying it is to have Steve Fisher in this position:
"I am possibly more excited for Coach Fisher than I am for myself. He has been through the trenches here at San Diego State. There are a lot of people that kind of turned their backs on him for a little while and didn't believe that he could get the job done. He has turned this program around, brought in good players and San Diego State is now something that the city of San Diego can be proud of. That is all because of Coach Fisher."
On the state of next year's team:
"Last game we were led by a sophomore in Billy White. He is capable of having nights like that every night. D.J. Gay provides so many things for our team besides points. I think he is going to be a great leader next year. When you have a work horse like Tim Shelton, the sky is the limit. Not to mention, they are bringing in the top-15 recruiting class in the country so I am sure that Coach is going to have a little bit of fun with that."
San Diego State Guard Richie Williams
On coming to San Diego State out of high school:
"Everything I wanted was in my own backyard, right up the street from my house. Coach Fisher is a great coach, he is a players coach and he knows how to get the best out of his players. I wanted to play at the highest level and play to the best of my ability and I think the coaching staff here and the players around me helped me to do that."
On playing in Madison Square Garden:
"I've never been there but playing in such a legendary place is pretty nerve racking. I'm excited and going there to have fun and win."
On if he thought he would ever see anything like Wednesday night's game at SDSU:
"The community has been behind us all this time but I didn't think it was going to be a sell-out crowd like that or that it would be as alive as it was. It was nice to see. I think it's a stepping stone for how far this program has come along. Just to have people behind us like that makes this even more exciting because it puts a little more pressure on us to go and get this done in New York."