Dec. 11, 2009
SAN DIEGO -
San Diego State Head Coach Steve Fisher
Opening statement:
"We are closing the door on Cal State and Fullerton. I promise we'll work harder on free throws before Arizona on Saturday. I thought that in the Fullerton game, we played very hard. Fullerton is as athletic a perimeter team as we're going to face all season and I thought we did a pretty good job of making life difficult for them for two-thirds of the game. They made hard some hard threes in the second half but I thought we did a pretty good job and everybody wanted to talk about 10 for 25 free throw shooting in the second half. I think we're a good free throw shooting team that when we have that opportunity again, we will make a great many more than 40 percent. We will practice and practice and practice them and I believe they can make them.
"We have a team in Arizona coming in that I have not been able to find a way to help our team win in my tenure here. We've got another opportunity in our building against a team that I think we're very capable of beating and yet they're good. They have some youth. They have a new coach, obviously, but they're led by Nic Wise, a veteran point guard; Jamelle Horne, a local product from San Diego, is their other really veteran player and they will come in with a lot of athletes and a good team. We need our crowd. We need the enthusiasm from the crowd to help us like it has all season, especially in previous years in big games. I'm imploring that you buy a ticket, bring a friend, and let's fill up that arena on Saturday."
On how this Arizona team compares to one he's coached against in the past:
"I don't know for sure. They've got good athletes. They're now starting two freshmen that were top-10, top-20 players United States of America that are very talented. They're led by a senior, who put his name in the draft and decided to come back. I know he started for them for two years, maybe three years, Nic Wise, the point guard. Jamelle Horne is a freakish athlete who always plays well against us. They're a good team; they're a good team. They are a beatable team, but I thought they were beatable in the past and we haven't quite been able to do it."
On the importance of beating a Pac-10 school:
"It's always helpful and we didn't do that last year. I made the statement: we had three non-conference marquis games and we were 0-3 in them, St. Mary's in the Wooden [Classic], Arizona State here, and Arizona at Arizona, and we went 0-3. We've got another test in our building against Arizona. I think it could be significant if we follow it up with success as we more forward that we could have that in our basket to show a committee way down road in March if we don't win conference tournament."
On the team and its progress:
"I have practice plans from 1968, my first year as teacher, and I've got them for every year I've been here. I look back at where we were last year in terms of what we had in, in terms of what we wanted to have before conference, and we're way behind the curve. We had a veteran, veteran team last year. We returned a lot of seniors, a lot of guys that had been in the program. This year we've got a lot of new faces and couple that with injury, we have not put in as much. We added a couple of things for this game last night, just this week. But we've got enough and as I look back at the tape, sometimes you can have too much and not do anything very well. We're trying to say, `Okay, we might be limited in terms of the number of sets we run, but we want to run them better.' We've got enough in, I think even if that's all we put in all season, and yet there's more that I think we're capable of digesting and that we will try to put one thing in here, one thing in there, and see if we can grow it a little bit. I know for a fact that we are significantly better with our zone offense than we were last year at this time because we've seen a lot more zone offense. I think we're further along with our zone offense this year than we were last year at this time, out of necessity, because we know these teams are going to zone us, they're going to zone us, they're going to zone us some. We just have to say, `How much can we handle in small doses?' and go from there with it."
On things from his history of practice plans that he would normally implement at this time but has not yet because of the youth of the team:
"The only thing that we had in last year at this time that we don't have now is that we had a significantly greater number of quick-hitting set plays that we ran. I think from a defensive standpoint, we've got things in that we did last year and we're working to get better at them. I would say it's more from an offensive standpoint the things that we would say, `Okay, we want to add this, we want to add that.' We've only had one out-of-bounds play with two options ... and last year we had like six out-of-bounds plays that we could call and were pretty good at being able to say, `Okay, we can run this against this team,' some little things that can make big difference as you move forward."
On Tim Shelton:
"The game plan that we had with Tim was to have him ready for the game on Saturday, Dec. 12th. We set that up about a month ago and that's what he felt like he would like to shoot for. We talked about him dressing last night and then he suggested `Why don't I try one segment to ... get my feet wet, get some of the nerves out before we play Arizona.' That's what we did. He will not play 20 minutes on Saturday. Hopefully, he could maybe play two segments on Saturday to get it to double figures in minutes. That would be the hope. I have not talked to him today, so I don't know how he feels running up and down for five minutes.
"He had two quick turnovers before that. He told me, `I can't believe I turned the ball over like that back to back.' But then he had two great assists and he set two spontaneous screens that just comes through knowing how to play that don't show up anywhere that free the guy up and it was nice to see when he made that unguarded three for his only shot. It's good to have him back. He brings a lot to the table that doesn't show up in the box score. It was also very nice to see our fans give him a standing ovation when he did come out on the floor. I think that shows their awareness and appreciation for what he's done for San Diego State."
On whether Arizona's streak of appearances in the NCAA tournament is in jeopardy this year:
"Everybody talked about the streak last year and between Steve Kerr and Lute Olson they got them in tournament at the end. I don't know ... the streak is not important to me, I know it is to them. We'd like to end the streak of our tenure here at San Diego State and our era and beat them one time. They're a good team. They may be a little like us; they've got a lot of new faces that they've got out on the floor. They play exceptionally hard and they're talented. They've got a talented group of players ... starting two freshman now. They've very, very highly regarded and can play. I think they're trying to run a little bit more again, the way I'm watching them. They're trying to push the ball. They'll guard you really hard with their man-to-man defense. The last couple of years they've been in a little bit of transition. They played a lot more zone obviously than they ever had before and it looks like now they're playing more man-to-man than anything. When dust settles, I think they'll be in the upper half of Pac-10 and whether that means NCAA tournament or not, I don't know. I hope they're scratching their head after Saturday."
On the perception that Arizona is "down" and if it is only a one-year thing:
"I think being down is relative. A team that has gone 20-some-odd or whatever it is straight years to the NCAA tournament; they expect to win a Pac-10 championship every year. That's the way they've been spoiled in Tucson with Lute (Olson). ... I think that they're going to good this year, they'll be better next year, and they'll be even better the year after that. I think that's what the new regime will bring to the table."
San Diego State Junior Billy White
On what beating a Pac-10 school would mean:
"It would mean a lot to me. We've played against them for the last two years and lost to them. It's going to be a good game, a big game for us. We're focused on it, ready to go. ... It would mean a lot to us and I think it would mean a lot to this school maybe to storm the court one more time and beating a big team like that. It would mean a lot to me."
On Saturday's game vs. Arizona:
"The whole school's talking about it saying, `Come to the game on Saturday.' I'm just prepared and ready, anxious to play. It's going to be a very good game. They're a really good team and just for last two years we lost to them so I'm going to take it a little bit personal and try to get a win."
On what this year's team features that was lacking in previous years vs. Arizona:
"I think we're going to be a little bit faster than last year. I think we're going to be a little bit more comfortable. The last two years, we played them at their house. It's a rough crowd over there. We've got them at our house so we can play our game the way we want, play at our tempo, doing the things we want, try to slow them down, because they're a fast-paced team as well. I think we'll get a lot of runs. This year we're trying to get runs, speed up our defense, pressure them in the half-court, and make them try to turn the ball over. I think our defense is very improved (over) last year. We get a lot of steals in the frontcourt and in the backcourt. Our main goal is to try to just play our game at our tempo and if we can play our game we can get a good win."
San Diego State Junior D.J. Gay
On what beating a Pac-10 school would mean:
"It's definitely something that we've been looking forward to, another game that we circled twice on our list, and I'm sure that our fans have done the same. We're expecting a big crowd, playing against a great team, a team that Billy said that we haven't beaten yet with us being here the last two years. It's just a game that we look forward to."
On Arizona's Nic Wise:
"He's another great guard. He's probably the next greatest guard that I've played since Brandon Johnson over at USD. He's a guard who's given us problems the last two years. He's had some great games. I watched him play in Hawaii when he hit that big 30-point game. It's going to be another challenge for me. He's very strong, very physical, very fast, and I have to be on my A-game."
On what this year's team features that was lacking in previous years vs. Arizona:
"The difference between last year and this year is we bring more athleticism this year, with all these new faces. We bring different weapons to the table this year. I think last year, like Billy said, we kind of slowed it down, ran the offense, but this year we're trying to pick up the pace and run down as fast we can and get into our defenders. I think since the Saint Mary's game our defense has improved and I think that we'll be put to the test this Saturday."
On how big a deal beating Arizona is:
"It's a huge deal, not just because it's Arizona, but because it's our next game. We don't want to look past anybody. Like I said, they're a great team and to be able to have the opportunity to play Arizona is something that we've all looked forward to. The Pac-10 is a great league. Arizona has a great background, great tradition, and to beat them would be a highlight, it would be something that when it's all said and done, something that we can look back on as something to tell our young kids."