Dec. 17, 2009
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State Head Coach Steve Fisher
Opening statement:
"We are preparing do what we haven't been able to do since I've been here and now we have a chance because we got the job half-done. We beat the first Arizona team from the Pac-10; now we get a chance at the second one. The second one's a lot better than the first one. Arizona State, from what I have watched on tape, is a tough out for anybody and if they're not one, two, or three in the Pac-10, I'll be surprised, when the dust settles. So to go their building, to play this team led by a point guard that's probably more valuable to his team than any other player in the country, we will have our hands full, and yet I think we're good enough to win. We're excited to be going over with one victory that we hadn't been able to get in the past and that was over Arizona on Saturday. This will be a very, very big challenge in their building, so we'll see where we are to play a really good team on the road."
On San Diego State:
"What we have to do against Arizona State and also really against any other team we play is we have to be more protective of the basketball. We had 19 turnovers against Arizona. We had two with five or six minutes to go in the half; we had 17 turnovers in the last 24, 25 minutes. You can't win normally when you do that. We did play pretty good defense; shots that appeared to be going to be good shots, we did a nice job with our length and athleticism to block some shots, which is like a turnover, and to change arcs and angles. This team we play on Saturday will create spacing problems. They spread the floor well, they do a great job of reading how you're guarding. We're going to have to guard; we're going to have to guard and not give them easy baskets and we're also going to have to be more conscious of how we make decisions with the ball."
On the progression of D.J. Gay:
"I made the comment when we started the season, everybody was saying we've got everything but a point guard, and I said, `Don't worry about the point guard spot. D.J. will be fine.' He may not be as flashy (and) spectacular as Richie [Williams] was in some areas, but D.J. will grow into what he can do and do well, and he's doing that. He's not going to score 20 points every game, but if he can give you solid leadership, four assists, no turnovers, make open shots, he will be to us what [Derek] Glasser is to Arizona State."
On how hard it is to prepare for an [Arizona State Head Coach] Herb Sendek team:
"It's not unlike preparing to play a vintage Air Force team when Air Force was really good. You cannot emulate in practice with your scout team how they are going to do things at either end of the floor. You have to have two or three concepts in mind and then work to try to play to those. No matter who you are, Arizona State has a knack of having a couple of gaps in the game where you can't score, where you go five minutes without a basket. That's been one of our strengths; we've been able to have runs for us. A year ago we were ahead 15-2 at our place and then they had a run. They had a run at the end of game, a game that we felt we should have won. Everybody they play, from Duke, to LSU, to BYU, they've had those runs that can be the difference in the game. We have to be able to control, manage, minimize theirs; we'll have runs too. Most runs are ended with a turnover for a layup for the other team, foul, offensive rebound put-back. We've got to be conscious of not doing that and when we can't score, we've got to find a way to do those: turn it over, get a layup, get an offensive rebound put-back, get to the free throw line. They're hard to prepare for. They control the tempo of the game at both ends of the floor very, very effectively. You can't get frustrated, you can't worry about touches or shots or anything like that."
On what will be difficult for this team against Arizona State's match-up zone:
"We'll find out on Saturday. I thought a year ago we got a lot of good shots against it. You're going to get good shots. They might make you take 15-, 18-footers at times, but you have to be able to make some of those. Then we have to have a post presence. We have to not just be perimeter, perimeter, perimeter, perimeter, perimeter shot. That can't be all you do; that can't be our staple. Hopefully we'll be able to dribble-drive it a little bit, get into some gaps, throw it into the post. They make it hard for you to do that though."
On the learning curve of Kawhi Leonard since the start of practice to the first game to now:
"Kawhi came in much acclaimed, not self-proclaimed, but by others. He's a very good player. The best qualities that he brings to the table: one, he doesn't think he's as good as he is; two, he's a willing listener and tries to do what you ask; three, he wants to get better; four, he's got an extremely high motor, plays hard, you don't have to coach effort from him. I think now he's developing a confidence which I believe when he came in he might have been a little uncertain. `Am I as good as they say? Am I as good as the guy that I'll be going against? This is major Division I basketball and this is not high school basketball. Can I play at this level effectively?' He now knows that he can based on what he's done. He's gotten steadily better and he's a willing student of the game."
On Kawhi Leonard:
"Kawhi is a person that is getting better, but he was a hard recruit. He was a yes, no, maybe on the phone. I think now he's starting to become more comfortable in his own skin. I know he knows he's good, but he's not one to tell you he's good. I think that is a quality that the really good players have. They walk that fine line but they know that they can't rest on what they did in high school and they can't rest on what they did in the last game. I made the comment [that] if we're saying as he's a senior that 18 rebounds was the highlight of his career that he got in one game for us, then we've not helped him help himself. I believe that he will want to help himself."
On what Leonard needs to work on most:
"He needs to work on a bit of everything. You would glance at his three-point shooting and he was 0-for-forever until he made his second one the other night. He's a scorer. He's got huge hands and he finds ways to score. He's a great attack rebounder, he recognizes where the ball's coming from, he's got a good feel for how to find the ball. He doesn't just rebound balls that come to him. For his size, he's got the ability to rebound against big people because of his length and the size of his hands and his physical strength. He's got to get better at everything. He's a guy that we want to be able to give to ball to in time and say, `You be our point guard on occasion, you come off the ball screen, you make a decision, you put it to the floor and not lose control and make a play for us."
On whether Leonard is the top recruit brought in since he's been here: "He's the highest profile recruit we've brought in; time will tell whether he's the top recruit that we've brought in. We've had some pretty good ones that have gone on to have good careers and helped us be very successful. I believe that he will do that for us and then some. I like what I see in Kawhi, and I do believe that a year from now, he will be a lot better than he is today as we talk."
On with 16 NBA scouts at the game on Saturday, whether he worries about the temptation for Leonard to go very early to the NBA: "I worry about things that I can control, like I tell the players. I think that there's a trust factor that I believe he's acquiring with me and if you trust that the guy in charge is going to help you make a decision that's in your best interest, then you'll be a good listener. I've been around long enough to know that all the street people, there will be a million people telling Kawhi and everybody else what to do and none of them know anything. We'll be a ally and advocate for him and I hope that they're talking about that well into this season and into next season. If that's the case, that means he's doing a pretty good job of growing his game and helping us grow our team. We'll see. We've had a couple of them leave early and if it's the time to do it I'll try to be a good advocate for it."
San Diego State Sophomore Tyrone Shelley
On what the win against Arizona did for the team's confidence:
"I think it was huge for us because we came out and played as a team and that was a big win versus (Arizona). (Arizona is) not as good this year, but they're still Arizona. Arizona still gets the respect as it should normally get and I think it was a big win for us."
On Kawhi Leonard:
"I think he's doing well. He's always in the gym at night time. You walk by the gym ... `There goes Kawhi with the basketball.' He's always in the gym, even when nobody's looking. I think that's good as a freshman, and he's continuing to grow on the court, being a leader. Most people don't expect that from a freshman. I think he's doing well. The sky's the limit for him."
On the win over Arizona:
"I think it's great for San Diego as a whole, because I'm from San Diego. Like (Tim Shelton) said, [Coach] Fisher brought San Diego State to the top. We've just got to continue to come out and play hard and get victories like this so it can be expected and not, `Oh, they might get one, they might not.' It has to be expected and we have to continue to work hard in practice and stay focused."
San Diego State Sophomore Tim Shelton
On Arizona State:
"We're excited, back-to-back Pac-10 teams, so that's always something you look forward to. We're just going over little details right now in practice and try to figure out little things that we can do to win this game. Pac-10 games are always résumé win games, even if some people may say that the Pac-10's down this year, they're still good teams. We feel like Arizona State's probably going to finish in the top three. [We're] real excited about the game. It's going to be an away game. Hopefully their students aren't there because of Christmas break ... we're going to try to go in there and get a good win."
On Kawhi Leonard:
"Those who've seen us play, the games that we've had, gradually you can tell he's getting better, he's getting more comfortable out there. He's starting to get a feel for how he wants to play at this level and it's only beginning for him. He's always there early, he's always been a gym rat since he got here. It's just a matter of time. You guys see what type of player he's becoming. His ability to rebound is outstanding. He's becoming a more intelligent player now. He's making good decisions on the court. He's only going to continue to get better and help the team grow."
On how he feels after returning from injury:
"I'm feeling well. I'm still getting my legs about me. I still feel like I look kind of nervous out there, watching film on the little stuff that I do have out there, but I'm feeling pretty good. I'm just excited to get back going in the swing of things and hopefully I feel like I'm really, really going to be ready by league and really ready to make the full impact that I hope to make on the team."
On the win over Arizona:
"I feel like it's kind of about time. Coach Fisher and just the school in general has worked hard to increase the caliber of the program. Coach Fisher brought the team a long way. I was glad to get the win for him because we hadn't beaten Arizona since he's been here ... I thought that was big for our program, big for our team confidence, great for our fans. [With a] packed house, they love to see us win. I know there were a lot of Arizona fans here and they kind of put it on us the past couple of years since I've been here. It's good for the program, good for the team, great to get a win against any Pac-10 team."
On the importance of the Arizona State game with respect to going into Mountain West Conference games:
"It's very important. Our conference is really good. As you look around, it's no surprise that a lot of Mountain West teams are beating other teams and it's beginning to be not a surprise to people. We've got a couple of ranked teams. We were watching film on BYU playing Arizona State earlier today and they beat them. You watch this stuff and you're like, `Hey, we they can beat them, we have to be able to beat them. These are the teams that we're going to be playing later on.' We need this win for our résumé and then we definitely need to go in with that confidence knowing that we can compete with the teams that they're competing with. ... You just have to go out and take every game one at a time but then look forward to the competition that we're going to have in conference and be ready to go."
On Arizona State's match-up zone:
"They've got a very solid point guard in [Derek] Glasser. He's a four-year-starter type of guy. He's really stepped up his role ever since James Harden has left. Last year, he was real solid. James Harden was their guy so you're paying attention to him, but last year Glasser played a key role. This year, I think just containing him is probably going to be one of the main keys of the game. Just playing our game, we're athletic, we run, we're good on the boards. We've got to get good shots up. We just have to play our game and just be tough on the road. We have get some energy off the bench and hopefully I'll provide some of that and be ready to go."
San Diego State Freshman Kawhi Leonard
On being named MWC Player of the Week:
"It feels good. I like it a lot. I've just been coming out, playing my hardest in the games, (and) the team is helping me out at practice to get me better. We're all just getting ready for Arizona State. It's an away game. We haven't really been good on away trips so we're just trying to focus really hard to get a win."