Jan. 28, 2011
SAN DIEGO - Head Coach Steve Fisher
Opening Statement:
"I vowed not to have anything but a sweat suit on until we had that one in front of our name, and I was hoping I'd go the whole season. So, now I have a new sport coat that I brought out for this occasion as we prepare to hopefully start a new winning streak. We have the Wyoming Cowboys coming into town tomorrow and our charge is to come out and play with the toughness, conviction, and passion that we have shown when we've been here and not have any residual from a hard loss at BYU. That is our intent and that is what I'm positive we will do. We're going to need 12,414, and I believe that we will have that. We look forward to starting a new winning streak, that's our challenge."
On having a loss on the record:
"You better be able to do that, forgive but don't forget. We can do nothing about 43 by Fredette. We have to say, `What can we do to get a win against Wyoming?' We'll have another opportunity and hopefully we will be as significant leading into it as it was when we played them at their place."
On how playing BYU showed what the team needs to work on:
"BYU is a really, really good team. They are 20-1, like we are now. They are a team that, like us in my opinion, have a potential to get on another winning streak, get to the tournament and win in the tournament. We played a good team. We didn't shoot well. If you're going to win against a team in their building who is really good, you have to be able to be close to your A-game. Probably a lot of that was them. We had ten chips at the rim that were either blocked or that we missed, and that can't happen. We had 12 turnovers to their seven, and we need to flip that around. We controlled the pace of the game. We had to score when it was a four point game in the low 60's with under five minutes to go. That was the pace we wanted, but we were not able to get a win. Phenomenal atmosphere with 23,000 people, great college basketball game, but we were not quite good enough."
On the effects of playing at a high altitude:
"I don't think that is quite accurate. I don't think that the altitude had anything to do with the outcome of the game. We get tired at every game. If I could have done anything differently, I probably would have substituted more liberally. If we say altitude had an effect, then we're a group of crybabies. That didn't have anything to do with the game. Kawhi was sick, but that was not altitude sickness. He still competed and played really hard. We just have to worry about tomorrow tonight. We still have to go to Wyoming, Colorado State, and Air Force, and we'll have those opportunities again. We have the best conditioned group that we've had since I've been here, and they're in good shape. We had one stretch in the BYU game where we had the 16 minute timeout at the 12:08 mark, and then 30 seconds later had the 12 minute timeout. They didn't blow the whistle and we were up and down, and up and down, both teams were gasping for breath. I think that was the result of having that constant playing time."
On moving forward mentally with the team:
"We have a veteran team that I would expect to come out with a hop in their step, play really hard and hopefully play well. Sometimes you can play really hard, but the ball doesn't go in the hoop and you don't play great, and if that happens, it can't be for lack of effort, concentration, or purpose going into the game."
On if losing to BYU could help the team in the long run:
"I don't know how it would have helped us other than we played a really good team. I have never subscribed to the theory that a loss is good for you. So, I am hoping that we don't have another loss going into the tournament, but we probably will. Hopefully we won't have another one before they come back to town."
San Diego State Senior Guard D.J. Gay
On his thoughts about the loss to BYU:
"The last game hurt, but it shows everybody that we still have room for improvement; we still have work to do and this loss is going to show us as a team that if we come together we can respond against Wyoming on Saturday."
On the quality of the team that gave the Aztecs their first loss:
"BYU is a very good team. I would definitely say they could be the best team we have played so far. They all know their roles and perform their roles to a `t.' They are a very well coached team and very well put together. We just have to learn from it and wait for our next chance."
On the Aztec's defensive effort on BYU Guard Jimmer Fredette:
"On the defensive end you are never going to be perfect.We made him take a lot of hard shots but we also gave him a couple easy shots to get him going. He's one of the best out there--he takes a lot of shots and he makes a lot of shots. He's someone who is taking over 20 shots a game, making a very high percentage and taking very hard shots. It's very hard to stop somebody like that."
On how the Aztecs can bounce back after the first loss of the season:
"The main thing is to try to stay focused. We have to be mentally tough after a game like that and I do expect that we will bounce back and try and start another win streak--that's the plan, that's the goal and it's hopefully what we will do."
San Diego State Senior Forward Malcolm Thomas
On how the team responded to the BYU loss:
"BYU is one of the toughest teams in the league, one of the best teams in the league. They played hard and came out with a win. Everybody was down, nobody really wants to lose. We just talked about things we could have done different and we aren't trying to hang our heads too long because we have a game on Saturday that we can't slack on, either."
On if the Aztecs became frustrated on the court during the course of the game:
"Playing on the road with their crowd yelling at you, you want to do well. If a couple shots don't fall you can become disappointed in yourself and frustrated at yourself, but as a player you can't let that happen--especially playing against a good team like BYU. So, we just have to work on managing frustration and playing through it."