Nov. 22, 2011
PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES | COACH FISHER
Head Coach Steve Fisher
Opening statement:
"An early Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and we're hoping that we can be smiling when we come home on Thanksgiving from Tucson. (It's a) big game for both teams. We're coming off two tough, hard-fought victories and the important thing is I can say victories, and we're hoping for the same (tomorrow). (They're a) talented team we are playing, but a beatable team. We're going to have to play our best basketball to accomplish the last part of that statement, but we're capable. We are excited and looking forward to it, and we'll be ready. The one thing that we've done consistently is to play as hard as possible and that's always a good sign."
On overcoming adversity with so many games this early in the season:
"When you find ways to win it makes you feel good about yourself. It doesn't matter who you are, where you are or what you play and we're no different. If we were riding a three-game losing streak, which it could've been, the mental state would be more of a concern than it is. Right now we feel like we're going to find a way to win. I do believe that's a little bit linked in to 34-3 a year ago, but a whole lot linked in to the kids that we have now and their willingness to fight on and play, and move onto the next play. We got better at it after (the) Baylor (loss). I thought we were better when we made mistakes against both USC and Long Beach State of not dwelling so much on what just happened and playing in the moment."
On Arizona:
"Arizona is very deep. They've got a wonderful blend of talented freshmen and experienced, skilled veterans. That's a good combination. Going into their last game, they averaged almost 33 free-throws a game. So they attack off the dribble. Against St. John's, they took 29 three's out of their 60 shots. They're a team that makes (shots), spreads the floor and are well coached. When you run after them, they go by you to the rim. We'll have our hands full. It's a good team. They score points in bunches. They're a team that can make six shots in a row so we have to do a good job with our technique and not worry if they make a couple of shots on us."
On if the team will play any different against a ranked team:
"I don't think we will, but you never know. You have to be excited to play. The nice thing about after Baylor was that we came home to play. You read the comments, they're genuine; our players love our fans. They give us energy when we need it. Tomorrow we'll have to get energy from one another. We're not going to have many fans over there. We're going to have to be excited, but it'll have to be controlled enthusiasm. I don't think we'll be so uptight that we'll forget how to play, but you have to walk that line. You have to have controlled aggression and be able to manage it."
On the health of the players with some many games in such a short period of time:
"We were all glad that we didn't have to practice Sunday to play Monday. We watched a lot of film on San Diego State on Monday when we came back. That was good. We are like everybody; everybody is banged up. If you don't have a bad back or a bad ankle or a bad something, then you're probably not a very good team. But we're thin; we have nine players.
"You form excuses if you start talking about injuries. There's a difference between being injured and being hurt. We've got some nagging injuries, but we aren't hurt. We'll all play."