Dec. 30, 2011
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SDSU-Redlands Postgame Quotes in PDF Format
San Diego State Head Coach Steve Fisher
(from the postgame radio interview)
On the game:
"We talked before the game about one of the things we wanted to do and that was win every four-minute segment and we did that in the first half. We came out and had more turnovers than shots in the first four minutes of the second half. I think that's the only segment that (Redlands) did win. I felt we got some things accomplished. We played a lot of people and I really liked the fact that when Narbeh (Ebrahimian) and Jeremy Castleberry scored, our bench was genuinely elated for them. Not to try to be showy or anything to Redlands, but (our bench) was really happy for Narbeh and Jeremy. That speaks to the character of the kids on our team. Rather than saying, `Boy I wish I could get a few more shots,' they were genuinely happy for somebody else."
On shooting 57 percent from the field in the first half:
"When we get our shots, we're a good shooting team. If you take your time and move the ball, we'll get good shots and we'll make a pretty good percentage of them. We shot the ball well, especially early. It was a direct result of making one extra pass, finding the open man and driving for others. It pays dividends."
On the play of Alec Williams:
"Alec is a good player. He hasn't had opportunity until this year. Now he's getting an opportunity and everybody wants to not just be on the practice floor, they want to have a chance to be on the game floor. So that's a motivating factor for him. He is in much better shape and that also is an asset for him. He can play longer segments, he can play more confident and more effectively."
On the play of Jamaal Franklin:
"Jamaal is 100 miles per hour all the time. It doesn't matter whether you're 20 (points) ahead or 20 behind. (It) doesn't matter whether you're playing UConn to get to a Final Four or whether you're playing in practice. That's how he plays. That's important and somewhat contagious. When he is able to manage that, and he's getting better at it, there are still things that he tries to do too quickly at times, but he is so much better and so much more comfortable out here now than he was a year ago. There's absolutely no question."
On Redlands:
"I'm hoping that this will help them, I'm hoping the experience will be good for them. I know they enjoyed coming to the building with the big crowd. But hopefully, playing in this kind of atmosphere will be something that they can build on as they move through their season also."
(from the postgame press conference)
Opening statement:
"You want to make sure that when you play a game, everyone including the players and coaches think that you should win. That you not get carried away with trying to do crazy stuff and do things too fast. Our goal was to win every four-minute segment in the first half. We did that and the second half we started out and had more turnovers than we had shots in the first four minutes.
"It was good to see everybody getting some quality minutes. Guys like Narbeh (Ebrahimian) and it was great to see (Jeremy) Castleberry get a basket. It was very nice to see our bench when Jeremy and Narbeh scored to be genuinely excited for them and not fake enthusiasm to see somebody else be successful.
"We are getting a little healthier. Xavier (Thames) is getting better. (Tim) Shelton was held out obviously tonight, I think for the good. We just need to keep practicing hard and keep doing what we've been doing and say we've got lots of room to grow. If that happens, I think we've got a lot of opportunity to go into the New Year with the kind of club that people will say is a top-25 basketball team. (It was a) nice win for us."
On being back in the top 25:
"It is nice to be back in the top 25. The nice part about it also is our kids didn't make a big deal about it. A year ago, when we were 25th to start the season, it was front page above the fold and not it's, `Well, we're in the top 25.' That feels good and I think that's also growth in terms of expectations of a good program."
On Jamaal Franklin's night:
"Jamaal is a million miles an hour, every time he gets in the gym. If he's in (the gym) by himself, he's seeing how many shots he can get in for 20 minutes or whatever length of time he's in there and when we're practicing, he's not going to have anyone practice harder than he does. He's so much better than he was a year ago, even when he broke into the rotation. That's through experience and practice. He still has things that you want to say, `Why?' but they're getting fewer. He's making better decisions and I think that goes better, not only for him, which it does, but for us. He plays hard and when you play hard as he does, you're going to be in the mix on a lot of things from rebounds to shots to points to turnovers to diving over the table to all kinds of stuff. He's a fun guy to watch and I'm glad we've got him on our team."
San Diego State sophomore guard Jamaal Franklin
On the game tonight:
"We both just played hard. They're a good team. We're probably a little more athletic and a little bit better because we are Division I, but Redlands is a good team and I expect them to do a lot of winning in its division."
On how he played tonight:
"I had a good night. Chase (Tapley) was feeding me the ball. James (Rahon) was looking for me and they saw that I had a hot hand. We always go to wherever the hot hand is. I was hot for a little bit so I was excited to have a good game."
San Diego State junior guard Chase Tapley
On how tonight's game affects the team:
"It gives us more confidence going into the league (games). In practices we're working on our concepts and getting our team going defensively and offensively. In a game like this, you get to see Narbeh (Ebrahimian) and Jeremy (Castleberry) come off the bench and that's really exciting. It's a good game to have fun with but like Jamaal said, Redlands is a good team. Both teams played hard, but we just wanted to have fun with it."
On being ranked in the AP top-25 poll:
"It's nice to be a ranked team, top-25 in the country, but we really don't pay attention to it. All we know is that if we keep doing what we have to do and taking care of business, then that's going to take care of itself, like we did last year. If we keep winning then everything should fall into place."
Redlands Head Coach Jim Ducey
Opening statement:
"I would have liked to score more points, but overall this was a good opportunity to come play a good basketball team."
On team's offense efficiency:
"There was some times where we executed what we were trying to do. We are still not into conference yet so there is time to get it down and make some progress. I thought we played pretty good at the beginning and we went 1-for-8 (from the field), so that doesn't help you. I'm not worried. These guys can shoot and it's kind of a tough gym to shoot in if you are used to the small gyms. We're going to have some bad shooting nights wherever we play, but it made it a little tougher for us."
On SDSU:
"They are really good. I think they backed off a little bit. Overall I think they are going to have a nice year. Coach Fisher has done a great job with this program and I'd like to see them go really far in the tournament. For us, I know we got at least 10-15 good minutes tonight and against a team like that it's really important because maybe you can put 30 or 35 minutes against your league teams and that can turn into wins."
On what his team did well:
"Our guys fought pretty hard all the way through. There were some mental lapses but I think we fought hard and our character is going to be important when we get to conference play."