Jan. 26, 2012
SAN DIEGO - COACH FISHER | STUDENT-ATHLETES
San Diego State Head Coach Steve Fisher
Opening Statement:
"We are home again for a short duration and getting ready to head out tomorrow, as everyone knows, for another tough road game against Colorado State in Fort Collins. Again, all you have to do is look at last year's game at their place and see how hard the game will probably be. But we do like where we sit at 4-0. We've found ways to win two road games, which can be problematic. We look forward to preparing today and tomorrow. (We're) playing a very good Colorado State team that has gotten pounded pretty good the past couple games, but they are a very good basketball team. I know that, they know that and hopefully our players will understand that. We, as a team, have found different ways to win offensively, but we've been same old, same old with rock solid defense, which really is what's allowed us to be successful. We're very proud of how we've guarded and made it hard for people to score. I think so often in today's world, we all want to say `well, we just missed shots.' For the most part, we've challenged the vast majority of shots that people have gotten and I think that's part of the reason why people have not shot great percentages against us. Hopefully we can do that again. Colorado State may be the best perimeter shooting team in the league. They can shoot the ball from a variety of spots. We'll have our hands full, but we're ready to go."
On whether there are any benefits to having a difficult conference schedule:
"At the end of the day on the third or fourth of March, we will all have played a round robin, everybody home and away. I looked at the schedule, too, and I got nervous when I saw the conference favorite and probably the best playing team at the time in Vegas and New Mexico back-to-back starting the season. Then the road trip (to Wyoming and Colorado State), the way it was structured, it was almost impossible to stay out. We played Tuesday and not again until Saturday. That was challenging, and yet we've made it so far and now we need to not take a deep breath. We need to make sure we're ready to go. Winning has a way of making you feel invisible to some degree. We can't really feel that with my description, but it helps to feel like you're going to find ways to be successful and not in panic mode if you get behind and continue to work and work together. And we've done that against good people, against two teams I think are NCAA Tournament teams in Vegas and New Mexico. And then against a team that was playing terrific before we went in there at 16-3 in Wyoming. We understand that we've had some good accomplishments, but we also know there's a lot to do as we move forward. And this is a big game for both teams and hopefully we will approach it that way and I believe that we will."
On Boise State taking UNLV into overtime:
"You have to be ready to play, home or away. There are good players everywhere. It doesn't take much to have a bad shooting day. Anybody in our league as in most leagues is capable of winning. If you go on the road and you get a victory, you better be grateful, respectful and excited. That's what we've been and I'm sure that's what Vegas is. They got a win, which is, at the end of the day, what you have to have. But it was a hard-fought win, obviously."
On whether there are any concerns with the turnover situation:
"I am now taking over ball-handling duties. So I will be the ball-handling coach and if we turn it over Saturday, it's my fault. So I think we'll be vastly improved on Saturday. You can't win with 19 turnovers anywhere, especially on the road in a low-possession game. We had 40 shots for the game, so it's unacceptable. Most of them were partially our doing (and) some of them were all our doing. We can't have an inordinate number of turnovers if we expect to win and we expect to win. We're going to show all 19 of them today in the film session and I know it will get their attention."
Junior Guard Chase Tapley
On the game against Colorado State:
"We're focused on going there, playing hard and coming back with a victory. They're a good team, they really listen to their coach. Coach Miles really has them playing hard and they have great shooters. They also have a strong forward, Pierce Hornung, who plays very hard. We just have to go in there and match their intensity and just play our type of basketball and I think we'll be fine. When we watch the film, we'll get a better feel for them and get on the concepts of guarding them and we should be fine."
On last year's game against Colorado State:
"That was a hard-fought game. Colorado State had a good team last year and we had a hard-fought game my freshman year, too. I remember that we had the lead and then they made a great comeback and then D.J. (Gay) hit the shot and it gave us the victory. Colorado State always plays hard and they don't give up."
Sophomore Guard Jamaal Franklin
On avoiding a let-down against Colorado State:
"We really don't call it a `let-down game' because everybody is capable of getting beat. As you see, Boise State took UNLV in overtime, so you can't really judge a team by a `let-down game' and think it's going to be an easy game. Anybody is capable of beating you any night."
On the trip to Wyoming:
"We got to spend a lot of time together. It was very cold on the plane. You could see your breath when you talked. Normally we break off and go to separate rooms, but we spent every minute with each other."
Sophomore Guard Xavier Thames
On how the team dealt with Tuesday's game:
"I think we dealt with it pretty well. Nobody really complained. We got the win, so that was a good thing."