Feb. 22, 2012
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Wyoming-San Diego State Postgame Quotes
SDSU head coach Steve Fisher
(from the postgame radio interview)
On where they are predicted to be seeded in the NCAA Tournament:
"Obviously our goal like everyone is to be in. Once you are in, a lot of crazy things can and do happen. In order to get in you need to win and you need to win games like we did tonight."
On the unexpected difficulty of all the teams in the Mountain West this season:
"This is the most competitive the league has been from one through eight. You have to play well to have a chance in it. You have to compete hard for every victory. The closeness of the scores of these games shows that. You can forget about it if a team has a record of 2-8 and somebody else has a record of 8-2. Every game goes down to the last two or three minutes with either team playing having the chance to win. That is the norm in our league now."
(from the postgame press conference)
Opening statement:
"It feels good to win. If you compete and compete hard and you don't win, there's that empty feeling and we have had that three in a row. We competed and competed hard tonight and had the kind of feeling we have had now, 21 times. It was a wonderful win for us and a very hard loss for Wyoming. They play hard, they control the tempo and the pace against everybody, I watched most recently their game against Colorado State and it was a game like this one. They led for 35 of the 40 minutes and Colorado State came back at the end and won, so we expected a tough, hard game and I am very proud of the fact that we hung in there didn't unravel and hopefully this leads us in to Saturday's tip-off."
On Garrett Green's toughness:
"I am very, very proud and happy for Garrett. I think if we are honest, you heard whispers saying he wasn't tough enough and can't deal with injury and pain. Tom Abdenour, our trainer didn't think he would play. Garrett came out on Tuesday and felt sore, but said that he was going to give it a go, and obviously he was very, very good, so yes, I am appreciative and aware of the fact that he competed and competed when he wasn't 100 percent."
On SDSU's shooting percentage:
"No, I don't think fatigue was a factor. We made a flurry of shots down the stretch after we had been playing for 40-44 minutes, so no I don't (think fatigue was a factor). (Coach Dutcher) made the comment at halftime that you have to play with some swagger, and he was right, you have to expect to be successful on the offensive end. We were a little tentative, but I am hoping that this win will be a big plus for us."
San Diego State senior center Garrett Green
On doubting whether or not he'd be able to play tonight:
"I would say right when I got back from that Air Force game on Saturday, I was kind of nervous because of how much pain was going through my ankle but being in the training room with (athletic trainer) Tom Abdenour, who used to be the head assistant with the Golden State Warriors, knew a lot of tricks to get back fast and reduce the swelling. I said as long as I could step on it, I was going to play and that's exactly what I did."
On the time he decided to play:
"Last night. I tried to practice yesterday and I got through some drills all right and had a little swelling in my ankle in the morning but I was able to walk on it. I told Coach (Fisher), `If you want me to play, I'll be able to play.'"
On LSU and the SEC compares to basketball on the West Coast:
"I love it. I'm absolutely blown away by The Show here at San Diego State, how amazing our fans are. They are so dedicated and every single time I come out and see them running down an hour and a half before the game, it really gets me pumped up to play every day."
San Diego State sophomore guard Jamaal Franklin
On getting the win after their last three losses:
"It feels good. I've never been through that before. It was hard but I'm kind of glad it happened to us because it makes us love the game more, appreciate it more."
On his aggressiveness in overtime:
"I was struggling in the first half and a little bit in the second half but my teammates were always there encouraging me and told me to keep my head up. I was still struggling in overtime but I opened it up a little bit."
On his ankle:
"[My] ankle bothered me the first few minutes. It didn't bother me physically, it bothered me mentally. But after that, it didn't bother me. If it breaks, it breaks. If it got twisted again, it'll get twisted because we just got the win."
San Diego State senior forward Tim Shelton
On the team's toughness:
"I just want to say in terms of the word toughness that has been thrown around the last week. What these two guys (Garrett Green and Jamaal Franklin) are doing really exemplifies how mentally and physically tough these guys are by playing through ankle injuries, just being tough and gutting it out. I'm really proud of these guys and we got the win. I'm just excited."
On character of the team:
"I've never questioned the character of this team and it's one of those things where once again, it came down to some possessions at the end of the game and we executed this time. We saw the game, they were making buzzer-beater shots off the backboard and hitting three's that were kind of uncharacteristic but they happened in the game. In terms of that, we stuck together and we made little plays down at the end. We manned together and just got the win."
Wyoming head coach Larry Shyatt
On the overtime period:
"It was just the same as the end of regulation. We had three opportunities. (We had the) No. 2 foul shooter on the team to take the lead and he missed. Garrett Green is a 42 percent free throw shooter and he made both. And you know what, we had him in our league at LSU and I think the world of him. Sometimes those balls go in and we forget that we lost. Sometimes those balls don't go in and we erase everything because we won. The game was no different. Luke Martinez missed a free throw, he had two (shots) to take the lead and win the game. Garrett Green made two, which is incredible and they won the game. And that's really what happened."
On doing a good job of defending Chase Tapley and Jamaal Franklin:
"The only piece that we didn't do a good job in, because we talked about four pieces before the game. The only piece was we've taken a great deal of pride in keeping really good teams, like the league-leading Lobos, off the offensive glass. (SDSU) really hurt us, Garrett (Green) especially, offensive rebounding in crunch times. They got a few early in the game, but I didn't think those offensive rebounds really hurt us. But down the home stretch, Jamaal (Franklin) got a big one and put it back in overtime and Garrett (Green) did the same. That hurt."
Wyoming senior guard JayDee Luster
On the game:
"Last year, I felt like we came here and we gave up. Today, there was no give up in us; we fought to the end and that's all you can really ask for."
On slowing down in the second half:
"Coach said `make them (SDSU) come out and guard us.' We just ran the clock to 13 seconds; that was the strategy and I feel like it was a good strategy by our coach."