Dec. 8, 2013
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SAN DIEGO -
Washington-San Diego State Postgame Quotes
San Diego State head coach Steve Fisher
Opening Statement:
"I'd like to start by congratulating all the efforts that Jim Sterk and Rocky Long and our football team put in to getting us to where we belong and that's into a bowl game. When we announced it to our team, they jumped up like we had just beaten Duke (in) the national championship game. They were so excited for the football team, which is what you hope you have at every program, which is what we do have at San Diego State.
On the game:
"We shot it as poorly as we've ever shot it in the first half, but didn't quit playing defense. That kept us at least where we could see them. They didn't run off and hide from us. The second half, we started making some shots and our defense got better. I thought we really did a wonderful job defending. This is a good team (Washington). If you give them an opening, they are going to make a shot. I thought we defended a team scoring 84 points a game pretty effectively. One stat that I always talk about is that they are who we want to be. I believe coming into our game that had made 11 more free-throws than their opponent had shot. We were close. We're six behind. We made six fewer than we shot, which is still really good. Tonight we made 20 and they shot 13. A huge stat. Also, we had one assist in the first halftime. We had 10 second half assists on 15 baskets which is good for us. It's a great way for us to go into the finals and beat a Pac-12 team moving to only one loss. I think we earned it. Our players worked very hard. Now we need to take a deep breath. The nice thing too is that we have a lot of room to grow as a basketball team so I think we'll get better."
On his halftime speech:
"I think you have to recognize when guys are trying which we were but not able to produce and finish. So I raised my voice a little bit to start with but then I brought it full circle. We always put a few things on the board. X (Xavier Thames) put three things on the board. He put finish, rebound and fight together, and we did. I also told them that I wanted them to go out as if we were just starting the game. That's the thought you need to have. I want you to go out and play as if you just played the best 20 minutes you've ever played. You can't beat them up when they're already frustrated. We came out and I thought we set the table. We had the ball and I believe we scored the first basket. They went a couple minutes without scoring and without even getting a shot which was helpful. We tried to let them know what we thought they weren't doing, but we also ended on a positive note. Feel good about yourself. You're good players. Work hard together, rebound the ball, it will go in. They have to know that we trust and believe in them when it's not going real well. Second half we were good. We were good. Making shots helps you, but we were good on both ends of the floor."
San Diego State senior guard Xavier Thames
On the second half:
"We didn't start off good in the first half, we played good defense but we didn't make easy shots. We missed a few layups and we all missed a few shots but we didn't hang our heads. We talked about it at half to start of strong and that's what we did."
On Spencer's Blocks:
"Sky is always blocking shots, so we're used to that. He was all over the place tonight and he's a big player -that's what we want."
On Washington:
"I think they played very well. Nigel had good shots and plays. Andrew Andrews did very well. Wilcox had a lot of shots. They're going to be a good team. The Pac 12 is good this year. They have a good chance of winning it and making it to the tournament. Washington is a good team."
On Washington's weak RPIs:
"We don't look at that kind of stuff. We just worry about the game, focusing on what we can do to win. We're not looking at RPIs or Top-25 (rankings), we just come out giving it all and wanting to win. And that's what we did tonight."
On the end of a difficult stretch:
"I think we got better each and every game, coming back from Anaheim and playing Washington today. I think we got better. We still have a lot of work to do. I'm not saying we are all the way there, we have a lot to do, we need to get better on the defensive end - and on offense. But we're going to work on what we've talked about and everything will be okay."
San Diego State sophomore center Skylar Spencer
On his performance and match- up:
"I had some good opportunities. Every game I try to block at least three shots but I got a few more today. "
On last play tipping Andrews 3 point shot:
"I almost tipped it, but I just contested it. I knew that these refs were watching and he was probably trying to get a foul, so I just tried to guard and contest the shot as best as I could without fouling."
San Diego State sophomore forward Winston Shepard
On playing the game tired:
"I don't want to blame it on that because coach (Fisher) always says, `Have yourself ready to play,' but I definitely think that the last week that we've had has definitely taken its toll on us. But we pulled a win out and that's all that matters, so maybe with rest it will be easier now."
On the team's mood during half-time:
"No desperation at all. Like (Thames) said, we were getting good looks and we were executing well on the court, and it was up to us to get those shots in. So during the half we were just talking about finishing and putting those shots away. But I wouldn't say any desperation. "
On his confidence shooting the ball:
"First of all, the game is 40 minutes. I just try to play the full game. I always pride myself on being able to finish strong but at the end of the day, it's if my teammates have confidence in me. (Thames) was giving me passes that he probably could've taken to the rim himself. I was open and he had enough confidence in me to pass it to me, so I wanted to knock it down. But I definitely have 100% confidence in myself. I think if you don't have confidence in yourself then nobody can."
On playing his former teammates:
"I try not to get caught up in the extra stuff but I didn't want to lose to Nigel (Williams-Goss). We played high school ball together and AAU ball together. I never want to lose to my former teammates."
On free-throws:
"Not just tonight, any night. Free throws are vital to my game. I just want to make them. At the end of the day, of course it looks good on a box score, but it looks really good on a team win. The team needed me to knock those free-throws down, and I worked all summer on that so I'm just glad that my hard work is paying off."
On less foul trouble:
"With these new rules I always try and watch out and try to play as hard as I can, and I always keep picking up little tick-tack fouls. I think it really helped that I was out of foul-trouble that whole game. "
On the team's upcoming break:
"It feels really good. We've been playing hard and practicing hard every single day so it's good that we finally get to take a little break. "
On J.J. O'Brien playing with injured hand:
"He is going through it right now but he's not bitter, he's not going to make excuses or anything. I'm just happy he's out there battling with us."
Washington head coach Lorenzo Romar
On what changed in the second half:
"We were trying to pack it in. I thought we did a good job in the first half of staying tight defensively. The second half, I think (SDSU's) pressure bothered us a little bit. Along with that, (SDSU) gained a little momentum, we started to chase them more on the perimeter and they started to drive to the basket more and made us pay."
On playing in Viejas Arena:
"We were here in 2005, that was when (SDSU) was just starting to become good. I just thought, one day this place is going to be wild. It's wonderful. It's a great environment to play in."
On San Diego State's team this season:
"I have a lot of respect for coach (Steve) Fisher. I've always followed him, and I've always rooted for him except for when we play him. They've started out really well (this season). Each game their guys bond and blend even more. I like the team they've got. They've got great length and play real good defense."
On Xavier Thames:
"He's playing phenomenally right now, he's playing really good basketball. He's knocking that shot down and playing with a lot of confidence."
Washington senior center Perris Blackwell
On what changed in the second half:
"I think those turnovers that we had in the beginning (of the second half) hurt us, and those two 3-pointers that (SDSU) hit. Our gameplan was to kind of pack it in (defensively) because they weren't necessarily shooters. That hurt us."
On playing at Viejas Arena:
"It's a good gym. I used to play against Gonzaga (with San Francisco), it was kind of like that. So I'm kind of used to the hostile environment."
On playing against SDSU's big men:
"It was OK. I wasn't really getting the ball on the block against (Skylar) Spencer, so I didn't really get to play him that much. Davis is a good rebounder."