March 21, 2016
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#AztecMBB-Washington Postgame Quotes
San Diego State head coach Steve Fisher
Opening Statement:
"I am very proud of what our team did tonight. We were spurred on by a phenomenal crowd and when I walked out right before the game I could feel the energy in the building. We salute the fans. I think we had a lot folks that said, 'I haven't had a chance to get here. I haven't had a chance to get close and I want to be there' and we're immensely appreciative. We are determined and we are led by (senior forward Winston Shepard) and we all feed off him. We have talked about what (sophomore forward) Malik (Pope) has done and growing as a person and as a player and it is showing. We withstood what we knew was going to happen: a run by (University of) Washington and we hung tough and got a wonderful victory for us. We are excited that we are playing at home on Wednesday and we need more of the same against a red-hot Georgia Tech team that will come in. Tonight, I think you saw a team that was determined and played hard and played together. We thought that we could attack off of ball screens and we were a little concerned about trying to move the ball with a lot of passes with the way we overplayed and we did a good job of getting in the gaps and making plays out of them. Good win for us and I look forward to Wednesday."
On Malik Pope's character as a teammate:
"I went to put Malik (Pope) in for (freshman forward) Zylan (Cheatham). I said, 'Malik, go in for Zylan,' and he was at the scores table. Zylan got a dunk and (Malik) came to me and he said, 'Why don't we let him stay? He just scored a basket.' I don't know if you all saw when (Malik) was at the table he came back and said, 'Let him stay.' Not many guys are going to do that. Most guys are going to say, 'I've got to get in there. I want to get in there,' and he did, but he said, 'let him stay.' That's helped out the team. I think they know that. I think they know that they have on another's back, and they care about one another, and that winning is the most important thing and they want to do it collectively."
San Diego State senior forward Winston Shepard
On beating Washington at its own game:
"We just came to play San Diego State basketball. I think sometimes you guys in the media kind of label what San Diego State basketball is but like I said, we have four, five, six guys who are capable of putting up 20 points, so why shouldn't we try to score 90 points with the type of defense we play. I think we played San Diego State basketball tonight and the most important thing is that we're so excited to be out there. We're just happy to still be playing. We have some goals we're trying to achieve and today was another step for us."
On playing in the energetic atmosphere:
"Who wouldn't want to come see a team putting up 92 points? There are some special guys on this team. I've said that since last off season which was my main motivating factor for wanting to come back and play. Who wouldn't want to come see that? I'm calling out even more fans to come. Pack Viejas Arena, standing room only. I mean this is a special team, enjoy it while you can. These are some special guys on this team and this is a special time in San Diego State basketball history. This is a golden era, so shame on you if you're not there to watch it. I'm just being honest."
San Diego State sophomore forward Malik Pope
On improving his game:
"I feel like I'm just trying to do what I can to help the team. I know I struggled a little bit at the beginning, but at this point when I realized it's senior time and these are some of their last games of their career so I have to give it my all for them. That's really how I see it, like I just need to play my heart out."
On how special it is to play at home in Viejas Arena:
"It's very exciting to play in Viejas. Every game we play is electrifying in here. Even when there are not as many fans as we hope, even when there are little fans that are here, they are always loud. They're loyal. We love playing here. We love playing everywhere to be honest because when we play away, that brings us together even more. Everywhere we play, it's always electrifying."
Washington head coach Lorenzo Romar
Opening Statement:
"We have to give a lot of credit to San Diego State. We knew they were a very good defensive team. I thought in the first half that their length may have bothered us inside. They played like a veteran group. A team that has been here before, a number of those players have played in postseason play including the NCAA tournament. I thought we scrapped. I thought our guys competed. We just didn't have enough to get it done. San Diego State is a good basketball team."
On if the defensive effort of San Diego State surprised him:
"We have played them the last three years, this being the third year in a row. This is not something that surprised us. We came in here a couple of years ago and I remember it was a 70-63 game, and last year at our place it was a defensive battle, so we knew. Obviously this is the highest scoring game the two teams have played. We knew they were a good defensive team."
On if he thinks San Diego State is a NCAA tournament team:
"I have to answer your question the same way I answered it when we won the league and didn't make it either. The way that the NCAA committee selects teams, you can almost predict who is going to be in and who is not for the most part. If you are talking about the eye test, San Diego State no doubt should be in the NCAA tournament. However, they look at those numbers and they are usually the indicator of who is going to be in the field. If they are just going to play a round robin and everyone is in the field, San Diego State is going to beat some teams."
Washington senior guard Andrew Andrews
On where Viejas Arena ranks out of all the venues in which he's played:
"Probably fourth. They have a great crowd, but playing at Arizona and going to play at Colorado and Utah playing against the altitude plus their crowds is a pretty tough environment. They are always sold out. This is a good environment as well. I think Arizona is one of the best, and then all the other elements with Colorado and Utah, I would probably put them ahead."