Dec. 21, 2007
TUCSON, Ariz. - Steve Fisher News Conference
Friday, December 21, 2007
Fiesta Bowl Classic; Tucson, Ariz.
Opening Statement:
"We are very pleased to be here. The band and the Fiesta Bowl Committee that met us at the airport was well received. Grant and Larry who have accompanied us have been fantastic. If the team from Arizona will be as accommodating, it will be a fun weekend. I don't know if they will be quite as nice to us but we are very happy to be here. I feel badly that Lute (Olson) is not here.
"We need to use this game for us as a measuring stick. Can we not only compete with people that are perceived to be better than us but can we beat them? That is our mission and it will not be easy. We are excited to be here and I know we will play hard and hopefully, unlike last year, we will be able to make a shot or two to stay in the game. It will be interesting to see how we will perform on somebody else's court. We have done a pretty good job of that. I don't know that we have played anyone quite as good as Arizona but we will find out if we can play with a really good team. It will help us for league play down the road."
Q: Can you talk about the great start you have had to the season?
"We have 14 people on the squad including two walk-ons and for eight of them it is the first year they have been on the floor for us. We were a little concerned, even though we felt like that Ryan Amoroso and Kelvin Davis would be able to step right in. What they have done is allowed me to play a few more people. We have played a little more full court. I like our team. We share the ball. We have five players close to double figures. We are keyed by our three juniors - Lorrenzo Wade, Kyle Spain and Richie Williams.
"The two games we have lost, we felt like we could have, and maybe should have won at least one or both of them. We led in both games. We have a good team. How good, is still to be determined. If we don't get better we will not compete for our league championship, but I anticipate we will get better. We have a fun team to watch."
Q: Do you see Arizona being any different than they were a year ago?
"They do a few different things offensively. They are a very good team and I think this year they have guys that everyone knows who the number one, 1A and 1B options are. Nobody is hesitant to agree this is how we are supposed to play and we want to play. I like Arizona's team. I think this is a better team than what we saw last year. Now whether that is accurate, we have not played them yet. I think they will be very successful in a very good Pac-10.
"Everybody knows (Chase) Budinger is the number one option and (Jerryd) Bayless is not far behind him and (Jordan) Hill is not far behind him. Other guys have said that as long as I am helping us win, I don't care if I get 20 shots."
Q: Any thought to what this game might mean to Chase (Budinger) coming from San Diego?
"You would have to ask Chase that. We tried to recruit him. I'm mad that he didn't come to San Diego State. As much as Lute (Olson) would say he was the first in (recruiting him), we were the first in. But he opted for the desert and he is not only a terrific player but he is a terrific young guy."
Q: Is your depth the reason you have been able to overcome the loss of (Brandon) Heath and (Mohamed) Abukar?
"We think we have a program now where as five years ago we would have said we have a team that has played pretty good this year. I think we have a program, which means, not unlike Arizona, when you get a guy hurt or have someone leave the program, you are going to have someone step up and still be competitive. That is what we have now. We have the best depth we have had and yet we lost for the season Tim Shelton after four games, who was a starter for us and makes us significantly better. We have had to adjust to that.
"For us, there is not a whole lot of difference between the guys who start and the four guys we have the ability to bring off the bench. We have to make sure we use them."
Q: What would beating a program like Arizona do for your program?
"Perception is reality. In San Diego, we are perceived to be a team that guards hard, shares the ball and is fun to watch. That is how our fans view us.
"We think we have a team that will contend for our league (title) and contend to make the tournament. To do that, you need a good non-conference resume. We are another game for Arizona and for us, if we win this game, it will give us a resume builder. It will not be easy but it is probably a bigger game for us than it is for them."
Q: Do you think your kids helping in the community during the wildfires helped them come together as a team?
"I don't think that made any difference. Sometimes kids help because they get community service credit in a class or you do it because they know the TV people are going to be there. I didn't even know that six or seven of our players went to Qualcomm and volunteered to help. They went to help because it was the right thing to do. We received a lot of favorable comments on it and I know our kids appreciate that they had a home to go back to. It was not easy time for anyone, but I am proud of the way our kids helped out."
Q: Talk about the competition at the top of the Mountain West Conference?
"Whatever league you are in is the toughest league in America because it is the one you are in. Our league is very, very good and competitive and we have homecourt issues in our league. We now have a homecourt and we never used to have that. We get good crowds and they don't just come to because Lute is bringing the Wildcats in, we get them because we are playing. You go to altitude, so road games are hard no matter if you are the first-place team in the league or the ninth-place team in the league.
"A year ago I thought for sure we were going to get three teams in (the NCAA Tournament) and maybe four teams in, with us being the fourth. We had three teams ranked in the top 25. Lon (Kruger) got to the Sweet 16 last year and it didn't surprise us he beat Wisconsin. It is a very good basketball league."
Q: Do you think Arizona or SDSU will have a difficult time concentrating with players leaving for the break after the game?
"We have to make sure we don't have distractions. We have five players flying from Tucson to their respective homes and not flying back home to San Diego. We are both in a similar position. I don't think that will happen to either team.
"We just finished finals and we went eight days with no games and we struggled mentally in our game against Navy. We tried hard physically but we were a half-step behind from the neck up and it showed. I don't think we will be that way tomorrow. I don't think Arizona will either."