Nov. 3, 2016
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SAN DIEGO -
UCSD-San Diego State Postgame Quotes
SDSU Head Coach Steve Fisher
On Montaque Gill-Caesar being a good addition to the team:
"Montaque is a scorer. He knows how to score, he thinks score, he looks to score, and he can score. He is scoring in a variety of ways. He got the ball today against guys he was a little bigger than. So he could get himself inside, but he made some jump shots too. He is going to be a good addition to our team."
On Trey being the smartest player on the team:
"No disrespect to others on our team. I've said this before, Trey is our smartest player. He knows how to play. He has the ability to read what's going to happen before it happens. And that is unique. He has got that feel for how to play, and that's not going to go away. What Trey has grown in is his game and it hasn't been noticed yet, but I think as time goes on it will be. His defense is a lot better. We talked about him guarding; he had four steals tonight and two or three deflections. He is using that brainpower at both ends of the floor, which is going to be good for us. You can't be somebody you are not. Trey is a guy that will grow into being selectively vocal. When he is vocal, selectively like that, all of us will listen. Coaches included, because he is smart. He won't have just nonsensical chatter. So he has grown a lot in that area, nice to see."
On the first half:
"We had a really good offensive rhythm and flow in the first half scoring 53 points. We got the kind of shots that we would want both on the drive, throwing it inside, moving it ahead, swinging to shoot the three, and we looked really, really good."
On the second half:
"In the second half, we looked really bad. We got a little bit tired, we shot it with more pressure and we got the results that we got, 23 points in the second half. We didn't play defense particularly well in either half, so we have a lot to teach, too. I like our team. When we have to play small like we were tonight, then we have to gain and tackle. We need to rebound the ball better. We need to rebound the ball when we miss, we need to rebound the ball when we they miss, so we will learn from it.
On UCSD's play:
"The team we played tonight is a nice team, and they showed that in the second half. They made shots and played better than we did in the second half. So, this will be good for us, and showing what we did in a positive way in the first half will be good for us too."
On team this upcoming season:
"We're going to have a better offense this year. We will score the ball with a little more ease in a variety of spots and we can bring guys in that can score it too. Montaque (Gill-Caesar) looked really good in the first half when he used his size and strength to get inside. He had a rhythm and flow and was able to score it. Trey (Kell) and Jeremy (Hemsley) did a really good job of attacking to the rim and making plays for us. So we had enough good things talk about, but we also have enough things that we can teach too. Like when we say if you get tired at practice, you have to fight through it. We need to be tougher mentally. This is why we play this game, and this was a good game for us against a team that's well coached, that competes hard, and that expects to win also."
Sophomore Guard Jeremy Hemsley
On the team's second-half performance:
"I think it starts for me on defense. I think I did a bad job of just keeping my guy in front of me and I know I set the tone on defense, so if I'm letting my man do whatever he wants on offense then that just sets our defense up for failure. That's something I've got to work on ââ'¬" just set the tone and be more consistent on the defensive end."
On how the SDSU coaches will react on UCSD's field-goal percentage:
"It's not really on the coaches when it comes to defense. I mean, the reaction won't be anything pleasant, but we brought that on ourselves. We didn't really do what we know we're capable of doing or do our job the whole game defensively. We talked about it before the game, just playing the whole game hard and not having those mental lapses like we did today, so I don't think the reactions of the coaches are going to be anything pleasant, but it's something that we brought on ourselves."
Junior Guard Trey Kell
On the difference in scoring between first and second half:
"It just goes back to what Coach was saying. The flow from first half to second half wasn't there. First half on a made shot, we were out and running and on the made shot, we knew exactly what we wanted and everyone was on the same page. Second half we forced some shots early and there was not a lot of flow. A lot of people were confused on what plays we were running, so we just have to get on the same page. But like Coach said, just learn from it and move on."
On playing with guys out of their normal position:
"I don't think it was that much of a difference. I mean obviously it would help to have our bigger guys out there, but it's something we also worked on throughout the week. We've had multiple times where Dakarai (Allen) plays the fourth spot if the other guys were hurt, so it's just one of those things where you have to watch the take, learn from it and get better from it."
On his development as a leader:
"It's just something I've been working on and the coaches have been pushing me to get to that position. It's a work in progress every day. I mean I'm more of a quiet guy and it's just one of those things the coaches push me every day to be more vocal. Today I felt comfortable out there trying to get guys in the right spot and lead the team. Every day is a work in progress."
UCSD Head Coach Eric Olen
General thought of the game:
"Well, I thought we had some positive moments where we did some good things, and we had some possessions where we clearly need to improve, so that's the thing for us. The biggest issue I would say is the inconsistency. Part of it, is for us to be more consistent, trying to eliminate those negative plays. I thought we did a much better job in the second half. I think it's a little bit of human nature, maybe they relaxed a little bit, and I think we played better. So it's nice to respond a little bit there, but just trying to be more consistent will be the focus for us moving forward.
On SDSU's performance:
"I was really impressed, especially being down a few key guys. I think they're really deep, they've got a lot of different guys to make plays. (Jeremy) Hemsley and (Trey) Kell are really talented guys who I think are going to be a problem for a lot of people, not just us. We couldn't not foul them. They drew a ton of fouls, and I think once they get everyone back, they're going to be a force to be reckoned with."
On his players' performance:
"I thought my guys played hard. I thought we competed. I thought we continued to do that, regardless of the score, which I was really pleased with. I thought we had some really good possessions, and really executed well at times. We need to be more consistent with that going forward and eliminate some of those negative plays. [We had] some mental errors where we were just kind of in the wrong place, or throw one out of bounds, or throw it right to the other team. Some of that was SDSU being long and athletic, and covering ground quickly, but some of that was just making mental mistakes and not being able to execute the way we want to. So I think if we can clean up, and eliminate some of the negative plays, then we have a chance to be pretty good."