Jan. 19, 2013

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SDSU at UW Postgame Quotes

Postgame quotes from the San Diego State at Wyoming men's basketball game.

San Diego State Head Coach Steve Fisher

On the first half..
"It starts with preparation. It didn't appear that we had from the opening tip. I didn't feel an excitement or an energy in the locker room that you have to have. We didn't appear as if we had an edge about us. They [Wyoming] had that. I could sense that from the opening tip, and we didn't.

"We got outfought. We didn't make shots, but that's going to happen. I can live with not making shots. But when you get outfought, and out-toughed and out-efforted, that's inexcusable. And it starts with me.

"I've been a part of some crazy games. But if we'd made a couple shots, we could have been eleven ahead, but that's not the point that raked on me. It was the effort and energy and a toughness. A toughness with how you play mentally that we did not display. And we have displayed that, but we did not have that today and it affected everything that we did, including making shots.

"Our practices have not been as engaging as they have to be. I told them that before we left for this trip, in terms of those kinds of concerns.

On the technical foul on Winston Shepard:
"It stemmed some positive momentum that we appeared to be getting a little bit. It was a ten-point game, then all of a sudden a seven-point game, and the energy seemed to be sucked out again. It probably had an impact, but we had a lot of plays like that.

On addressing the technical:
"We've talked constantly about how you have to manage yourself, and how you have to have poise and be able to deal with stressful times. That's absolutely critical if you want to be successful. If you have a willingness to listen and learn, you grow out of that. If you allow your frustrations to continue to jump out, it creates more problems for everybody."

Wyoming Head Coach Larry Shyatt

"I can tell you this, the sound in this gym that I remember from 15 years ago -- and it can be intimidating -- it was back tonight. Kudos to our fans, especially our student body -- thank heaven they're back in school. They (our fans) would not allow San Diego State to make a run. Every time they came close, we answered. I would have to say in my 40 years of coaching it has to be one of the best defensive performances I've ever been involved with. I love this bunch of guys, and I'm just happy to be a small part of this team.

"If there was one specific area that we spoke about, practiced and focused on in the little time we had to prepare for tonight's game it was defensive rebounding. We knew we were going to be giving away three to six inches at three positions tonight. Defensive rebounding was a must. They're (SDSU) too good of a team, and you know they are going to collect offensive rebounds and putbacks, but for a large portion of this game we did a good job. There was a little lapse in the second half, and they got about three putbacks, but overall I couldn't be happier about the way we took care of the defensive glass.

"We took four guys off of the offensive glass just to see if we could do a better job of eliminating their transition. They're so talented in the open court, and then we knew there were some matchups we would have to change throughout the game. Josh (Adams) did a great job early in the game on Jamaal Franklin, but you don't sustain that on Franklin. We had to find another guy to switch off on him.

"I can't say enough about how much I appreciate the effort this team gives, the way they share the ball and the defense they play.

"We talked at halftime that we had to find a way to get the ball to the block to Leonard (Washington) or Larry (Nance). We knew we couldn't get it a lot to the block, because they're (SDSU) so good inside, but we needed to get it in there some. Normally, I like us to take 40 to 45 percent of our shots from three-point range, but in this particular game I was afraid three-point shots might lead to long rebounds and allow them to get out in the open court. Thank heavens we made two (threes) in the second half, including a big one by (Larry) Nance.

"We did talk about how important it was to defend the arc. We knew that would lead to some strong drives to the basket by them, but those are twos, and we could live with twos."

When asked if he and his team would enjoy this one for a while, Shyatt said "I told the guys we would meet for awhile tomorrow, and then on Monday we will probably take part in some of the Martin Luther King Day events, because that is important to me, and I want our young men to know what that day represents."