www.goaztecs.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/100215aab.htmlHead Coach Steve Fisher
Opening Statement:
“We are at our first official practice and for those that don’t know, the official practice changes every year. It used to be hard and fast October 15th, now it’s 40 days before our first game so that’s 40 days before we go against Illinois State, my alma mater. We’ve been practicing like everyone else, a limited amount on court. But our kids know what to expect. We’ve got some newcomers that have blended in nicely and we are immensely excited about our team, the growth we’ve made and the potential we have. Looking forward to a very exciting season.”
On how much of a milestone it is practicing for the first official practice in the Jeff Jacobs JAM Center:
“This practice facility, the Jeff Jacobs JAM Center, has been a dream of all of ours for a long time; that’s well-documented. On August 23rd when we came in for the first time and our players saw it, that was such a pleasing sight for me to see that, first, they were in awe, then they were so very proud of what we’ve got and now we’re utilizing it. We are taking great advantage of having the facility. It will pay dividends in so many different ways not only this year, but the years to come.”
On the NCAA allegations:
”What happened three weeks ago, you knew and I knew. You heard when I heard and you heard what I heard. I really am not aware of what they’re talking about. I am well aware of the rules, I’m compliant with the rules, I feel good about our staff and players. What I did is talk with (athletics director) Jim Sterk and (San Diego State University) President (Elliot) Hirshman and we initiated the call to the NCAA. It’s a little atypical that we were the ones asking them questions as opposed to the opposite. Without going in to great detail, as we speak, it’s not an investigation. They’re looking into some allegations that they saw they have 15 to 20 a week on and unfortunately, they said, this one got to the light of day when it shouldn’t have. So, control what you can control and that’s what I do, what we do, what we’re doing now. We’ve got great players and we’ve talked with them about it and I feel as if we’ve done a great job of adhering to all of the rules that we have with the NCAA.”
On how recruiting has changed in his time as a coach:
”Recruiting is recruiting. I’ve been doing this since 1979 and we preach to talk about ourselves and not talk about the other team and that’s what we’ve done. Recruiting continues to be recruiting. You have to roll up your sleeves and go to work.”
On the importance of the JAM Center:
”What you have here is unlimited access and you have it to where you’re not having the entire student body come in and play a game with you, so you can skill build. You can work on your skill building and if you look around at the baskets we’ve got, it’s a much better teaching space than Viejas Arena with the two full courts, the three point line on multiple spots. It’s something that will give us great opportunities to advance not only our own skill but this will be a really big recruiting tool for us when we bring young prospects in.”
On how the Jeff Jacobs JAM Center has impacted his team’s recruiting:
”Everybody that comes in has loved it so yes, we have. We can’t comment on recruiting until we get kids signed but yes, this has helped us already.”
On Malik Pope:
”Malik Pope is what you would hope everyone would be when they go from year one to year two. Take a look at him. He’s bigger physically, he’s more confident mentally and he’s a better player. We now need to take what he is and help him grow into the player we’ve all seen little highlights of in different spots. But he’s made vast improvements.”
On the differences he sees between last year and this year’s team:
”We lost three fifth year seniors. We weren’t sure at this time a year ago, I couldn’t tell you and didn’t say JJ O’Brien is going to be the guy that’s going to have the ball in his hands when we needed something good to happen. Now, I would say who will that person be this year? Will it be a person or will it be a committee? I like the group we’ve got. We’ve got some really good additions. We do only have nine scholarship players who are eligible to play. We have three who are sitting out as transfers, Nolan (Narain), who came in and wants to redshirt, and Matt Shrigley, who’s hurt. We won’t have as many bodies which can be good or bad. Our practices will be great because we’ve got guys that all think they’re going to start a year from now that won’t be able to play because they’re redshirting."
On the point guard position:
”Everybody’s talking about, what will Jeremy Hemsley do? And I’m anxious to see that also. I like what I’ve seen. I think we’ll have adequate backup if he proves to be the guy or others who can do it. Trey Kell played in that spot last year. He’s also bigger, stronger, better. D’Erryl Williams has gotten better, so we’ll have somebody or some bodies who can take that spot so I think we’ll be good there.”
On Winston Shepard:
”Winston and Skylar (Spencer), I appointed them in the spring our two co-captains. They’re our two seniors and Winston has made progress every year. I love what I’ve seen so far from the neck up. If he continues to have the growth he’s had, he’ll have a really good year for us, and you expect your seniors to be leaders so yes, I think Winston will provide leadership in a whole host of ways as a senior starter.”
On his team’s size:
”We’ve always had long athletic guys that can play multiple spots. That’s what we try to recruit to and that makes you more versatile on both sides of the ball, so that’s what we’d hope to continue to do in terms of who we have, what we teach and what we recruit to.”
Senior forward Skylar Spencer
On his expectations of the season:
“This year is going to be big. You become a senior, you automatically become a leader, whether you like it or not. I think I’ll have to step into that role. I’m really excited for this team. We have big expectations.”
On the difference he sees between last year and this year’s team:
“I feel like this team is more athletic, more exciting and we go more after the grind. Maybe this is just me, because I’m a senior talking, but I just have a really good feeling about this team. This is a bunch of young guys who are hungry. We don’t have any transfers, we’ve got a bunch of young guys who are just really hungry going after it.”
On which player he thinks will surprise people:
“Zylan (Cheatham). Everyone is going to be excited for Zylan. Everyone has seen him dunking but he’s more than that. He’s a real animal, a real energy booster. He’s going to really help us out.”
On how fast the team will begin to mesh well as a team:
“It takes a little time. Everybody has to mesh, learn the game a little bit, but everybody’s learning real quick and it’s going to be a really good preseason.”
On the team’s expectation for the postseason:
“You have to take it one day at a time. You can’t think about something that far down the road. We haven’t even played the first game yet. So we’re ready for our first practice and we’re going to be ready for the first game.”
Senior forward Winston Shepard
On the difference he sees between last year and this year’s team:
“Night and day. I feel like we’ll be better than last year’s team, better, more athletic. I just feel like we’ll be night and day different. We have a true point guard now, we have more guys that get out and run on the wings and in the break. This whole team is going to be night and day from the number one guy to the ninth guy. It’ll be fun.”
On redshirt freshman Jeremy Hemsley:
“He’s real. If we had him last year, we probably would’ve been a little bit better. That’s my opinion. He’s a true point guard. He sets guys up, he pushes, he plays tremendous defense. He’s great. He’s going to be an all-time Aztec.”
On the Jeff Jacobs JAM Center:
“Before the facility was built, you had no excuse not to work on your game but now you really have no excuse. It’s open 24 hours a day so it’s great.”
On his personal expectations for the season:
“I’m looking forward to being a triple-double threat. I think that’s the biggest thing I’m looking forward to. That’s how I want to write my name in the San Diego State history books. I’ve got a lot of good pieces around me so I’m looking forward to being a triple-double threat.
On what we worked on during the offseason playing abroad:
“Pace of the game, playing with speed, and figuring our when to go and when not to go. Sometimes, I might force a shot here or there or I might pass up a shot. Figuring out the pace of the game and the speed I need to play at. Overseas, we played with 24-second shot clocks so I really had to figure out the pace of the game so it was great for me.”
