Steve Fisher - Next Season - What is good enough?

[Morpheus]

Everyone agrees that we have a talented squad coming back. We had a good year last year but didn't get that Tourney W to get us over the hump.

What is good enough next year? Obviously Fisher could not even make the tourney next year and still keep his job but in my eyes anything less than a tourney W is a failure. Considering the length of his tenure, the talent on the team, number of returning players, incoming talent (allegedly) and Rahon being eligible we need that tourney W.

Furthermore, the comparisons to the past failures, lack of program success and everything used as an excuse needs to be forgotton by everyone. Fisher has had ample time to develop his program and overall he has done a good job. But no more time to build. Now is the time to deliver.

I expect progress as in a tourney run and everyone else should too.

[steveaztec]

Ohhh myyyyy.....This is a great question and very fair.

For starters I expect...

-We should finish no lower than 2nd in the MWC and probably should win it.

-I will be very surprised if we don't win 25 games or more.

-We should make the NCAA tourney with our highest seed ever.

-We should win our first NCAA game and a 50/50 chance of winning our second NCAA game.

Expectations are at an all time high and that is a good thing.

With our depth, even if we have an abnormal amount of injuries, I will disappointed this season if we don't win...

-At least 25 games, be in the MWC race for the championship going into the last 2 games, and win our first game in the NCAA tourney.

[goaztecs]

With this board a Final Four apperance.

[goaztecs]

Jul 1, 2010 10:16:09 GMT -8 goaztecs said:

With this board a Final Four apperance.

For me a sweet sixteen apperance and either regular season MWC or MWC Torney champs and a top 40 ranking to end the season.

[disgruntledaztec]

Agree with Steve and Morphius that a tourney win is a must while the Sweet 16 is a reasonable expectation. I also expect to see an appearance in the top 25, a perfect home record and a MWC regular season championship.

This is the year we've been waiting for! Go Aztecs!

[Deleted]

Jul 1, 2010 10:01:18 GMT -8 Morpheus said:

Obviously Fisher could not even make the tourney next year and still keep his job but in my eyes anything less than a tourney W is a failure.

Agreed. And to get it, we can't repeat the following mistakes we made each of the last two years:

1. Losing at Laramie. (Our vast talent superiority should overcome their altitude advantage nine times out of ten.)
2. Losing at Viejas Arena to YBU. (Gotta beat on Fredette. Hard.)
3. Failing to pick up even one quality OOC road win. (UNLV gets at least one every year. Why not us?)

I'm convinced if we don't repeat those mistakes that we will be so highly ranked that even if we don't win the conference tournament again, we will be a lock for an NCAA bid. Not only that but the committee won't send us from San Diego to the farthest northeast tournament site.

[Deleted]

Jul 1, 2010 10:16:09 GMT -8 goaztecs said:

With this board a Final Four apperance.

True that. It's why I felt compelled to leave Aztectalk for more than a month last spring and will probably feel the same compulsion next spring.

[aztecfankrishnan]

MWC Season and/or Tourney Champs and sweet 16. Anything else would be a disappointment. The talent and experience is there. No excuses this year.

[sdsuphilip]

Top 2 finish in MWC
Going into conference tourney knowing we are a lock
winning a game in the big dance

[sdsuphilip]

Jul 1, 2010 10:27:19 GMT -8 @sleepinggiantsfan said:

Jul 1, 2010 10:16:09 GMT -8 goaztecs said:

With this board a Final Four apperance.

True that. It's why I felt compelled to leave Aztectalk for more than a month last spring and will probably feel the same compulsion next spring.

there will be excuses you can bet on that

[RB Aztec]

1. Runner up or winner of both the MWC regular season AND the MWC tournament.
2. At least 1 win in the Big Dance.
3. 25+ wins.

All are very achievable. I tend to be more of a "I'll believe it when I see it" with regard to Aztec sports. This is the first year that I honestly feel that all 3 items above will happen if we don't have injuries or big suspensions.

[HollywoodAztec]

Jul 1, 2010 11:09:08 GMT -8 RB Aztec said:

1. Runner up or winner of both the MWC regular season AND the MWC tournament.
2. At least 1 win in the Big Dance.
3. 25+ wins.

4. End the regular season with a ranking in top 25.

[AztecBill]

Jul 1, 2010 10:24:55 GMT -8 @sleepinggiantsfan said:

Jul 1, 2010 10:01:18 GMT -8 Morpheus said:

Obviously Fisher could not even make the tourney next year and still keep his job but in my eyes anything less than a tourney W is a failure.

Agreed. And to get it, we can't repeat the following mistakes we made each of the last two years:

1. Losing at Laramie. (Our vast talent superiority should overcome their altitude advantage nine times out of ten.)
2. Losing at Viejas Arena to YBU. (Gotta beat on Fredette. Hard.)
3. Failing to pick up even one quality OOC road win. (UNLV gets at least one every year. Why not us?)

I'm convinced if we don't repeat those mistakes that we will be so highly ranked that even if we don't win the conference tournament again, we will be a lock for an NCAA bid. Not only that but the committee won't send us from San Diego to the farthest northeast tournament site.

UNLV's best road OOC win last year was #96.
SDSU's best road OOC win last year was #94.

[scorpio]

This is such a great time to be a Aztec fan. Just talking of disappointment if we don't make the sweet 16 is so new and exciting. It wasn't that long ago we were happy if we didn't finish last in the conference.

GO AZTECS

[miners22]

Agree but, I expect San Diego State Aztecs to WIN MWC League, MWC Tournament, get a Top 25 Ranking and make a deep run in the NCAA's to Elite Eight with chance for Final Four appearance!

Anything less is failure! Screw winning one NCAA Tournament game. San Diego State should be able to win more than one NCAA Tournament game with the return of five starters who won MWC Tournament last year and lost by three (3) points to Tenn. This is the Aztecs year because team will lose at three (3) and possibly four (4) starters.

Fisher will be on the hot-seat to get the job done! No more excuses. I believe next season we will find out if Fisher can COACH! One of the most overlooked aspects of Coaching is putting the "right players" on the Court at the "right time!" For example, if you need three (3) points to tie or win the game, as a Coach, wouldn't you want to have your best three (3) point shooters on the Court?

Expectations for the SDSU Aztecs are extremely high. Therefore, the Coaching Staff and Players should welcome the challenge and get the job done!

[steveaztec]

Jul 1, 2010 11:36:25 GMT -8 miners22 said:

Agree but, I expect San Diego State Aztecs to WIN MWC League, MWC Tournament, get a Top 25 Ranking and make a deep run in the NCAA's to Elite Eight with chance for Final Four appearance!

Anything less is failure! Screw winning one NCAA Tournament game. San Diego State should be able to win more than one NCAA Tournament game with the return of five starters who won MWC Tournament last year and lost by three (3) points to Tenn. This is the Aztecs year because team will lose at three (3) and possibly four (4) starters.

Fisher will be on the hot-seat to get the job done! No more excuses. I believe next season we will find out if Fisher can COACH! One of the most overlooked aspects of Coaching is putting the "right players" on the Court at the "right time!" For example, if you need three (3) points to tie or win the game, as a Coach, wouldn't you want to have your best three (3) point shooters on the Court?

Expectations for the SDSU Aztecs are extremely high. Therefore, the Coaching Staff and Players should welcome the challenge and get the job done!

We all hope you are right Miner.

[longtimebooster]

Here are the milestones I expect this team to achieve:

• Top 25 ranking (I don't think an SDSU hoops team has ever been ranked.)
  
• 25+ wins
  
• Major OOC win
  
• MGC Champs (either regular season or conference tourney will do. both would be a bonus.)
  
• Average attendance at Viejas of over 10k per game
  
• Single-digit Tourney seed (that's never happened at SDSU)
  
• Solid Tourney run to at least Sweet 16 and perhaps Elite 8
  

Is that expecting a lot? Yes. But Fish has the guns and the ammo to do it.

The following are my minimum hurdles. Anything less, and I'd be disappointed. Again.

• Top 25 ranking (That's pretty much a shoe-in, given that SDSU has already been ranked in a couple of prominent pre-season blogs/websites/pubs. If they can come out of the gate at 5-0 or 7-1 or 12-2, they'll be ranked. Of course, they have to avoid getting caught flat-footed by a team like St. Mary's or having an awful game on the road like at ASU last year.)
  
• 23+ wins
  
• 1st or 2nd place finish in MGC
  
• Average attendance at Viejas of over 8k per game
  
• A 10 or 11 Seed in the Tourney
  
• At least one Tourney win
  

[aztecmusician]

Jul 1, 2010 12:06:58 GMT -8 longtimebooster said:

Here are the milestones I expect this team to achieve:

• Top 25 ranking (I don't think an SDSU hoops team has ever been ranked.)
  
• 25+ wins
  
• Major OOC win
  
• MGC Champs (either regular season or conference tourney will do. both would be a bonus.)
  
• Average attendance at Viejas of over 10k per game
  
• Single-digit Tourney seed (that's never happened at SDSU)
  
• Solid Tourney run to at least Sweet 16 and perhaps Elite 8
  

Is that expecting a lot? Yes. But Fish has the guns and the ammo to do it.

The following are my minimum hurdles. Anything less, and I'd be disappointed. Again.

• Top 25 ranking (That's pretty much a shoe-in, given that SDSU has already been ranked in a couple of prominent pre-season blogs/websites/pubs. If they can come out of the gate at 5-0 or 7-1 or 12-2, they'll be ranked. Of course, they have to avoid getting caught flat-footed by a team like St. Mary's or having an awful game on the road like at ASU last year.)
  
• 23+ wins
  
• 1st or 2nd place finish in MGC
  
• Average attendance at Viejas of over 8k per game
  
• A 10 or 11 Seed in the Tourney
  
• At least one Tourney win
  

I can agree with all of these goals.

If this team can avoid something stupid like an arrest, the Aztecs should be pretty good.

[Deleted]

Another reason why this year's team should be expected to do so well is the element of leadership... I think we have a perfect blend incoming and existing talent on this year's squad. DJ, Billy, Shelton, Malcolm, and Carlwell all have the experience and all are great leaders. This is the most LEADERSHIP we have had on a team since the 2005-06 team with Heath, Slauthter, Abukar, Sharper and Trimaine... only more talent and as much or more leadership on this team. Guys who lead by example, keep others going and play hard and play tough no matter what. We have that this year.

Throw in our Super Sophs - Kawhi and Tapley, along with the incoming talent of the Franklins's and Rahon, it is only fair for us to expect nothing short of an NCAA tourney win this season. I hope for/expect more, but not getting that illusive tourney W will be a joke.

[uwaztec]

Just one NCAA win does it for me.....