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By Liz Alper
Photos and video courtesy goaztecs.com
Full quotes courtesy Jen Heisel and James Solien
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January 23, 2017 (San Diego) - With both the men's and women's Aztecs basketball teams taking on Air Force this week, men's head coach Steve Fisher, women's head coach Stacie Terry, senior forward Matt Shrigley and junior guard Trey Kell answered questions from the media today.
"We’ve won three in a row. Prior to that, we lost three in row," Fisher opened with. "Air Force is good and they’re better at home. So we’re excited about the opportunity. But we’re playing better defensively and even though at times it doesn’t show it or feel it, it does to me if you look at the body of work, we’re playing better with our offense. So we have to stay with it and not get frustrated when we go [through] stretches when we don’t look good...and find a way to win."
In last week's game against UNLV, sophomore guard Zylan Cheatham had a "foot issue" and has not practiced since then. Senior guard D'Erryl Williams sprained his ankle and also has not practiced since then. However, Fisher says, both of them practiced today and both of them will play tomorrow.
Of course, Fisher was asked if there was urgency after starting conference play 0-3. "You put your head down and go to work every day. I don’t think anybody within our program when we started 0-3 said we’re doomed. It’s hard to come back from being 0-3, but it happens. We’re 3-3. Now we need to go 4-3."
On the coming opponent: “Air Force is a team that takes advantage of your imperfections defensively. They are very good at knowing when they’ve got just a little bit of an angle on you. They back cut, throw the bounce pass and you can’t get it...this is a basketball team that’s well-coached. Four of the five starters that we saw here last year are playing for them and starting for them...hey’re veterans, they’ve got everyone back. They’ve got guys that have been together and they’re all better like you should be. So this is a good team we’re playing. Don’t let their 2-5 record in the league deceive you. They’re a good basketball team.”
Shrigley added: “They’re very disciplined. They score the ball well, so we have to be on our P’s and Q’s, apply what we did in practice and we’ll be fine.”
Kell had some more information. “The first thing that just jumps out is just the style of play. It’s not like most teams, where everyone else runs pick-and-rolls, post-ups, stuff like that. They’re more flare screens, back cuts, slips – so they’re a more disciplined team in that aspect. Their arena is a weird setup with the altitude. They are all just things that you have to make sure you stay tuned in to the whole time. You can’t let physical fatigue to allow you to slip mentally, so if you just stay strong mentally you’ll be okay.”
Fisher commented on junior forward Malik Pope's progress since returning to the lineup. “I said to Malik before he played against Utah State, ‘Welcome back and we need you. And we need you in here for the long haul, we need you in for the duration. Our goal is to not have you play two games and miss another three games.’ He’s got a smile on his face in the locker room. He seems happy to be where he is, which is critical for all of us. So Malik is in a pretty good place right now. He’s just got to get better as we all do. But he’s missed a lot of practice and a lot of games. That’s been well-documented. But it’s great to have him back.”
Shrigley also commented on what the team needs to do to string more wins together. “Focus. We have to play 40 minutes. If we can’t put a full 40 minutes together, you give the other team a chance to win no matter what. Just staying focused for a full 40 minutes.”
Kell commented on his growing confidence. “It’s been coming along with the season. I wasn’t performing the way I wanted to at the beginning of the year, but now I’m starting to feel like I’m coming to where I should be. I just want there to be the option where if we need something good to happen, my teammates believe in me, and I believe they do.”
He also talked about what adjustments SDSU made to keep the lead, especially in the second half. “To be honest, I just think we’re finishing better, just finishing games better. When we have a lead, we have done a better job of not letting that lead slip away and giving the other team confidence. That was the first thing from New Mexico where we were up for the majority of the game and then they got confidence and eventually won the game. Now, if we are up we want to make sure to keep doing what we are doing and just keep growing that lead so that the [other] team doesn’t have a chance to come back.”
The men face Air Force in Colorado Springs tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m. You can watch the game on ESPN3 and listen on The Mighty 1090.
Terry was enthused about being home. “Excited to start off this week, especially being at home. If you follow women’s basketball here at San Diego State, you know that we are much better when we play on our home floor. I’m excited to get back and play on Wednesday. We’ve got to pick up and try to take this show on the road when we go to Colorado State on Saturday. The kids are playing really well right now, shooting the ball really well. We worked really hard in the summer to improve our 3-point shooting and it’s starting to pay off."
Asked why she thinks the team struggles more on the road than at home: “Maybe the comfortability of being at home, not having to travel. We have a great crowd that follows us. We’re not selling out like the men are, but they’re loud. It’s nice to play in front of people who really care about women’s basketball. I think being able to practice here, they’re comfortable here and unfortunately we don’t have that when we go on the road... we do a much better job at home sharing the ball. l. Being able to take that mindset on the road is what’s going to help us going forward, and understanding that not one person has to do it by themselves."
The lady Aztecs take on Air Force at home at Viejas on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
Watch the full men's portion of the conference:
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