SDSU's Fisher: "BYU is Final Four good ... And so are we."

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

San Diego State officials did it right after today's monumental MWC clash between BYU and San Diego State, presenting an NCAA Tournament-style press conference so both teams' players and head coach could talk about the contest without being jostled about by television cameras, reporters, etc. Then the school passed out transcripts of all the comments, just like is done in the MWC and NCAA Tournaments. Here are some of the more interesting comments from SDSU coach Steve Fisher and players D.J. Gay and Billy White: Fisher on the atmosphere: "The kind of atmosphere, excitement, electricity that you dream about having." Fisher on the performances: "We played hard. BYU played hard. BYU played better. They are a really, really good basketball team, and they showed that again today. This is not the first time they have showed it, but they are good. So are we. But today, they were a little better." Fisher on whether he's seen BYU play on tape better than it plays against the Aztecs: "Well, that would probably be unfair to everybody they have played. I told our team: BYU is Final Four good. And I don't know that our guys liked to hear that. And then I said: We are, too. Today, they were the better team. No excuses. They made plays. They made shots." Fisher on whether BYU is beatable when the non-Jimmers are making shots: "They were good. And every time we kind of crept up to them, they would make a play, or two, to put the [point] spread back up again. ... Whether they shoot 14 for 24, or not, they are going to be a very, very difficult out for anyone in the NCAA Tournament. I don't care who it is. They are that good." D.J. Gay on team's attitude: "We are very disappointed in the outcome of the game. But like coach said, it was a hardfought game. They played better. We just have to go back and learn from it and hopefully get another shot [at BYU]." Gay on whether the Aztecs just don't match up well against BYU: "No, I wouldn't say that. They just had players step up today and knock down open shots. They made 14 three-pointers. We did a good job on Fredette, but they just had guys step up and knock down shots." Billy White on BYU's shotmaking and whether it surprised him: "A little bit. If you leave people wide open, they are going to make it. We were double-teaming Jimmer, and he found the open man."