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MOUNTAIN WEST MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPMarch 11, 2016Steve FisherTrey KellDakarai AllenSkylar SpencerLas Vegas, Nevada San Diego State - 67 Nevada - 55 THE MODERATOR: If we can start with you and get your thoughts on tonight's game. HEAD COACH STEVE FISHER: Pleased that we will be playing tomorrow. And we're playing tomorrow because we've got good players. I'll start with Skylar Spencer. The win today for Skylar makes him the winningest player in San Diego State history and I think maybe Mountain West history, in terms of games won over a career. And he's done it the right way, caring about the team. He did that tonight. All he cares about is winning. Effort has never been a problem for us. We play hard. We sometimes are challenged to get the ball in the basket. Tonight we had a team that guarded. We had a team in Cameron Oliver, who is a lot like Skylar, when you get to the rim you're really not getting an easy shot. So shots that looked like they were going to go in didn't go in. But we found a way to get a win. Thrilled that we're playing tomorrow, and we need to come out, no matter who we play, with the same type of energy and effort and we'll have the opportunity to cut down nets again. Q. You didn't looked very good when you were sitting on the bench there with a towel over your head. But did you flip a switch? What happened in the second half and tell us how you were feeling and what you have? TREY KELL: I just felt kind of sluggish, not feeling so well. Then a little bit before halftime came I went back to the locker room, met with the doctor and then came back and I felt a little bit better. So then I was able to play like myself. Q. Big game tomorrow for you guys. What does it mean knowing that you are the winningest player in school history? SKYLAR SPENCER: It's a great feeling. I came here to win games and that's what I've been doing. I've had the pleasure of playing on some great teams over the past four years, and we just have been down to business. So it's a real good feeling and it's an honor. Q. Knowing Trey was not feeling a hundred percent, what does it mean to you to see him go out and score all those points in the second half? DAKARAI ALLEN: We always knew Trey was tough. That's how our team is. Once I saw him taking the bandages off I knew it was over. It was nice to see him going out and scoring. Q. I know that you guys still haven't won the Mountain West championship. What would that mean for you getting it done in your senior year in? SKYLAR SPENCER: It would be big. I've done everything else, records and all that stuff. I still haven't done that yet. I still have this to cross off my list, so that's my motivation. Q. When did you start feeling bad? Is it just the flu or is it something else that's bothering you, too? TREY KELL: I'm not particularly sure. It started a little bit before we left. I kind of felt it, not feeling so well. And then just it was kind of just lingering. I'm slowly getting better. I'm not to where I want to be. It's not an excuse. We still have a job to do, and we're almost there. Q. Both games you did not have a good first half and the second half you just turned it on. Is there something in your mind you felt like, I can't let the team down or upset at how you played in the first half? What changed in the second half in these last two games? TREY KELL: I'm not particularly sure. I think part of it has to do we came out kind of sluggish in the second half. And it's part of that mentality that you don't want to lose. So I try to be a little bit more aggressive, get the team going and get on them a little bit. Q. How do you think you handled Cameron Oliver today defensively? SKYLAR SPENCER: He's a real good player. I tried to throw him off his game. I got called for a lot of fouls, so I couldn't be as aggressive as I wanted to be. But overall I think it wasn't just me, it was team help. So overall I think we did a pretty good job. And he's a real good player and he has a bright future. Q. Would you have played if this game wasn't as significant as it was? If it was a regular game, non-conference, would you have played? How sick are you, what level are you at right now? TREY KELL: I couldn't give you an exact level. It changes throughout the game. If it was a regular game I would for sure give it a shot. My athletic trainer, they'd probably not want me to play, but being the competitor I am I probably would play. I probably wouldn't play as many minutes if it was a regular game. But since it's conference, there's no excuse. Q. You talked about sometimes your team struggles to score but yet the effort is always there. One of those statistics tonight I think you had a 24-5 advantage off turnovers. Talk about that. HEAD COACH STEVE FISHER: We talked a little bit about our first game in Reno, when we played them there, where they had 17 offensive rebounds. We had 13 turnovers. They had 19 points off of our turnovers and we said that's who we are, not who our opponent should be. So we talked about it. You have to guard. The thought process that Justin Hutson and our staff talked to the team about was build a wall. Don't let them attack you off the bounce. Keep them in front of you. Limit them to one shot at the basket. And we did a pretty good job of that. We fouled the shooters too many times. But we created turnovers because we compacted when we were guarding off the ball and said we're going to make you shoot tough 2's, that was our goal. And it wasn't a one-man show, but our best guy was Dakarai. He played angles. He read shoulders. And he had four steals and none of them were just wild gambles in terms of what he did. But that was the thought process. Make it hard for them to get it to the rim. And when you get an opportunity, live ball turnovers for any of us are deadly. So they had 20 turnovers. So we should have gotten a few more points probably off of our turnovers off the break that we didn't finish and capitalize on, but that was significant for us, there's no question about it. Q. Regardless of what happens in the title game, have you done enough to get in the NCAA tournament in your mind? HEAD COACH STEVE FISHER: I really don't know. I will be like all our fans if we don't cut down nets tomorrow, very nervous on Sunday. I think we do have a body of work that is substantial. I'm sure we're not the Lone Ranger along that line. There are a lot of schools thinking the same thing. So we want the guaranteed route, and that's by winning your conference tournament. And that's what we're hopeful that we will do. It's been a long time since we started league play. I believe December 31st, we've had two losses since December 31st. And we played 18 plus 2, 20 games. So we're 18 and 2 last couple of days in December, January, February and March. And we've done it in all sorts of ways. We're one possession in each game away from being 20-0. Had the ball, with a chance to win both games that we lost. So we've been good. We've been good. But we don't want to leave it in someone else's hands. And I'm sure Fresno and Colorado State would feel the same way. So we'll have a good game tomorrow, whoever we play. We'll be excited to play and I know we'll play hard, and I know we'll play well. Q. Sometimes athletes don't always tell you how badly they're feeling. Could you give us an idea of how badly Trey was feeling. Looked pretty bad on the bench when he was out. And how impressive what he did in the second half these last two games? HEAD COACH STEVE FISHER: Sometimes -- we have a director's cabinet. And I meet with them once a month and I say, I don't want you to tell anybody what I'm going to tell you. So if I could say this to you, I don't want you to tell anybody what I'm going to tell you, Trey is sick. He had an IV yesterday and he had an IV today at halftime. He had an IV today and he had another one yesterday. He's not deathly ill. He can play. I saw his mom and she said he's fine, give him an inhaler, he needs an inhaler. But he's not a hundred percent perky. A lot of guys aren't right now. We would never, ever jeopardize his health. We've got a doctor with us on the trip. Tom Abdenour is the best trainer on the planet. And they've done a great job with him. I told him, I said, Let me know when you need to come out, I'm going to maybe take you out a few more times to let you catch your breath. He asked to go back in one time, he said, Please don't keep me out, because you think I can't come out physically. I'm all right. And he was huge for us in that stretch in the second half. Q. A word, if you could, please, about the progress that you've seen with the Wolf Pack since Coach Musselman took over. HEAD COACH STEVE FISHER: They compete. They compete like champions. And that's what he's used to with his teams. And that's what he's instilling in them now. I don't know what they won last year, but I think I read one of the biggest turnarounds and victories from last year to what they have now, and he's a big part of it. They've got players now. They've got players that can play. And they did not want to end. Coleman wanted to play, and he's on one leg tonight. Got three guys that will be eligible next year that looked like they were maybe one of the best players in each of their respective leagues when they left, from Brown, from Missouri Valley, and a third one. So I hope he doesn't get too good too fast, but he looks like he's going to. He's done a marvelous job. And I think those of us who know him are not surprised in terms of what he is doing and how he is doing it and with the swagger. He's got a swagger about him the right way. And the kids do, too. The right way. And so I've got great respect for his team, for him, for how they've played this year. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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