San Diego State Weekly Press Conference Quotes Jan. 20, 2021

San Diego State Head Coach Brian Dutcher

Opening Statement: “I want to start by saying I think the Air Force Academy is a great place to go to play a game. The city of Colorado Springs is magnificent, but I’ve never enjoyed going to Air Force one time to play the Princeton offense that we have to go against and as a treat I get to do it twice. So, we are going to Air Force. It's going to be like going to the dentist, but we know we have to do it. So, we'll be ready to go.”

On if playing at altitude at Air Force or the Princeton offense was more difficult: “It's a combination of both and we’ve got to go back and play Joe Scott, who we played many years ago when Steve Fisher was the head coach. He's done a great job there. He’s hung a conference banner up there, a Mountain West conference title. You go there, you're playing against the Princeton offense, a matchup zone that we only play once a year, and then you're doing it at close to 7,000 feet. So, the combination of all those things makes it a difficult trip and as a reward for what we did last year, we get to do it twice.”

On how the team handled the altitude at Utah State: “I thought, by and large, our kids handled the (altitude) fairly well. I think the only one that it took a toll on was Nathan (Mensah). Sometimes when you watch it on tape, and I went back and watched the game tape, it's not as noticeable as what you're seeing in person. I thought everybody else handed it handled it pretty well. I think Nathan was the one probably more fatigue than anyone.”

On if, after playing a couple of back-to-back series games, he likes this format: “I think it's easier for the coaches prep wise. Instead of playing a game and then two days later, having a different opponent to have to install another whole new game plan for, in this format it's easy to make a few adjustments you think will be more effective and play the next game. So, from a prep standpoint it's easier for the players and the coaches. (However,) I don't like the aspect of being on the road that long. At Utah State, it seemed like we were there a week. Now with a nine o'clock (p.m. MT) tip (on Friday) and an eight o'clock (p.m. MT) tip on Sunday night, it's going to be a long, long time in the hotel waiting between games. I don't like that part of it.”

On Matt Mitchell: “He was in a brace yesterday that we had him fitted for. He just did a little stand-still shooting, no movement at all and it's all pain tolerance. It's a bone bruise so his knee is sore. We were told at the time it was two weeks, so we don't know what that will be, is it 10 days, is it is it 17 days? It is all based on how he responds to rehab and what his pain (tolerance) is. We hope moving forward we'll get a better indication of how long it will be, but right now Matt is pretty stationary and not doing anything.”

On what Lamont Butler has done to get quality minutes, especially late at Utah State on Saturday: That’s all earned. He’s been showing us that in practice that he's getting better every day. And then we let him do some of that in the game, where we played him off a ball screen and he got to the rim with great strength and quickness. So now he as to grow from there. He has to say, ‘Now I’m on the scouting board. Now people are going to try to take this away from me. What am I going to do?’ You know, obviously I think it was a surprise to Utah State the effectiveness he had. So now he'll be on Air Force’s scouting board. They'll find ways to try to take away what he does best. And that's just being a good basketball player, to try to adjust to how defenses are playing you.”

San Diego State Senior Guard Terrell Gomez

On Coach Dutcher telling him to hunt for his shot and if in coming to San Diego State he has not looked for his shot as much as when he played at CSUN: “This is a really good team, and I don't want to throw the team out of rhythm by taking certain shots. But I understand what he's saying. I’ve got to be really, really aggressive in order to really help this team. (In) my last few games, I should have taken more shots. But I understand what he's saying, and I’ve got to just follow through, even if defenses are playing me tight or even if I feel like we can get a better shot. He just explained that one of the best shots we have is with me taking a shot, no matter what the possession is, or how much time is on the clock. He trusts me offensively, so I’ve got to just do that.”

On if the team’s approach to the next 10 games is that they are “must wins”: “Everybody is talking about the next 10 (games), but I'm looking at the next 12. I know what it is like now to put on the San Diego State uniform. I felt it in Utah (State). Teams really want to beat us, so I’m looking at the next 12 games we’ve got to win. I think it's very possible, but it's going to be a grind.”

On if the team is playing more up tempo in the last two weeks: “Yes, we've been playing a lot more up tempo. Now we’ve just got to be able to find the right court balance when we do play up tempo and fast. We have had a few times when we are playing fast and the floor is unbalanced. So, we’ve got to just be able to play fast and in control. I think lately, which is not us, we kind of turned it over a few times, (in situations where) we usually do not. We’ve got to just continue to play fast, how we are, but just balance the floor.”

On how the altitude at Utah State affected him: “In the first half of the first game, I was really, really tired, but second half (of that) game and from then on, I was fine. I got my second wind. But (after that) first half, I came in a locker room and told some of my teammate that I felt like I (had) lost like five pounds. After that, in the second half, I was fine. I just didn't convert any buckets for my team, which I have to do. I’m looking forward to these games at Air Force. I'm really going to try to condition myself to really get myself in shape (to play at altitude).

San Diego State Senior Forward Jordan Schakel

On what improvements the team needs to make in the next 12 games: “Just continue to grow our mindset and continue to be aggressive. Our defense has been there all year, and we can obviously (make) it better. But offensively, our mindset, execution wise, being in attack mode at all times, being aggressive in everything we do and continue to define who we are on offense. That’s what we need to work on.”

On how he has recovered from the elevation of Utah State and how it will handle its next two games at Air Force: “I’m fine now. It is obviously a factor but there is nothing we can do about it. We just need to continue to eat right, (drink) beet juice and just have a mindset of being aggressive and not allowing it to affect you any more than it does physically, but you can’t allow it to affect you mentally. We know what it is like to play in Colorado Springs and it is more of a mindset than anything else.”

On how he feels about the Mountain West’s two-game series format this season: “I will probably have a better idea after the season, but it has been nice to play the same team back-to-back. (However,) the downside is being away from home for a longer period of time. But it is just basketball at the end of the day, and we have to find a way to win two tough games on the road.”

On the team’s mindset after Matt Mitchell was injured: “You never want to see any injuries on either team. When Matt went down it was tough. But I’m really glad it wasn’t anything serious, because it looked like it could have been. I’m just relieved he will be back, not only for him, but for the team. (His injury) allowed other players to be more aggressive in the second game (at Utah State) and allowed us to find out how to play without our leading scorer. When he comes back, we need to keep that aggressiveness and adding him back will be a big part of our success moving forward.”

-SDSU-