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Story and photos by Liz Alper
Full quotes courtesy Jen Heisel
November 1, 2016 (San Diego) - With San Diego State men's basketball's first game on Thursday against UC San Diego, basketball head coach Steve Fisher joined football head coach Rocky Long, redshirt sophomore quarterback Christian Chapman and defensive end Dakota Turner for their weekly press conference.
"We are excited about our team," Fisher began. "and on the other side of my mouth, I’m a little bit concerned because we’ve had a lot of guys in the ice tub...I don’t think there’s anything to be overly concerned about...we’ve looked pretty good. We’ve got a lot of depth...I think we’ll be driven by our veteran players...We’re going to have a good team and I’m anxious to see how we play in front of a crowd..."
The Aztecs' men's basketball team lost Winston Shepard, Skylar Spencer and Angelo Chol to graduation over the summer, "three important players, all of them with size," Fisher said. The Aztecs have a lot of transfers this season: Valentine Izundu from Washington State, Max Hoetzel from Indiana and Montaque Gill-Caesar from Missouri. They only have one true freshman, Jalen McDaniels. Malik Pope, Zylan Cheatum, Jeremy Hemsley, Trey Kell and Dakarai Allen are the returners.
Fisher said that since Thursday's game is an exhibition game, the team won't do much preparation. "If you're healthy and you're on scholarship, you're playing on Thursday."
Fisher is happy with what he's seen in guards Hemsley and Kell."I’ve told people, I think we’ve got one of the best guard combinations anywhere in Jeremy Hemsley and Trey Kell. I’ve never had a player make more improvement in terms of on court performance than what Trey did. Now, how much better will they be together. That’s the question. I’m hoping they’ll make progress together. Jeremy has been shooting the ball better. He changed his shot a little bit and is shooting the ball better. He changed his shot a little bit and is shooting the ball better."
As for Aztec football, they're back on Saturday this week with a Homecoming game against Hawaii. Long said it's good to be playing on Saturdays again. He said that the Hawaii team they're facing on Saturday is a lot different from the ones they've faced in the past. "They’re a team that’s coming in here with a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of confidence compared to the Hawaii teams we’ve played in the past. We’re respectful of what they are and how they’re playing and hopefully we can play well enough to win the game.”
Long talked a lot about tackle Daniel Brunskill, a former tight end who moved to tackle because of an injury. "He’s done really well. Early on, it was a struggle for him to move down in there. It’s different in there than it is at tight end. But obviously, he’s into it now and is playing really well.”
But the player Long had the highest amount of praise for was kicker John Baron. “He was one of the best performers on that field Friday night. You can pick anybody out. DJ had over 200 yards rushing. What John Baron did was just as amazing. Not only did he make four field goals without a miss, a couple of them were fairly long and the weather conditions were ridiculous. For someone to perform at that level at what he does in that kind of condition is really something special. I think he maintains our momentum."
Turner, a Hawaii native, was asked about what football is like on the island, why he didn't go to Hawaii and if he has a chip on his shoulder going into Saturday's game. "They didn’t offer me a scholarship. I was in contact with their staff from the start. They were a team that I looked up to from childhood. They were the only team on the island that was big but I never had the offer from them. I’m glad that I’m here, I’m happy to be here and I’m glad I made the decision to come here. Even if I had the offer from Hawaii, I would’ve picked San Diego State, no matter what.
“I think mainly because there are no pro teams out there, all you have are high school and college football. When you’re in high school and you’re a big name out there, you get followed like you’re a college player and the college players get treated like pro players. There’s a big following for all of the athletes that come out of Hawaii.
“Any time I go back home, I’ll get recognized by people from the island. It’s kind of nice having that following of people who are just so proud of people that come from the island and represent the island and I think that’s what really special about Hawaii people. Everyone is really close and cares about everyone from Hawaii.
"I’m approaching this as just another game. It is special; there are some old teammates on the other sideline and people I know from back home and I’ll talk to them after the game and take pictures but right now, I’m approaching this as any other game.”
Turner was lastly asked why the defense is doing so well. “I think it’s a mix of everything, as well as guys being relentless and hustling to the ball. Everyone does their assignment to their full potential and everyone is swarming to the ball and trying to make a play. That’s how plays are made; everyone is just giving their all. We trust everyone on the field. We all know everyone is going to give their all and that’s why we’re having so much success.”
Chapman, meanwhile, had a lot to say about senior running back Donnel Pumphrey. “He’s a beast. I’m just glad he’s on my team. He does a lot for us. When I only have to throw for 14 yards and they can rush for 400 yards out there, it makes my job pretty easy. You’ve got to give credit to the line, too. They’re playing amazing right now. They’re opening up some big holes right now and Pumphrey makes some big plays, makes a guy miss and takes it to the house. How he can make a guy miss in the hole, it’s one-on-one, he can make that guy miss and break it for another five yards. And, he’s tough. He can go head-to-head with some of these DBs and he doesn’t care how much he weighs. He’ll put it on you.
“I watched DJ play before I came here. I knew what a good player he was. Coming here and actually seeing what he can do with the ball and watch him go 80 yards for a touchdown, it’s like, wow, he’s something special out there. He’s a great weapon we have and he’s a great contributor for the team.
“We watched film in individual groups and we saw plays he did and seeing what he did, it’s like, ‘wow, he’s a competitor.’ He’ll take a big hit prior to the next play, get up and bust 50 yards on you. It’s just amazing to watch on film the next day, stuff you don’t even see in the game and will see the next day on film. Every week, you’re impressed. He gives 100 percent every game. He doesn’t hold anything back and I don’t think he ever will when he’s on the field. If you play safely and back up a bit you can get hurt but Pumphrey’s not like that. He’s a baller and will give you 100 percent every time and will put it to you.”
He also, like his coach, had some praise for Baron. “I’m really good friends with John and he’s just a clutch kicker. He doesn’t care if it’s rainy or windy, he’ll just go out there and kick. We’ve seen in practice, he’s made some long field goals and he just continues to be a good kicker. He’s kicking well in practice. I haven’t seen him miss in practice in a long time. It shows in the game. He’s consistently shown that he can kick at a high level under certain conditions we have at the time we need him. He’s just confident. He doesn’t go up there thinking it may be a tough kick. He just goes out there and does it. He’s got ice in his veins. He’s doing great and I’m just happy for him.”
SDSU takes on Hawaii at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday at Qualcomm Stadium in the Homecoming game.