Steve Fisher has a prediction for his Aztecs' third game of the season this afternoon at Cox Arena.
“If this game winds up in the 50s, it means neither team would have been able to throw the ball into the ocean,” said Fisher in anticipation of what figures to be San Diego State's first up-tempo game of the season.
“They will run and take the early shot.”
“They” are the Fresno State Bulldogs, a team that is as young as it is fast, as unknown as it is athletic.
And not only do the Bulldogs present the Aztecs a different look, they represent a different challenge.
“They are very big on the wings,” said Aztecs guard D.J. Gay. “We have to deal with that and the tempo. But I'm looking forward to it, the chance to get out and run.”
In their first two games – a win against Division II UC San Diego and a loss to 15th-ranked Arizona State – the Aztecs played patterned teams. That won't be the case starting at 1:05 p.m. today.
And Fisher welcomes the change.
“This gives us an opportunity to see a lot of what we'll see in conference play: a big, athletic team that likes to run,” Fisher said.
“We're going to have more transition opportunities in this game. But we have to be careful not to go too fast. We have to play our game.”
In addition to speed, this game presents an interesting size mismatch at guard.
The tandem of the 5-foot-10 Richie Williams and Gay, who is optimistically listed at 6-0, could represent the Aztecs' shortest starting backcourt since Jimmy Wilkins and Jimmy Harris in 1971-72.
Fresno State, meantime, runs a three-guard offense with the trio going 6-7, 6-5 and 6-3 and featuring a freshman who has already made ESPN's highlight show two games into his collegiate career.
That would be 6-7 Paul George, who also was recruited by the Aztecs out of Palmdale. In his first two games for Fresno State, George has hit 61.5 percent of his shots from the field and scored 39 points.
“George has a chance to become a terrific player,” Fisher said. “He and (Dwight) O'Neil, who is a transfer from Arizona State, give them a lot of strength.”
Said Gay: “Their big wings may or may not cause a problem for me and Richie. We pride ourselves on our defense. We have to slow them down and push it on the offensive end.”
Like the Aztecs, Fresno State opened the season with a win over a Division II team before losing to a team (Saint Mary's) predicted to be one of the West's best in preseason polls.
Bill Center: (619) 293-1851; bill.center@uniontrib.com
