Everything Brian Dutcher Said Following San Diego State’s Season Opening Victory

Opening Statement

I just put on the board today energy and effort. Those are the two things players can control. How hard they play and how much effort they play with and their attitude’s got to be good. And I thought they did a good job of that. And that leads to Latrell. I told Latrell come ready to play today. And it had nothing to do with really being short handed. It had something to do with I think he’s a really important player. And I’m trying to decide in my own mind, is he the difference between an unbelievably special season or just another guard in the rotation that causes frustration because no one gets minutes that they want. And so I told him, “Be ready. I’m not going to play you in the first half, but if I don’t like what I see from the team and they’re not bringing what I think they need to bring, I may use you in the second half.” And I told him after the game today, if I don’t like what I see next week, be ready to play. And I know that’s hard on him, but that’s the fine line between using Latrell and not using Latrell because of all the guys on the team. He brings it every single day with no lack of effort. He’s there every day. And so I’m trying to judge, do I need an everyday guy? Are these guys going to involve their skill sets into everyday guys, which they all have moments. So I have a deep team, but without Reese today, it was it looked like it wasn’t going to be deep enough. You know, Taj got in foul trouble. BJ got in foul trouble. Now I got Shawn out there tired in the first half because he had to go so long without a break. And so I think with Reese, we’ll have enough depth, but I haven’t made my mind up on Latrell yet about using him or not using him. 

But a good effort, good first effort. Forced turnovers, played all the way to the end. That’s what we didn’t do a year ago. you know, they did what they wanted to do when we got a lead in the second half and that didn’t work out so well. So, I wanted to make sure they did what I wanted him to do for 40 minutes. We came closer to that. 

Take us through the the injury list. Reese, Miles hobbled off, went to the locker room. Sean went down. 

Yeah, Reese had a hard week. He he got sick and so he missed two days with illness and then he started to come back and he had a scratch cornea, I think. And so they got him to the doctor and he’s got drops and hopefully it’ll get better. But he came in with sunglasses on and and we’re trying to see how quick we can get that turned around. Well, hopefully he’ll be ready to go on Sunday. Tomorrow’s an off day and hopefully these the medication starts taking effect right away where we can have him back on the floor, you know, and Miles just, you know, stepped on an ankle, twisted the hip, but he came back every time. So that’s just training room stuff getting your rehab and getting ready to go the next day. But good effort from the Aztecs and they didn’t make it easy. It was a good game for us. You know they play Aztec defense. They were real physical bodied us, pushed us over screens and it’s good for us. It was a good learning lesson. I think the difference in the game honestly was probably fast break points. I don’t know what they were but it seems like we got a lot of fast break baskets that we didn’t have to score in the half court and that kind of built the lead for us. 

Coach, can you talk about Hawaii Pacific University jumping up last night and beating Boise State and now you guys play some lower division squads just staying focused and locked in and not get caught slipping like they did last night? 

Yeah, everybody’s good. I mean, all they play good basketball everywhere, you know, and if we were to play Point across town, I’m sure it would be a good game because they’ve got a good division two program. So, the opponent doesn’t matter. It’s the style of play and how they play. And you can run into a night anytime you take the floor like that. And today I was nervous. I thought it was going to be a really competitive game. So I’m glad we created some breathing room and we’re able to extend the lead. 

Was it weird seeing a on the other side?

I you know I kidded with him one time there when he already used his his uh uh review his one time review and lost it. So, we lost a timeout and then I think there was a lane violation late in the game where maybe Pharaoh stepped in first or they stepped in. I just turned to him. I said, “Got no more reviews.” So, we had a laugh over that. But, no, Acker’s a good coach. That’s why I knew today would be a challenge and I want to make sure we were on edge and ready to play. So, he what he’s done is really good. I mean, he’s got a whole new roster. That’s the nature of college basketball. He only has one returning player and so I think he’ll get them playing at a high level, but it’s like when we played USD in the exhibition game, they got a whole new roster. So, it takes time. We just added a few new pieces a year ago and we took a while to get in stride. So, all these new pieces take some time to develop and turn into a team. So, I think he has the talent. I think he’s a good coach. So, I think they’ll get there. 

The freshman duo looked like a couple boys veterans out there. What kind of impact did you see from them tonight? 

Yeah, they were I mean they were great. I’ve been told it was the first double-digit performances from freshman since Jeremy Hemsley scored 20 against Illinois State. And so we had two freshman hit double figures today. So I think obviously Elzie is extremely skilled and tall and lengthy, has an ability to really finish. And then Tay is doesn’t look like a freshman. He he’s looks like a grown man out there and he plays like a grown man. So, as he just gets experienced, he will continue to grow his game. But two very good freshman. 

How comfortable are you with a true freshman running the point? Because Elzie is looking like I mean, you have the three point guards, he might start emerging. He had a pretty big game tonight. 

Yeah, he had a nice game. So, it’s like you never stay the same, you know, and you never get promised anything when you come play here. You know, if you deserve the minutes and you prove yourself, then you get those opportunities. And so we continue to throw everybody out there and they’ll start to be some separation as to who performs at a higher level. Not to say that they’re not all going to play, but who’s in at the end of the game when the game’s on the line. That’s something we’ll have to figure out as we go and see who can do what on the court. 

It seems like a lot of coaches are probably a little reluctant to play a freshman at point. But is he the special kind of player that he’s just, you know, elite in that regard and there’s no worries? 

Yeah, he’s got a chance to be. Yeah, he’s obviously he played point his whole career, you know, so he he’s not like he’s played in other positions becoming a point guard. He played point guard in the summer basketball. He played point guard for his high school team. So, he is a point guard. He has point guard instincts. So, he will give be given an opportunity to continue to show what he can do on the floor and hopefully elevate his play and our play as a team. 

Coach, you having a defense-minded team. Do you think you going deep into your bench is a big reason why you have a defensive team that’s really proficient? 

Yeah, I think we’re good defensively because we keep fresh legs on the floor. You know, if I played one point guard and asked him to pick up 94 feet for 40 minutes, I don’t think that would be very good. They were tired today because we were short depth when we didn’t have Reese. And in the exhibition games, I played Latrell, too. So, I had everybody playing. So, now we don’t have Reese and I didn’t play Latrell. So, it was a little harder on them. So, now they got to get in game shape. There’s shape and then there’s game shape. And the only way you get in game shape is playing games. And that’s what we did tonight. 

You joke about everybody in the country talks about how they’re going to run and then only a few teams do. Seemed like for the first time you guys really got out and ran. 

Yeah, we’re a pretty good running team. We can get better. I’d like to run on makes more, get it out of the net and get it up the floor, but we have to work at it and continue to watch tape on it. But yeah, I think we have a plan when we run. I think we’re doing a better job. And so you got to steal baskets, whether it’s offensive rebounds or fast break points because to beat anybody just in the half court is really hard to do. I don’t care who you’re playing. If you got to win in the half court—It’s difficult to produce enough points to win. 

Is that a is that a function of maturity from last season? This season, they seem to have taken that next step and pushing the ball and knowing what they’re doing?

Yeah, I think we’ve done a better job coaching them in it, too. So, it’s not just on them. we’ve done a better job trying to show them what we want on the break, what their job is, where they’re supposed to be going, who’s supposed to be getting the ball, and so it’s not always on the players when things don’t go right. Sometimes it’s on the coaches, and I think we’ve done a better job preparing them this year to be a running team. 

Coach, Jon Rothstein finally gave  your team one of those famous catchphrases, ‘ruthless aggression’. What are your thoughts on that? 

I like it. If it’s a defensive term, I like it. I I if it’s offensive ruthless aggression, I don’t like that. But for defense, yes, 100%. 

You guys shot 47% from beyond the arc. What were your thoughts on the three-point shooting tonight? 

Yeah, it’s good. We got good shooters. You know, when Byrd gets going then, you know, we’re tough. I mean, he hit a couple on the break and he made a couple and then Taj has become an improved shooter. BJ made a couple and we didn’t have Reese out there and Reese might be as good a three-point shooter as we have. Jeremiah Odin’s capable three-point shooter. And I like the way we shared the ball at the end. Seemed like it was just getting swung around the horn and we were getting step-in shots. So, we weren’t creating a lot of them off the dribble. It’s just unselfish play moving the ball. And so, I like the way they played and got the looks they got.