June 4, 2001

By Ed Graney
San Diego Union-Tribune

SAN DIEGO - San Diego State's basketball team has a goal to become a player on the national scene over the next few years. This will only help:

The Aztecs open the 2001-2002 season in a four-team tournament at Texas Tech, where former Indiana coach Bob Knight now runs the Red Raiders program.

The exempted event (two guaranteed games that count as only one) begins Friday, Nov. 16, at United Spirit Arena. Texas Tech plays William & Mary and SDSU meets Northern Iowa. The consolation and championship games are the following night.

Promoters have intentionally set the field for a likely championship game between Aztecs coach and former Michigan boss Steve Fisher and Knight, longtime opponents from their Big Ten Conference days.

The potential of playing against Knight in his first event at Tech -- guaranteed to draw much of the national media to Lubbock -- can only benefit an SDSU squad expected to be among the Mountain West Conference's top three teams next season.

Northern Iowa went 7-24 last season and will play under first-year coach Greg McDermott.

SDSU still must finalize two games before releasing its entire schedule. Athletic department officials prefer to withhold comment until then, but sources confirmed several facts:

Playing in the Texas Tech tournament is a prelude to Knight's team beginning a home-and-home series in 2002-03 at Cox Arena. Also, the Aztecs will be paid a fee for appearing in this year's tournament, reportedly in the $40,000 range.

SDSU's nonconference home schedule next season is highlighted by a game against Fresno State, which returns several key players from a team that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Season-ticket sales are going well (considering a marketing push doesn't begin until the schedule is released), and officials hope to at least double last season's total of just over 3,000. The Aztecs have struggled convincing opponents to visit San Diego in 2001-02, but should make up for that the following season.

Early signs are that Arizona and Louisville could begin home-and-home series here in the fall of 2002, which would mean three of the game's high-profile coaches (Knight, Lute Olson and Rick Pitino) would be matched against Fisher at Cox Arena in the same year.