Nov. 18, 1999

It was minutes after San Diego State announced the hiring of Steve Fisher last March when sophomore forward Myron Epps offered these thoughts:

"You know, this is the guy we wanted all along. Even as the search kept going and going for a coach and all these different names were being thrown out there, we all hoped it would come back to him. He has been to the Final Four. He has won a national championship. We wanted it to be him from the beginning."

They got him.

Now, they will try to win games for him.

SDSU opens its season against visiting UC Riverside on Wednesday night at 7, the Aztecs one year removed from the nightmare 4-22 record. Most of the faces are the same and the predictions for a losing season unchanged, but there is a renewed spirit around Cox Arena.

There is a legitimate hope for a much brighter future.

"It's going to take time, but we're going to get this thing done," said Fisher. "I've never had a team work harder than this one, and that can only make them better. I'm not going to predict number of wins. But we're going to show up. I know that."

Here is a closer look at SDSU as it prepares to open the Fisher Era.

Style of play
Fisher realizes this is a team that must get its share of easy baskets to compete. The Aztecs are going to struggle in rebounding at both ends, which means they need to push the ball and finish plays when opportunity knocks. There is a fine line between being aggressive on the offensive boards and gambling yourself out of position. If the Aztecs gamble too much, they will allow transition dunks by the dozen.

SDSU defensively will play man and double the post. Lacking size, the Aztecs need to read passes and screens early. They can't be late helping teammates. A team that will find scoring difficult, SDSU has to improve its free throw shooting from last season's 62 percent.

Did you know?
Fisher has had just one losing season: his 1990-91 Michigan team went 14-15. He reached the national final with the Fab Five the following two years.

Games to watch
Nov. 24 vs. UC Riverside. The season opener is a winnable game.

Dec. 4 at USD. The cross-town Toreros have been the better team of late, winning four of the past five meetings.

Dec. 18 at Arizona State. It might sound crazy, but this is not a great Sun Devils team. Take away exciting guard Eddie House, and ASU is rebuilding.

Dec. 20 vs. USC. Count on this: The score will be much closer than 101-54 this time.

Jan. 10 vs. Utah. SDSU's Mountain West Conference opener is an ESPN "Big Monday" game.

Feb. 5 vs. New Mexico. If there is one conference team that can beat out Utah for first place, it's likely the Lobos of first-year coach Fran Fraschilla.

Key stat
In 26 games last season, the Aztecs shot 50 percent or better just three times. Opponents shot over 50 percent 14 times.

How many wins?
The nonconference schedule (13 games, eight at home) is somewhat kind to a team searching for any sliver of success. The Aztecs are better coached than a year ago, more experienced, stronger and (believe it or not) quicker. But many of the same deficiencies -- lack of size and ball skills -- remain.

Any more than four conference victories is a bonus and any road conference win (yes, even at Air Force) might be asking too much at this point. Our call: SDSU last season lost nine games by 10 points or fewer. These are the games the Aztecs will win this season. We see the Aztecs getting 10 victories, the first step in building a conference contender within three years.