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'Monster overhaul' Fisher in midst of remarkable turnaround at San Diego St.
By Phil Miller, Special to CNNSI.com Steve Fisher's coaching career was six games old when he won an NCAA Championship. His knack for instant success isn't quite as spectacular at San Diego State -- but the results may be even more impressive. When the former Michigan coach arrived in Mission Valley, he didn't have enough Division I-quality players to field a competitive team. Just two seasons later, Fisher has San Diego buzzing about basketball, and dreaming of the Aztecs' first NCAA tournament appearance since 1985. He improved from 5-23 to 14-14 in one year, the thinking goes, so just do the math: another nine-game improvement projects to ... 23-5? "We have allowed optimism to seep into all of us," said Fisher, whose roster may be stocked with more talent this year than the last decade combined. "It's not unrealistic to talk about [the tournament], but I'm not going to be so bold to say we'll get there this year. It's certainly a worthwhile goal, though." Two years ago, winning a Mountain West game was a worthwhile goal, one that 0-14 SDSU could not achieve. Now Fisher has a team that might be talented enough to leap from seventh place one season to championship contention the next. San Diego State, said New Mexico coach Fran Fraschilla, "is going to turn out like Kansas State and Northwestern in football. It is going to be a monster overhaul, one of the greatest turnarounds in college basketball." And the leader of that turnaround, Fisher said, will be Tony Bland, a 6- 4 guard who started for Syracuse's Sweet 16 team two seasons ago before becoming homesick for southern California. Bland "is a natural leader," said Fisher, not to mention an offensive wizard. "He'll get the ball at the end and he'll make the rest of our players better." Two other newcomers will likely start alongside point guard DeAndre Moore and all-MWC forward Randy Holcomb. Small forward Brandon Smith is a former Fisher recruit at Michigan, and center Mike Mackell, California's junior-college player of the year "gives us the physical presence down low that we haven't had here," Fisher said. With nine or ten players worthy of court time, the Aztecs may even be one of the deepest teams in the league. It's probably not enough to earn the coach another one of those gaudy rings just yet, but it should make for the most interesting winter in San Diego since the Chargers went to the Super Bowl. "We got a little fortunate with some of the kids who wanted to come here," Fisher said. "But I never put a timeframe on it. I've always felt we had the potential to create something good, and the sooner the better." Turns out, it might be sooner.
Phil Miller covers the Mountain West for the Salt Lake Tribune. His "This Week in the Mountain West" column will appear weekly during the season.
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