In a business in which a coach’s job security can hinge on one game, patience isn’t often a virtue.
Then you have San Diego State men’s basketball coach Steve Fisher, 65, who waves off any suggestion of retirement.
Coaching from the other bench tonight at Moby Arena will be Colorado State’s Tim Miles. He’s 45, and going on 4 when he celebrates a big win.
Fisher, on the brink of his 11th trip to the NCAA Tournament, and Miles, who is positioning the Rams for a rare NCAA Tournament berth, have more in common than meets the eye.
They took over programs with scant tradition and even less interest. They built around high school talent, typically the slowest path to success. They fill in their roster with transfers seeking a better fit.
And, yes, they went winless in the Mountain West Conference in their first seasons.
“When we were going 0-fer, Steve called me,” Miles said. “He said, ‘Tim, I know how tough it is, but you are doing a good job.’ He was very complimentary and tried to pick you up a little when you’re down.”
Now that CSU (15-6, 5-2 MWC) has bridged the gap to respectability, Fisher said: “As improved as a lot of teams are in this league, no one has taken the step forward that Tim Miles and Colorado State has. Confidence is a huge factor.”
To attract players in Southern California, Fisher could use his reputation from coaching Michigan to the 1989 national title and to the Final Four in 1992 and 1993. But he also had to project talent, not just sign the latest prep All-American.
“You have to recruit guys who stick and want to be at your school,” Miles said. “I think that’s what Steve does. Kawhi Leonard turned down Pac-10 schools because of the solid relationship the staff built with him at a young age. He was committed to making San Diego State better, and that’s why he went there.”
Leonard, a 6-foot-7 sophomore forward, is a likely NBA draft pick after this season.
Miles wanted San Diego State to come to Moby Arena undefeated, but BYU beat the Aztecs 71-58 last week. San Diego State (21-1, 6-1) had been ranked No. 4 nationally.
“Deep down secretly I was hoping they’d come in undefeated, but we’ll take No. 6 (in the coaches top-25 poll),” Miles said. “We want to compete against the best players.”
Fisher will never compare any of his SDSU teams to the teams he coached at Michigan. And don’t bother to ask how long he will remain a coach.
“I’m too young to think about retirement,” he said. Besides, he said, “Most of us don’t tell our bosses we’d do it for a lot less money or for free.”
Natalie Meisler: 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com
San Diego State at Colorado State
7:15 p.m. CBS College Sports, 560 AM
Spotlight on Kawhi Leonard: San Diego State’s 6-foot-7 sophomore forward from Riverside, Calif., could be the first Mountain West Conference player selected in the NBA draft this year. Yes, even before BYU star Jimmer Fredette, the nation’s leading scorer. Leonard has 14 double- double games this season. He had 16 last season as the MWC freshman of the year. He is averaging 15.3 points and 10.3 rebounds on a well-balanced, 21-1 team.
Colorado State: Tonight’s game at Moby Arena against San Diego State wasn’t sold out at the end of business Tuesday. . . . The Rams are in sole possession of third place in the MWC, behind co-leaders Brigham Young and San Diego State. . . . CSU hopes to regain 19-game starter Wes Eikmeier, a sophomore guard and transfer from Iowa State who missed the Rams’ last two games because of a foot injury. . . . Andy Ogide, a 6-foot-9 senior forward, is coming off a career-high 28 points at Utah. Ogide leads the Rams in scoring (16.1 average) and rebounding (7.5).
San Diego State: The Aztecs and Kansas are the nation’s two one-loss teams. . . . San Diego State is No. 7 in The Associated Press poll, No. 6 in the ESPN-USA Today coaches poll. . . . The Aztecs’ success shouldn’t be a surprise. They returned all five starters from a team that finished 25-9 last season. . . . CSU leads the series 35-29, but the Aztecs have won the last seven meetings and 12 of the last 13. . . . Malcolm Thomas, a 6-9 senior forward, has been the MWC player of the week three times.
Natalie Meisler, The Denver Post
