Fraschilla, Fisher bring extra name recognition to league

Victoria Sun

Monday, Oct. 25, 1999 | 9:51 a.m.

The brand new Mountain West Conference got a boost in the coaching ranks with the additions of Steve Fisher and Fran Fraschilla.

Both were introduced last Thursday at the MWC's first media day held at the Four Seasons Hotel.

Fisher coached Michigan to a national championship in 1989 and two runner-up finishes during his nine years as Wolverines head coach. He will have a daunting task ahead of him as the new San Diego State coach.

The Aztecs are trying to rebound from a 4-22 season.

"We need to get better in every facet," Fisher admitted. "Starting with fundamentals with attention to the basics.

Fraschilla has been a mainstay in the East Coast for six years, first as head coach at Manhattan from 1992-96 and then as head coach at St. John's from 1996-1998.

The native New Yorker, named the National Association of Basketball Coaches Coach of the Year in 1994 after leading Manhattan to the second round of the NCAA tournament, will be taking over the reins at New Mexico.

He is inheriting a program with a potential conference player of the year in Lamont Long, but says the team is still in transition.

It won't be long before he tries to import the physical style of basketball characteristic of the Big East conference, but first things first.

"We're trying to instill a blue-collar approach to the team, to work hard on offense and defense," Fraschilla said. "But I'm going into this year not knowing what to expect."

* REUNITED: Utah's Alex Jensen and Hanno Mottola drove 6 1/2 hours from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas to watch the Utes' football team play UNLV on Sept. 25. Mottola, a finalist for the Wooden Award and Naismith National Player of the Year, said they were joined by former Ute Michael Doleac. Doleac, now a center for the Orlando Magic, graduated from Utah in 1998. All three players were a part of the 1998 Utah team that upset defending champion Arizona en route to the NCAA Final Four.

"We support our Utes, " Mottola said. "I like Vegas. It's too expensive to gamble, though. People are just throwing away their money."

* WHAT'S IN A NAME: There's a Michael Jordan and a John Robinson on the New Mexico's men's team. The Lobos' Jordan is a 6-foot-2 guard from Albuquerque and Robinson II is the Lobos' returning point guard from Channelview, Texas.

* WELCOME TO THE PIT: Fraschilla got a taste of how rowdy fans in Albuquerque can be during the team's Midnight Madness.

"When Lamont Long came out onto the floor, it was as loud as any arena I've ever been in and there were only 9,000 people," Fraschilla said.

The Lobos' University Arena, nicknamed The Pit, has a maximum capacity of 18,018. Sports Illustrated recognized it as the 13th-best venue to watch a sporting event in during the 20th century.

* GETTING CLOSER: In April, a management council will vote on whether or not to grant the MWC to an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament for the 2000-01 season. If passed, the ruling will be effective August of 2000 and will affect several sports, including men's and women's basketball, softball and baseball.