Ex-Michigan coach builds Aztecs into feared opponent

Steve Addy

Thursday, Jan. 24, 2002 | 10:01 a.m.

Two months shy of his 57th birthday, San Diego State coach Steve Fisher still has a florid complexion and squinty smile, but no one calls him apple-cheeked anymore.

More than a decade after he was summoned as Michigan's interim coach and unexpectedly guided the Wolverines to the 1989 NCAA championship, Fisher's hair has gone gray and wispy.

His face has begun to betray a certain weariness, with every worry line telling its own story -- and the endings aren't all happy.

In case you didn't know, coaching the baggy-shorted Fab Five Freshmen wasn't the joy many assumed it to be. After losing the 1992 NCAA title game, they became Smug Sophomores. They lost the championship game that year, too, and the novelty was gone as soon as Chris Webber bolted to the NBA.

By 1997, Fisher was gone, too, fired by Michigan after the NCAA learned about a booster giving cash to Wolverines players, hidden in boxes of congratulatory baked goods. The scandal blotted Fisher's excellent won-loss record -- 184-82 in eight full seasons, 20-6 in NCAA tournament games.

Compared to those numbers, Fisher's 30-44 mark in two-plus seasons at San Diego State might not impress casual observers. But considering how awful the Aztecs were before he got there in 1999, they're ready to throw Fisher a parade. Attendance is at an all-time high.

WHAT: UNLV (9-7) at San Diego St. (11-7)

WHEN: Saturday, 7:35 p.m.

WHERE: Cox Arena, San Diego

TV: Las Vegas ONE/Cable 39

RADIO: KBAD 920-AM

The reconstruction of the program isn't complete, nor is it guaranteed, but the Aztecs have made such significant strides in Fisher's tenure, it's easy to envision their development into a Mountain West heavyweight.

After only four wins the season before Fisher arrived, SDSU went 5-23 in 1999-00, failing to win a league game. Last season the Aztecs climbed to 4-10 in the MWC and 14-14 overall for only their second .500-or-better season since 1985.

This season, despite a deceiving 1-3 start in the MWC, they're 11-7 with a win over then-No. 21 Fresno State and a competitive 92-79 loss at Duke on Dec. 29. They played the defending NCAA champs virtually even for the first 20 minutes and the last 10.

Indeed, as UNLV learned last season and will bear in mind Saturday at San Diego, it is no longer an automatic victory when you play SDSU. The Aztecs embarrassed UNLV 83-66 at Cox Arena last Feb. 24, en route to winning three of their final four MWC games.

SDSU didn't catch a break with its conference schedule this season and has already lost to three contenders: at BYU 75-64, at Utah 76-70 and to Wyoming in overtime 88-85 on Monday at San Diego.

Fisher had hoped for a better MWC start after a 10-4 non-conference mark, but he understands the Aztecs will have to overcome incremental hardships after being down for nearly two decades.

"My first year, we were excited about our team, but realistically we knew we weren't very good. We were grossly outmatched from a talent standpoint," Fisher said. "Last year we felt we could play with anybody, but we really struggled on the road (2-8).

"This year we've got more maturity and a couple more players, and I think we will be better served in every regard. That doesn't mean we're going to have more success, but I'm going to be disappointed if we don't."

To rebuild the program, Fisher has used a different blueprint than his Michigan model. There has been no Fab Five West. He has added players in a piecemeal fashion, mainly from the Juco ranks, but also by Division I transfers.

The Aztecs' best player is senior forward Randy Holcomb, an ex-Juco star who is averaging 18 points overall, 17.5 in league play, and leads the MWC with 9.8 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-8 Holcomb has made himself a league player of the year candidate.

But Holcomb isn't the Aztecs' only star. They have the league's first-, second- and fourth-ranked scorers: walk-on shooting guard Al Faux (18.6), Holcomb and transfer guard Tony Bland (16.8) from Syracuse. Each already has an MWC player of the week award.

Also, 6-9 junior center Mike Mackell, a former Juco standout that UNLV badly wanted, has emerged after a slow start with a 15.2 average in four league games.

The Aztecs' star wattage and fresh optimism has led to a boost at the gate. After drawing 6,171 for the Wyoming game, the sixth-largest crowd in five years at Cox Arena, SDSU is averaging 5,405 at home. The school record is 4,824 in 1981-82.

If Fisher and Co. continue their steady climb, they will probably rewrite that record and 100 others.