fisher at sdsu?

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SoCalHoops College Basketball

Speaking Of Coaching Changes. . . . Fisher To San Diego?
Hey, It Could Happen--(March 26, 1999)

All the wire services are buzzing this morning about Steve Fisher taking the now-vacant head coaching job at SDSU. Here's the way AP described it:

Steve Fisher, whose career as Michigan's basketball coach ended as abruptly as it began, reportedly is on the verge of being hired to take over San Diego State's sad-sack program.

"Sad-sack program?!" Yeowwww. Well, come to think of it, it's a pretty apt description for what happened to the Aztecs this season. Could Fisher turn the program around? He could hurt it worse than it was hurt this year. According to published reports, the deal could be finalized as soon as this weekend. Fisher is currently an assistant with the NBA's Sacramento Kings, and is here in SoCal with the Kings who are playing the Lakers tonight at the Forum. San Diego State AD Rick Bay, who has ties to Michigan, told reporters he was still talking to other candidates Thursday night. "As of this moment I don't have a coach. I'd like to think I'm getting closer, but I don't have a coach." The Los Angeles Times reported that when asked if an announcement was imminent, Bay said, "I'd like to say it's imminent that I'll have a coach. I went up to the 12th hour with (Rick) Majerus, and that didn't happen. So I'd be reluctant to characterize it as imminent."

By now eveyone knows that Majerus rejected San Diego State's job offer Monday night, the same time Notre Dame rejected Majerus, reportedly because of some statements contained in Majerus' autobiography where he eluded to the fact that he'd be reluctant to discipline a player for academic violations because he reportedly wasn't completely a straight arrow himself when he was in college. But back to SDSU: Gonzaga's Dan Monson also took himself out of the running this week.

Fisher was an assistant to Bill Frieder for seven years at Michigan. He was named interim coach just before the 1989 NCAA tournament when Frieder accepted the job at ASU. Bay has known Fisher for a long time and they are both from Michigan. Bay wrestled and played football at Michigan, and, after a stint in the Marine Corps, returned as assistant wrestling coach, then became head coach.

As for Fisher's troubles, he was fired by Michigan on Oct. 10, 1997, shortly after a Kansas law firm hired by the university issued a report that called into question his role in arranging complimentary tickets for a booster. The NCAA accepted the school's self-imposed penalties. When asked about that incident, Bay told the LA Times, "People make their own judgment. Without having confirmed or denied that I've talked to Steve, if I would hire a coach, I would check everything out."

And as for the "sad-sack program", San Diego State was 4-22 this year, its fourth losing season in five years under Fred Trenkle, who resigned at season's end, and Fred did the smart thing, because San Diegans were getting ready to lynch him if he didn't leave. The Aztecs have had just one winning season since their last NCAA tournament appearance, in 1985.