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Steve Fisher was in the right spot at the right time in 1989 when Bill Frieder decided to leave Michigan and take over Arizona State. While Frieder agreed to finish the year, then athletic director Bo Schembechler ordered him to leave the campus and named Fisher the interim coach. Little did anyone know that decision led Michigan to win the National Championship.
Fisher stayed at Michigan and was the brains behind the recruiting of the Fab Five, though we later learned their recruiting and tenure at Michigan wasn’t exactly kosher. After being dismissed from the school in 1997, he became an assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings before moving onto San Diego State in 1999. He’s been with the school ever since and has turned the program into one of the nation’s top teams.
Fisher has been to the last three NCAA Tournaments and while he did make a Sweet 16 two seasons ago, the Aztecs have exited the tournament in the first round the other times. Once again, SDSU finds itself in the top 25, but will this translate into tournament success?
In the team’s last three contests, they’ve survived and are starting to falter a bit. Tomorrow features a huge game with Wyoming, so the Aztecs better right the ship. As it stands, they’re still in fairly good shape, but a loss tomorrow could send them into a tailspin. It isn’t unusual for college teams to experience this type of letdown this time of the year, but if the Aztecs hope for a nice run in the NCAA tournament, it will start with them figuring out their issues.
Perhaps Fisher has one more shocking moment left in him?
