SDSU-There's a first time for everything

Kawhi Leonard, D.J. Gay, Malcolm Thomas, and Billy White, these names don't necessarily have the same impact as say, Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson. Of course everyone recognizes the names of Michigan's famous and infamous Fab Five, but at the moment Leonard, Gay, Thomas and White are names that Coach Steve Fisher is focused on.

Fisher ascended into the national spotlight during Michigan's 1989 NCAA title run and of course he's responsible for assembling the Fab Five, those 5 talented, boisterous freshman who provided some of college basketball's most exciting moments. Who can forget Webber's infamous timeout called with 11 seconds left in the title game against UNC, when in fact the Wolverines had no timeouts left?!!

Amidst scandal, Fisher was fired by Michigan in 1997. Shortly thereafter he took an asst. coaching job with the Sacramento Kings, but it wasn't long before the college basketball world came knocking and an opportunity with San Diego State arose. In 1999 Coach Fisher took over an Aztec team that had suffered a losing record in 13 of the previous 14 seasons. Although it didn't look promising, Fisher methodically began turning the program around. It took patience on his part and on the part of the school, but boy has it paid off. Since the 2005-2006 season the Aztecs possess a continuous run of 20+ win seasons.

For the first time in history, San Diego State men's basketball team entered the preseason rankings at #25 and they've worked their way up to #4. That's not this year's only first either, the team set a school record winning 27 games in a season. The Aztecs biggest challenge comes this Saturday in a rematch against leading player of the year candidate Jimmer Fredette and #7 BYU. The Cougars, lead by Fredette's 43 points, won the last contest handing SDSU their only loss of the season. So for those who live in San Diego, this Saturday morning don't fear, it's not an earthquake, it's just Viejas Arena rockin!! The winner of this game will most likely boast a higher seed in the tourney.

Coach Fisher and the Aztecs will be looking for another first this season, their school's first ever win in the NCAA tourney, currently they're 0-6 all time. In only a few weeks we'll see if the Aztecs have what it takes to make a run in the tournament, and if they do we can be sure that Coach Fisher will be guiding their every step as they enter the Big Dance.