San Diego State’s Fisher back in the Big Dance
By Michael Rosenberg
Knight Ridder Newspapers
(KRT) Steve Fisher has finally put
Michigan behind him. To the coach’s
admirers, that’s not a surprise.
But the Michigan athletic depart
ment apparently has changed its
views on Fisher. To the coach’s admir
ers and detractors,-that is a surprise.
In just three seasons, Fisher has tak
en San Diego State from a 5-23 record
to this month’s NCAA basketball tour
nament. His team will play Illinois in
the first round Friday at Chicago.
Ten years after he first took the
Fab Five to the tournament and
nearly five years after Michigan
fired him under a cloud of a scan
dal, Fisher has succeeded without
the school that shunned him.
But Michigan is not shunning
him anymore, athletic director Bill
Martin said.
Martin made it clear Tuesday that
he thinks the Fab Five “left a won
derful legacy” at Michigan. That’s a
contrast to most comments that
came out of the athletic department
after Fisher was fired.
“Number one, they really set a stan
dard for performance for Michigan,”
Martin said. “They brought tremen
dous excitement to it. Kids still know
about the Fab Five that were probably
too young to go to the games.
“I think they have left a wonder
ful legacy here. I’m pleased to see
how over time they are reacquaint
ing themselves with our team. I see
nothing but the positives about that
for the program. ”
Fisher was fired in October 1997, in
the wake of accusations that several
players, including Chris Webber, Jalen
Rose and Robert Traylor, had received
large sums of money and gifts from Ed
Martin, who has been charged with
running an illegal numbers operation
in Detroit-area auto plants. Ed Martin
had been a frequent guest of the
coaching staff at U-M games.
Is the Ed Martin scandal part of
the Fab Five legacy?
“I don’t think that is a part of the
legacy at all with them,” Bill Martin
said. “I wasn’t here during any of
that time period ... That was just a
separate issue. We haven’t had an
investigation of Michigan going on
as long as I have been here.”
Fisher has long maintained that
he was innocent of any wrongdoing
at U-M.
“I know he was very hurt by how
the Michigan thing ended and how
he felt he was treated,” said San
Diego State athletic director Rick
Bay, himself a Michigan graduate.
“Steve, he was not treated fairly
there. I think he’ll always feel sad
about how it was handled. But
nonetheless I think we’re past it.”
© 2002, Detroit Free Press. Distributed by
Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
Adam Amato Emerald
Oregon’s Brian Heiquist (40) is questionable for Oregon's first round NCAA Tournament
game against Montana. The junior center strained his right knee on Feb. 28.
Men’s
continued from page 7
Sac-Town, baby
The Ducks are ready for Sacra
mento. The question is, is Sacra
mento ready for the Ducks?
The Oregon team left for Califor
nia after practicing Tuesday after
noon. The Ducks will practice to
day in preparation for Thursday’s
game, which tips off at approxi
mately 2 p.m. The first game in
Arco Arena will feature Pepper
dine and Wake Forest. That game
starts at 11:42 a.m.
Old pals
Thursday’s Oregon-Montana
game may look like a blowout on
modern paper, but if you consult
the history books, it looks like ...
still a blowout.
Oregon and Montana used to
play in the same conference, the
Pacific Coast Conference. In the
more than 25 games in the series,
the Ducks hold the edge, 21-4. The
teams have met in nonconference
games since they were in the PCC,
but the last time they met as PCC
members was in 1937. Oregon beat
Montana three times that season,
and the Grizzlies won one
matchup.
That season, the Ducks played
other teams like Union Oil, Mult
nomah AC and Astoria East. The
season after that, in 1938-39, Ore
gon won the first-ever NCAA
Championship.
E-mail sports reporter Peter Hockaday
atpeterhockaday@dailyemerald.com.
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