Dutcher feeling right at home

Coach takes reins after 18 seasons as Aztecs assistant

This is the sixth in a series of 10 season previews of Mountain West basketball teams.

The face of San Diego State basketball will no longer be on the bench.

Steve Fisher, who coached the Aztecs since 1999, retired and handed the job off to Brian Dutcher, a familiar face who worked side by side with Fisher since 1988 at Michigan.

“I’ve got the easiest transition of anybody that’s taken a new job because it’s a school I’ve been at for 18 years, and I kept my whole coaching staff,” Dutcher said. “I already know everybody on campus. I already

know the boosters that have helped us build the JAM Center (practice facility).

“The hard part of me is going to be coaching the games. As much prep as you do your whole life, when you step on the floor for the first time, that’s going to be the thing that’s different. But I take great comfort in the fact I’ve got two seniors sitting next to me (guard Trey Kell and forward Malik Pope) that should hopefully make that transition easier. It’s our team, it’s not my team.”

It’s a pressure-packed role Dutcher steps into, following a man who took over a program that didn’t win and drew little attention but proceeded to go 386-209 and make eight NCAA Tournaments. The Aztecs also won 10 Mountain West regular-season or tournament championships.

“I’ve been places where the head coach does all the work, and you sit there as an assistant and say, ‘I can’t wait any longer. I have to do something,’ ” Dutcher said. “It’s never been that way with Coach Fisher. He’s always delegated and let his staff work, so I feel like I’ve helped build it. I’ve been a part of it.”

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.