Oklahoma State University Athletics
Travis Ford Introduced As OSU Basketball Coach
April 17, 2008 | Cowboy Basketball
Oklahoma State University President Burns Hargis and athletics director Mike Holder introduced Travis Ford as OSU's 18th head basketball coach today. Following are highlights from the press conference:
Oklahoma State President Burns Hargis
Opening statement:
"We love our basketball here, and we are excited about our future under Travis Ford. We look forward to many years of success. I want to commend our Athletic Director, Mike Holder, who I think just did a great job throughout this process and I congratulate him on making an outstanding hire."
Athletic Director Mike Holder
Opening statement:
"I wanted someone with integrity that would play by the rules. Someone that we could be proud of, someone that taught the game the right way, that taught his kids to play hard, graduated them and understands that the mission of the university is to graduate students, and Travis Ford at the end of the day fit all those."
"He's 38 years of age and youth is a huge asset in coaching and a great asset in recruiting."
Coach Travis Ford
Opening statement:
"It's an exciting day. It's a very exciting day for me and my family to be a part of such a great university. The Oklahoma State basketball program is a program I've always followed. A program that you see on TV a lot and I always used to watch the games on TV and say ‘what an incredible basketball program. What an incredible arena and great fans.'”
"I've been asked a lot today 'Why Oklahoma State?' and it first starts with the fans and the affection that all of the people in here have for this great university and the excitement that goes on in this arena and every basketball game."
"When I got on the Internet and was studying a little bit about the team and different things, I read one quote that said this has one of the best home court advantages in all of college basketball, well I am here to make in THE best college basketball home court advantage."
"I want to be surrounded by people who love the game, who are passionate about athletics, people who are passionate about sports, and that's the thing that kept coming up about Oklahoma State. Everybody I talked to would talk about how they have passionate fans, fans who love their university and love sports and love basketball and I feel very privileged to be a part of it."
"I'm a big believer in tradition and I study the game tremendously and obviously it's special to me to be a part of a program that Coach Iba started and what he's meant not just to Oklahoma State but what Coach Iba meant to basketball. He's one of the greatest coaches ever to coach this great game."
"The foundation that the Sutton family has put on this program, I want to build on that. They are a great basketball family and great people. I just want to continue to grow on that foundation that they have stamped on this program."
"It's going to be a lot of work, but I like work. I just met with the team about five minutes ago and I told them, if you don't like to work, then you're probably not going to enjoy playing for me because I love the game and I love working hard and I love seeing the reward that you get for working hard and putting in your time."
"I think we play a very exciting style of basketball that you will enjoy watching,"
"I want to also thank the University of Massachusetts and everything they have done for me the past three years. It is an incredible university that means a lot to me. They gave me a great opportunity and just a great bunch of people that I am desperately going to miss, but as I told them when I met with the team last night, this is too good of an opportunity to pass by. I said, my goal is to win a national championship, and then I looked at my team and said, 'I think I can do that at Oklahoma State.'"
"My goal is to take this Oklahoma State basketball program to a national championship and that's why I'm here and that's what I look forward to doing."
On Mike Holder:
"I was excited about Oklahoma State before I met Mike Holder, but I got even more excited after I met him because I think his idea of what a student athlete's experience should be when they get to college was exactly the way I feel."
On when he knew OSU was the place for him:
"I wanted to talk it over with my wife, but I knew in my heart that this was an incredible opportunity, something that I want to be a part of. It was yesterday afternoon that I got home and we sat down and talked for a little while and I called coach (Holder) and said, 'Hey, I want to be a Cowboy.'"
"I've studied the statistics on this basketball team and just looking at the stats I do think that they fit how I like to play. I do have a style that I think is very exciting but I do like to adapt my style to my personnel so I'm anxious to get started with these players."
On passing up other coaching opportunities:
"I was looking for an opportunity to go where I could win a national championship. I wanted my next move to be a place where I could raise my family and I could be there for a while, not a place I wanted to go and move somewhere else.
"When this opportunity came along and I learned a lot more about it as we went through the process and I said this is an opportunity where I can reach my goals and dreams as a basketball coach, where I can raise my family in an incredible atmosphere and an incredible community around a great university.
On what his immediate plans are:
"My immediate plans are I want to get to know these players. That is the first on my agenda is get to know these players and get to know them off the court before I get to know them on the court so they can get to know me. I want to make sure and contact the young men that have committed to come here next year and make sure they are comfortable and feel great about the opportunity.
On his influences in basketball:
"I've been very lucky to have learned the game from a lot of different people. My father taught me the game of basketball at a very young age and I played in high school under a great coach who won over 800 games. I did play for Norm Stewart for a year at Missouri and learned a lot under him, but there's no question I think Coach (Rick) Pitino, as far as my style of play and what I learned from him to carry over into my coaching, has been the greatest influence."
"I'm the kind of guy who studies the game, not just people I have played under but I read everything I can about the game and about many different coaches."
On his style as a player and how it relates to his coaching style:
As a player I think I succeeded because I understood the game of basketball. It wasn't just about physical talent. If you look at me I'm probably not the biggest guy in the world and I wasn't the fastest or could jump the highest but I understood. I tried to think the game on the court and tried to make the people around me better. That's the main thing I tried to do as a point guard at Kentucky was to make the people around me better basketball player"
"I always thought shooting the basketball was one of the greatest assets you could possibly have as a basketball player. I think shooting is one of the most important things in a basketball player. You can teach them a lot of things but it's tough to teach guys to shoot. You can make them a better shooter no question. I think you can make players play defense and how to defend, but if you can get somebody who can really score the basketball and knows how to shoot it, I think that's an incredible strength and an incredible asset."
"I like being very aggressive. When the ball is thrown up, we would tell the guys don't look at the scoreboard because that is not what we're worried about. We're worried about how hard we are playing, we're worried about our style of basketball, and we wan to run people into the ground. And if you look at how we played, whit about eight minutes to go in every ballgame it looked like we were having the most fun and the other team was about ready to get the game over with, and that's how I like to play."
On what he told OSU's players:
"I told them (the team) they were going to be in the best shape they've ever been in to play this and it's going to be extremely hard, but it's a lot of fun. It's an incredible amount of fun to play this way and I look forward to get started."
On why he chose Oklahoma State:
"I think I can win a national championship here and I love the Big 12 and think it's an incredible basketball league. I just think it's an incredible opportunity with the fan support and the excitement around the program and that's what gets me excited.
"No one will work harder than I do, I can promise you. No one will work harder than my coaching staff. It's a great reward when you put in all this work to walk out and see all the orange in the stands. That's a great feeling. You know all your hard work is appreciated and I look forward to that."
On playing at Gallagher-Iba Arena while at Missouri:
"I do remember playing here and what an incredible atmosphere it was, and I remember a lot about my time in the Big Eight, and what a great basketball tradition the Big Eight had and the Big 12 as well.
"It is very eye-opening when you walk out into that arena, you almost need sunglasses it's so bright in there and I love that. It breathes excitement and when you bring recruits in or you see it on TV, that's what you want. You want to be able to sell excitement and I think that is what Oklahoma State basketball is very much about is excitement.
"I love what I do and I want it to show. I want people to know how much I love doing my job. That's just the way I've always been. I could sit up here all day long and talk to you. I just enjoy talking about what I do and enjoy promoting my basketball team."
On his plans for the next few weeks:
"The biggest thing for me right now is to get to know these players off the court. I want them to understand that I care about them as people first, because in order for me to get the most out of them they have to know that I care about them as individuals. I'm a tough coach and I like to get after it, but in order for me to get after a guy and get in their face or really challenge them, if they don't know that you care about them, they are going to take it personal, but if they know you really care about them, they will respond for you. That's what I do and that's what I've always told my coaching staff is you have to spend time with you players off the court. Get to know them and hang out with them and not just talk basketball all the time.
"I like what I do and I'm not afraid to put in the time it takes to be successful."
