Quotes from Robin Pingeton Press Conference
4/8/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
April 8, 2010
Pingeton Tabbed Head Coach | Watch Press Conference | Coaching Record | What They're Saying
University of Missouri Athletic Director, Mike Alden
Opening statement...
"Good morning everyone. Thank you so much for taking time out of your valuable days (to be here). We know you folks are very busy and it is certainly very appreciative from our standpoint and not only all of our media folks with us today but also a bunch of Tiger fans and a lot of the folks in the athletic program. What I wanted to talk with you about was the (search) process. Before I introduce Robin, I wanted to talk about process. We all visited about thirty days ago. And thirty days ago what we talked about publicly was the process and what we were taking a look at relative to the national search we would be conducting for our head women's basketball coach for Mizzou.
"We focused on five criteria. Number one, we wanted to make sure we identified an individual who was coming from an institution and a program that clearly understood academic integrity. Understood what it meant to be able to graduate student-athletes and the mission of an institution of higher education. Number two, we wanted to make sure that we could recruit someone that could come to the University of Missouri and lock down the borders of the state of Missouri, lock `em down. Number three, we wanted to make sure we were recruiting someone to come to Mizzou that had an ability to recruit on a national landscape, the regional landscape, regional being our bordering states as well as Texas and other areas that we have traditionally recruited as an athletic program. And then also on a national standpoint. Number four, we wanted to make sure we focused on someone who had proven successes in mentoring women on and off the basketball court. Mentoring staff on and off the job. Mentoring people around their programs and outside of their programs. And number five, we wanted to make sure that we recruited somebody that won, that could win and that could demonstrate winning over the course of a long period of time.
"Now what we said at that time, that our goal was, we were going to identify that women's coach on or around the time of the Women's Final Four. But, we put `the but' in there, we would not talk to any candidates, no candidates, until they were completed with their season. Now the reason we made that statement and we stuck by that statement, was out of respect for our institution and other institutions around the country. Out of respect for coaches who are coaching their teams and the commitment they have at those institutions. Now we believe it was not appropriate to approach people, any people, until all were done competing.
"So we talked about that on March the 2nd, which led us to a point about seven days ago when we did have the opportunity, at that time, to reach out to Robin. And in doing so, we also wanted to make sure that the combination of criteria that we talked about completely meshed with the core values of our athletic program. I think everyone in here knows those core values of our athletic program, but we repeat them all the time. Number one is our academic integrity; that we will never sacrifice the academics of the University of Missouri, this great flagship institution, for anything, for nothing. Number two is social responsibility. To make sure that we are great representatives of our institution, of our families, of our friends and of our teams and our program. And number three, our competitive excellence. The ability for us to be able to win on and off that court. Inside and outside the classroom are most critical to us. So those five criteria that we set in place had to mesh with the three core values of our institution and our athletic program and also had to match with our brand at Mizzou. We are a hard working bunch of people who are very passionate about what we do. And you know what, we have a lot of fun doing it. That's who we are as a brand and that's what makes us who we are as Missouri Tigers.
"With all that process and all these people who were involved in assisting us on this search process that led us to identify the top women's basketball coach in the country for the University of Missouri. And it's our good fortune, and we have been blessed to be able to reach out to that person and her family and the families that she works with, to be able to recruit her to be part of our team at the University of Missouri. So, ladies and gentlemen, today, on April 8 of 2010, I am pleased and proud to introduce to you the head women's basketball coach at the University of Missouri, Robin Pingeton."
Missouri Women's Head Basketball Coach, Robin Pingeton
Opening statement...
"Well first of all, I'd just like to thank everyone for coming out today. This really means a lot and this is a special place, there's no doubt about it. And I'm really excited about the opportunity that I have to be the next coach here at Missouri. And I certainly know that we have a challenge ahead of us and we're really looking forward to it. I'd like to thank my husband, Rich, and my son, Blake, for all their support through this process. I'd be lying if I didn't tell you it's been a whirlwind for the last 48 hours. You know you're so blessed to go so long throughout your season, and then an opportunity comes likes this along the way. And a lot of things happened in a hurry. And he's just been amazing, as usual, and (I feel) very blessed and appreciate everything you've done, Rich.
"I also would like to thank some other people who have really put me in a position to be here today. And one of those names you are probably familiar with is Bill Fennelly from Iowa State, who has just been a great coach and a great mentor for me. I have been fortunate enough to work for him for years and he's one of the best and does things the right way and certainly gave me a great opportunity a number of years ago and so I'd like to acknowledge Bill Fennelly. I'd like to acknowledge my administration and players at Illinois State. I was very blessed in my seven years there and they really put me in the position, and my staff into a position, to succeed at a high level. (We had) a lot of players who really bought in and were committed to do things the right way. And an administration that I think is just tremendous. Sheahon Zenger and his staff were just outstanding people.
"(There were) a lot of emotions over the past 48 hours, saying goodbye to people who have really put us in a position to be here today. But it was tears of joy as well. We know that this is a great opportunity and we are really, obviously, looking forward to it. I also want to thank Mike Alden and his staff and all of the hours that went into their search. And as we go into this process I'm just now beginning to learn the hours that they did put into this search and you know the phone calls that were made and just the way they went about the process. So I appreciate Mike, Gary (Link), Sarah (Reesman), Sarah (Baumgartner), and the entire staff. And thank you to the University of Missouri for allowing us to have this opportunity.
"A little bit about me, who I am, what I stand for. I'm a Christian who happens to be a coach. My values are very important to me. I think you've got to do things the right way and treat people the right way. We're really looking forward to the challenge ahead of us. No doubt about it, this is the best conference in the country for women's basketball, with the best players and the best coaches throughout the country. So we know we have our hands full, and we're looking forward to it. It's going to take a lot of energy, emotionally, mentally, physically, and we're up for the challenge. We think this place is a gold mine and it absolutely had to be the perfect fit for myself and for my staff to leave Illinois State. We were very selective over the last few years because of the success we've had and the opportunities we've had. But we felt like this was a gold mine and a place that you could really make some exciting things happen over time.
"It's been our dream, as a staff, to coach in an institution where you could truly compete for a national championship and I think this is a place we can get it done. Unbelievable facilities, beautiful community in Columbia, an amazing administration. The people we've met here, I've been so impressed with. So we're looking forward to doing it. It's going to be a journey, it's going to be a process. We need everybody's help in this room. We understand that we've got some work to do, but we're looking forward to it. We're looking forward to making some changes in a hurry. Moving towards those goals that we're going to set forth as a program.
"I'm very blessed to have my staff here. This is something very unique for Division I Women's basketball. A staff where the entire staff that is married with kids. Family is important to us. And we live it every day. A lot of people talk about that family environment. We're living it every day as a staff. We've been together for seven years, which again is pretty unique at this level for a staff to be able to stay together. They're amazing and again, a short turnaround for them in the last few hours. We knew that we had to come down right away. It's a big recruiting opportunity coming up, a big recruiting weekend for us. Phone calls get started. So we knew we had to roll up our sleeves and get started right away. They're amazing, just great people, great family people and unbelievable coaches. People who have a lot of passion for what they do.
"Some of our new players, our new family members, are here and we appreciate you guys coming out. I'm really looking forward to coaching you guys. Last night's meeting was special. I felt like we might come in, (and the meeting) might be a little guarded, but we dropped our guard from the start and really embraced each other and we're looking forward to working with you guys.
"This is a great community. My aunt and uncle live here. They've lived here for 49 years. I tell you what, they're awfully excited. You're going to get to know my aunt in a hurry. She just speaks volumes about you guys, this community, this place.
"We're really looking forward to the challenge ahead. We're going to get some great things done here and it's going to be a process, it's going to be a journey, but we are going to get some amazing things done. One thing you'll find out about me, I'm not a real patient person. So I like to move along pretty quickly, with a lot of hard work. I think you're going to see a lot of changes in a hurry. I think you're going to like our style. I think style is very important in building an atmosphere. We were fortunate at Illinois State, we had 800 fans (when we got there). We made a postseason run in the WNIT and we drew over 6,500 fans from our community that wanted to come out and support us. People want to support a winning program. They want to support a program that's enjoyable to watch. The style that we play, with our motion offense, with our pressure defense, it's going to be fun. You guys are going to enjoy watching us play. We work hard but we have a lot of fun."
On Pingeton's style...
"Well, it's a very up-tempo, motion offense. We like to teach our players how to play the game instead of running patterns. Motion offense isn't as easy as everyone thinks, we like to let our players play the game and give them some freedom out there. But again, that is a process. I've seen some games on TV. I haven't watched tapes on our players here, but that takes time to build that kind of system, but it's a lot of fun to watch, it's a lot of fun to coach, and our players are really going to enjoy playing in it. Defensively, we run man-to-man defense. But, again, you've got to put your players in a position to be successful. That's a process too. But that's our style, that's what we like to do. Go north and south, we like to run. We love our transition offense. We like to shoot the ball before you turn it over and we're going to get after it on the defensive end. So that's what we like to do."
On the specific changes she will make with the Missouri women's basketball program...
"I can't speak of the past because I don't know what was here before and what was done. But usually, with change, there's a new system, a new philosophy, and we're new, we're different. The most important thing to me is relationships. What we love to do is educate, to teach and impact our player's lives. We truly believe in our system and we believe if you do things the right way the championships will take care of themselves. We don't let the scoreboard define who we are. It's about impacting these young ladies' lives and putting them in a position to be successful after college. We're really looking forward to the relationships we're going to build, not only with them, but with you and our community as well."
On the type of players she will recruit...
"I certainly think you have to recruit players that fit your style of play. And again, I can't speak to the style that you've had here in the past. But I absolutely think you have to recruit kids that fit your system. And we're fortunate with the motion offense because it's really about recruiting the best players that you can get in regards to skill. And you've got to have a point guard and you've got to have a center. After that we like to get the best basketball players that we can get. With the motion offense you can run a lot of different things, it's really flexible, and I think that makes it a lot of fun. I absolutely think that to be successful in this league, and to be successful at the University of Missouri, there's a certain style of kid that we're going to go after, and we're going to go after hard to make our team successful."
On whether there was an attendance incentive in her contract...
"In regards to attendance and my contract, I don't know. They just told me to sign here, it's a 20-year contract and I'm good to go." (laughter from audience)
"Attendance is something that is very important and we need your guys' help. We need you to spread the word. It doesn't happen overnight. It's going to be a lot of fun. We're going to work extremely hard. We're going to be very passionate about what we do. We're going to put a product on the court and these ladies are going to be great role models in the community. We're going to get involved in community service. The fan base doesn't grow over night. Fans want to come and support a winning program and watch something that is exciting to watch. Now, there are a couple of key elements there, everyone just doesn't come out of the woodwork for nothing. That's going to be a process, but that's about us getting out in the community as a staff, as players. It sounds like they've done a lot of community service in the past and I think that's important. We want our community to take ownership of our program and the only way you do that is you build relationships with them."
On the possible challenges coaching at Missouri and on Bill Fennelly
"He's been such a great mentor and a great friend and it really was a blessing being able to work under him. I think he believes that this place is a gold mine. He had nothing but great things to say about the administration. I've been to Columbia; I knew the city as whole is something special, but he had nothing but great things to say about it. He really feels like this is a place where you can certainly win. But along those same lines, it's a monster of a conference, Big 12 women's basketball, again the best coaches, the best players I think in the country. I see no reason why we can't go after some of the best players in the country. It doesn't happen overnight, it's a process. It took us some time at Illinois State. It's going to take some time here, but we're going to do things the right way. We're going to recruit kids with the right attitudes and the right values, and were really looking forward to that challenge."
On recruiting the state of Missouri
"It's key to lock down the borders of Missouri. We don't have a lot of players on our roster now from the state of Missouri. I know there are players from the state who have gone to play at other programs and have done very well. You've got to connect with high school and AAU coaches throughout your own state. You want to build attendance, you want to build a fan base, and you've got to recruit your own kids first. I think from there you venture out on more of a regional level, and then you go to a national level. Again, I don't think there's any reason why we can't get the best players in the country here, but why not start in the state and regionally?"
