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Rick Ray Press Conference
Opening Comment:
“I
am really excited to be here. Coaching basketball is what I have been
doing my entire life. This is all I know and I am ecstatic about being
at MSU. I want to thank Scott Stricklin and Mark Keenum for giving me
this opportunity. I have the best coach’s wife there is. She supports
me, she puts out best foot forward and you guys will enjoy her. I like
fans who are excited and fans who anticipate things with this program.
That is great for this community. The people here have been so great
and so hospitable. The one thing I want to talk about, is giving
recognition to Rick Stansbury. He laid a great foundation here and I
want to acknowledge him for his great job. I am definitely going to
reach out to him because he knows about basketball in Mississippi, and
it would be foolish for me to not reach out to him. “We
will be successful — I don’t know how to lose. All I have known is
winning my whole life. The program I want to run will allow players the
chance to flourish. I believe in individual development; the only way we
will be better as a team is to improve individually. I spend an
inordinate amount of time on individual development. The game is played
through the players, and this is going to be a players program. The
system we will run is based on integrity. I believe you win by doing
things the right way. I want to make sure we put a team on this court
that you guys are proud of. These guys need your support, because, at
the end of the day, they are kids. I believe in getting out and pushing
the ball. The way we will play is pushing the basketball and putting
people on their heels right away. “I
will put together a fantastic staff here that has the same core beliefs
that I have. It will take some time, but I want people who care about
Mississippi State. I want guys who are hungry and are complete coaches
that want to be a head coach one day themselves. “I
have to build a relationship with players in a short amount of time and
I have to get them to believe in our system. It will take a little
time, but you have to have patience because it will happen.”
On Reaching Out To Recruits:
“The
most important recruits are the ones on the team. Rodney Hood is a guy
who is very important to our program, but I don’t want to belittle the
other guys. Of course we will reach out to the guys we have signed, but
I want to reach out to the guys we have on our team already. I have
reached out to some and received good feedback. I can answer that
question better in two weeks.” On Player Attrition:
“That
should not hinder how you feel about the program. Those things will
happen when there is a coaching change. I just need to make sure we
don’t have more attrition.” On Recruiting The Midwest:
“It
helps to a degree. We want to build from the inside-out. We want to
recruit Mississippi fi rst. Mississippi is the most important state to
our program. Then we want to lock down the border states. We want to
put a wall around Mississippi. With this day and age in recruiting, you
have an advantage when you can get those (in-state) guys on campus.” On Becoming A Head Coach:
“With
my background, I don’t think it will be a problem because I was given a
lot of room in my previous jobs. It could be daunting for other people,
but I do not think it will be a problem. I relish the opportunity. I do
not believe I will be nervous at all.” On Assistant Coaches:
“My
goal is to sit down and talk with current staff here. I would like to
retain at least one guy from the previous staff, but we have to be on
the same page. They have to have my beliefs and they have to be loyal
to me. I want someone who knows me and knows my recruiting so they can
represent our university the right way. Lastly, I want a wild card, a
guy who recruits me.” On Coaching In The SEC:
“The
SEC has always been thought of as secondary to football. Kentucky has
made everyone up their game if they want to succeed in the SEC. At
Clemson, South Carolina was our rivalry, so I am familiar with
them. I am a student of the game and I always watch other teams.
The reputation of the SEC use to be that you go there to play football.
People are realizing there are good basketball teams here, too.”
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