OSU Head Basketball Coach Ritchie McKay Introduced At Gill Coliseum Press Conference
March 27, 2000
CORVALLIS, Ore. - -
"Thank you very much, I really appreciate that. The last time I heard that fight song, we were here with my Portland State team getting whupped. Hopefully, we'll do a little whupping of some other people."
"I'm very excited and I feel blessed and honored to be the next head coach here at Oregon State. This program has such a great, rich tradition combined with great interest from this community and a proud tradition. Those are combinations that will lead to success. To have this appointment is truly an honor for me. My staff and family and I are very excited about the future we have in Corvallis."
"I'm anxious to have a chance to get to know the players that I've watched by competing against them twice at Colorado State the last two years and competing against them as the head coach at Portland State. It's kind of nice to get to have the chance to coach them. I told Brian Jackson last night that he single-handedly almost beat me last year, so I'm now pleased that I'm joining his team."
"I really think this is a unique opportunity for me and my family ... a chance to be in what I believe is one of the best two or three conferences in the nation in the Pac-10. We certainly have a little bit of background in the conference, and I know that there are some great coaches that feel privileged to be in this league. To be a part of what Slats Gill, Ralph Miller, Jimmy Anderson, and coach Payne have done, I'm really elated to have a chance to carry it over and also to bring it back to national respect and prominence."
"My wife Julie couldn't be here, we have a three-week-old and there hasn't been any sleep in the McKay household with the new baby and the potential job change. It's been a rather hectic week. It's finally nice to set feet on Northwest soil."
"Lastly, what you can expect from a McKay-coached team is, number one, we're going to represent this university with great pride. I mean it sincerely, there's not going to be a loose ball that we won't dive on, a charge that we won't take. I think you'll see a great defensive effort like the teams that you've been most proud of in Oregon State basketball. I think our team will reflect that. I also think you will see a fun, exciting brand of basketball that we've had in the previous situations we've been in. I certainly think there's a solid foundation for us to build on."
Q: There's not a lot of time before the signing date. What will you plan on doing for the recruiting process?
McKay: "Fortunately, I've been on the West coast when I was talking to Mitch and his staff about the position change and we identified some potential players if indeed we were to make a change. We're involved with some good people. We have four scholarships left, I'm not sure we'll fill them all. Our goal as a staff is not to settle. We want players, student-athletes of great character but also have an ability to play at this level. We're excited about who we're involved with, and there's only about six of them. If we get four of the six, we will have done a phenomenal job in just the short period that we will have been here."
Q: What's your feeling about a Pac-10 tournament?
McKay: "It's hard to say, I think it can be good and bad. If you finish in the top five of the Pac-10, you're going to the post-season. I told our guys last night our goals are going to be, since there's no Pac-10 tournament as of now, to get in that upper division and make some noise there, especially in late February and March when it counts the most."
Q: How significant of a stop is this for you as a young coach?
McKay: "Well, I cut all the gray out of my hair so you guys can't see how much I've aged. Mitch and I talked in our discussions about Washington being my dream job. Certainly Oregon State represents a job like Washington has. A chance to be in the Northwest and coach in the Pac-10. Again, this is the ninth-winningest basketball program in the nation, not in the west, but in the nation. I think there are so many things you can build on here in Corvallis, and I'm very anxious to get started and hopefully restore the tradition and pride that we once had. In other words, I'm not looking to go anywhere."
Q: What finally convinced you to come to Oregon State after you struggled with the decision for a couple of days?
McKay: "The bottom line is, I had a great job in Fort Collins. The people at Colorado State were great to us, and the community was probably much like it is in Corvallis: a small, quaint community that appreciates the efforts of my staff and I, and my family, and we were respected in the community. We also recruited some players that we were trying to coach, and I think all those things combined with the fact that our family was growing made it a challenging decision. We had won 37 games in two years and still hadn't made it to the NCAA tournament, and that's going to be my goal for any program I coach. So, it was a bit agonizing, but again, I have a great deal of confidence and respect for Mitch Barnhart and President Risser. I think there are some great coaches here. This is a family that I think can really make OSU athletics special. I hope that we can only continue to upgrade and elevate the level of competition."
Q: You mentioned upgrading. Is upgrading the facilities here a priority on your list?
McKay: "Yes, certainly it's been talked about. I'm confident in the administration and their aggressiveness in trying to secure a situation for us that we can be competitive in recruiting. As I said in my comments in the paper, I think Gill Coliseum is a great place to play. I mean, 10,400, that would be quite a homecourt advantage. I'm excited, especially to play the Ducks and get the place packed and see if we can make some noise in here. I really believe this atmosphere and this tradition are great positives to build on."
Closing:
"Thankyou for being here today, and again, I'm very, very excited to be here and I'm looking forward to having the chance to wear the orange and black."
