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UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEMay 11, 2015Jeremy FoleyMichael WhiteJEREMY FOLEY: Thank you all for coming today. We appreciate it very much. I think it was 19 years ago, not quite to the day, but close, that we introduced Billy Donovan in this room. And I can remember the excitement within our program when we did that, and I can tell you right now, the excitement is exactly the same. Obviously, getting Mike White to join us has energized the entire department. You saw the press conference a week or so ago the emotions and the sadness, but we've moved forward. Never moved out of our heart, Billy never will, but now the excitement about what's going on and what the future is going to hold, you can feel it throughout the whole program. We started the search probably when Oklahoma City made the change, and we researched a lot of different people. Mike's name just kept coming up aces every time. It's amazing to me what he's accomplished. We love the fact that he coached in this league, played in this league, love the fact that he recruited the state of Florida. He's got five players on his Louisiana Tech team from the state. He's done an unbelievable job, Louisiana Tech, 101 wins in four years, including, I think 27, 29, and 27 the last three years, conference champions, Coach of the Year. He's a winner. I think that's been evidenced throughout his entire career. That excited us. But most of all, as you've heard me say countless number of times, there is a fit for The University of Florida. Someone who comes in here and understands the value of a total program, understands the value of how we do things with character and integrity. To say his name came to the list on that score would be an understatement. Absolutely amazing his reputation in this profession. When we got in front of him last Thursday, we could see he was a fit. He brings a lot of things to the table. As I said, he's energized us internally, and I promise you, Gator fans are going to embrace him. We're very, very excited to be introducing to you Mike White. Mike? COACH WHITE: Thank you so much. If you don't mind, let me backtrack a little bit. I'd like to‑‑ it's an emotional time for all of us, and I had an you unbelievable opportunity at Louisiana Tech, and I'd like to thank Dr.Dan Reneau and Bruce Van De Velde who originally took a leap of faith and hired a guy who had never run a practice or called a timeout. Dr.Les Guice and Tommy McClelland, their incredible administration was so kind and supportive to me over the last four years. I've had great staff members, and I'd like to thank all of my former players at Louisiana Tech, that afforded my family and I an opportunity to come to the University of Florida. Dr.Kent Fuchs and Jeremy Foley for this unbelievable opportunity, I couldn't thank you more. It's such a pleasure to join such a prestigious institution, a top 10 public university in this country, and the most Googled university in the world. I'll be using that one a lot. That's pretty cool. Also, very fortunate to be a part of this athletic department, an athletic department that's won 34 national titles, including 16 in eight different sports since 2006. An athletic department that's finished in the top 10 in the national all‑sports rankings in each of the last 31 years, absolutely amazing. By the way, we wish Tim Walton and the defending national champion softball team, luck in the NCAA tournament this last weekend. Lastly, very fortunate to inherit such a successful and proud Gator basketball program, a program that's won three of the last five SEC Championships, won two National Championships, has been to five Final Fours, has won four SEC tournament championships, and has produced 11 first round draft picks. It's an absolute honor of mine to replace Billy Donovan, one of the best coaches in the history of this game. I have tremendous respect and admiration for the legacy that he leaves, and it's my charge to continue the momentum that he's maintained for an amazing 19 years. As committed as Dr. Fuchs and Jeremy Foley are to the academic and athletic excellence of this institution, I'll be equally as committed to our Gator fans and family to maintain the national reputation of this program. In doing so we'll continue to recruit talented players with high character, that best represent UF and develop them on the court, in the classroom, and in the community. We'll continue to recruit nationally, but the state of Florida consistently produces some of the best talent in the country, so I'm eager to continue building relationships with coaches in our home state. I also very much look forward to connecting with former Gators as I know how crucial they've been to all of the success that Coach Donovan has had here. I'm extremely eager to work with our current players. I've met most, and I've been really impressed with them as people and as young men. I'm anxious to be a part of their continued development. In closing, it's an amazing blessing and an honor to be here today. We were committed, my family and I, Kira and I, and our five kids, to staying at Louisiana Tech until something really special presented itself, and this is certainly special. The strength and The University of Florida brand name and an opportunity to work with Jeremy Foley, his staff and its culture make this extra special. I'm looking forward to getting Kira and the kids down as soon as possible. We left the kids in Ruston with Kira. They're locked in the house with her, so they didn't ruin this press conference. And when they get down, we can't wait to entrench ourselves in what we hear is an unbelievable community to live in in Gainesville. I'd love to answer any questions, if I could. Q. First of all, welcome to the Gainesville. COACH WHITE: Thank you. Q. You had opportunities last year, Tennessee, Missouri. What made this opportunity in particular kind of feel right for you? COACH WHITE: I've dodged committing to talking to certain institutions in particular, but we have had interest, my wife and I, because of the success that we've had. It's been flattering. We've been courted by some really good institutions and some really good athletic directors. Timing is of the essence, and we've had family issues with adding to our family in the past, which has always been a little bit of a factor. But the biggest factor, again, is us being patient for the right one, and it's amazing how God works, and it's ended up that we're in a place where my wife and I have dreamed about being at a place like this for a long, long time. Us both being from Florida, and her growing up and living her entire life in Florida until college, and again, with the opportunity to work with Jeremy and his staff, it's an amazing opportunity. Q. A lot of people around college basketball have talked about your style being similar to Billy Donovan's in terms of wanting to get up and down, tempo. Do you anticipate there being a little bit of a transition though? How do you think maybe the players will be receptive to a little bit of that, and how will it be different in some ways than Billy Donovan? COACH WHITE: Sure, let me first say anyone who is comparing us to Billy Donovan in any way is an absolute compliment. I'm not sure how much we play like Florida. I guess we'll find out a lot more about that in these coming months as we get a chance to go back and watch a lot of film. Just as Coach Donovan was entrenched into this team and the process for this team to make strides next year, so was I with Louisiana Tech here until a few days ago. So very, very new to all of this. It will be educational for me over this next time period to figure out what we have and how to best serve these student‑athletes and how to best play. Q. Dan Reneau said when you took over the Louisiana Tech job, one of the first things you did was give him a book that had a 30‑day plan. I'm wondering if you did the same with Kent Fuchs or Jeremy Foley? Even if you didn't, what are some of the major things you want to accomplish within these next 30 days? COACH WHITE: I actually, as Jeremy and his staff left my house the other day, I handed them a packet with a first hundred days, a little bit different, after gaining a little bit of experience, at least, over the last four years. Priority number one is really just getting to know these guys in the back of the room. Starting to develop that relationship so I can best learn how to help them, and that's my charge more than anything as your basketball coach is to figure out how to help them be as successful as possible. Obviously, we want to hit the ground running with recruiting. Then I'd like to get a chance to meet people on campus and figure this whole thing out a little bit. Q. What about putting together a staff? I know that's got to be important to you and potentially bringing over some coaches that you had at Louisiana Tech? COACH WHITE: I've got a terrific staff, so that's one of the reasons I'm standing in front of you. And I have former staff members that moved on that I worked with at Louisiana Tech as well. Three of them are here with me now. Jordan Mincy, Darris Nichols and Kyle Church who all do a terrific job. And Dusty May is left behind, interviewing for that Louisiana Tech head job. He's very, very well‑deserving. A terrific, terrific coach, a great person, and we wish him the best. If he doesn't get that job, we have a place for him here. In the meantime, we're surveying the landscape. Q. Can you talk about any trepidation you might have had about following a guy like Billy, and a guy that's built such a legendary resume over the last 19 years? COACH WHITE: Didn't have any whatsoever. That was one of the first questions that Jeremy asked me. My answer to him is I would absolutely embrace the opportunity to follow a legend and to learn from a lot of the people that helped him from along the way. From what I understand and from what I'm starting to understand in person, is that the administration here and the support staff of the basketball program in all facets is absolutely incredible. I've had a chance to talk to Coach Donovan a few times here in the past few days, and he blows these people out of the water when he talks about them. He's obviously very endeared to these people. We have a very, very talented group of administrators and support staff. So I'm just anxious. I'm anxious to work with all of them. Again, it's more of embracing the fact that you have a great, great job that Coach Donovan has built. I think it was a good job when he got here, and now it's a great job. Q. Were most of your conversations with Billy about personnel? COACH WHITE: Yeah, I would say personnel and also the other people that surround the program. The people that are really important to him. Obviously, he wants to see The University of Florida continue to be really successful. He'll continue to be a great resource, and I'm extremely appreciative because I know how busy he is. Q. You mentioned recruiting being a high priority. The first priority there is recruiting the recruits, the four kids that have already signed. Have you reached out to them? Can you give us a sense where those young men are from your conversations? COACH WHITE: Yeah, all four we've reached out to. I've met a couple in person. These couple Florida guys I look forward to meeting with this week. We've had a bunch of positive feedback. I don't think we've had any final answers yet. I'm not into begging. I think this place to a certain extent sells itself. I think all four of these guys obviously chose University of Florida for a lot of the right reasons, really all the right reasons. Florida sells itself. This institution sells itself. But they wanted to play for Coach Donovan. I understand them having second thoughts. I understand that. I appreciate it. I accept it. And if those guys want to be here, I'd love to have them. If not, we'd love to help them find the right place for them. Q. What do you know about the roster you're inheriting? COACH WHITE: I know, I guess, a certain amount from just having a chance to talk to Coach Donovan again on the phone, and just going back remembering four or five games I was able to watch last year on the SEC Network. I know that we've got some talent. I know that talking with them one‑on‑one over the past few days I think we've got some really good people. Coach, obviously, confirms that as do our administrators. So, if any of these guys signed to play here, again, for Billy Donovan at Florida, they're good players obviously. They're good players. We need to figure out how to best help them and continue that development that was taking place until now. Q. Is it Mike or Michael, first off? COACH WHITE: Either one. Depends what type of mood you're in. Q. What recruiting philosophy‑‑ you've signed a lot of guys from Florida. How important is it keeping the best guys from state, and also, what is your kind of scope coming from your experience? COACH WHITE: Sure. I think at The University of Florida we can recruit nationally. I think you can get involved with kids in all 50 states, and I think that in the past that this basketball program has proven that. But I also understand how important it is to recruit our state, especially a state that's as fertile as it is. I've always enjoyed recruiting this state. Not only because I liked traveling to Florida, but because there are really good players here. And we're not going to get them all, but we're going to recruit them all. Q. You grew up in the state before Billy Donovan had gotten to Florida, there had never been any sustained success in any basketball program in the state. Why do you think that is? And what makes you think you can continue to have sustained success? COACH WHITE: Of course, he's really, really good. And over the next few years and hopefully few months I'll be able to become more educated on why he was so good. I think the national reputation for Coach Donovan is that obviously he's very, very smart. He's a terrific recruiter. I think he's also, in watching his teams over the past decade or so, two decades, I guess they had to have been really, really good with skill development. Because I know his guys continue to get better under his watch over time, and he's had a lot of guys that have gone on to make money playing basketball that weren't necessarily that good when they got here. So I know he's had a lot of talent, but he's also, him and his staff, I think, have been great with skill development, helping guys get better. Q. I know you were born in Dunedin. How old were you when you left? What schools did you go to and what are your memories of Florida? Were there much? Were you young when you left? COACH WHITE: Good question. I was two weeks old when I left, two weeks old. I've got a great story for you. I'm going to get this out of the way. My wife's probably watching. Sorry, Kira, I know you're embarrassed. Two weeks old we move, and as I'm growing up as sort of an Army brat is the best way to describe it. Hey, my dad's an athletic director. What's an athletic director? All right. My Dad's military. I finally just started telling my classmates my dad's military. So we lived everywhere growing up, and a few times during my childhood I would ask mom, where was I born again? Dunedin, Florida? Where's Dunedin? And never knew. Never went back to Dunedin. And I met my wife at University of Mississippi, and we met there, and she was from Dunedin, Florida. And incredible how it all works out, and she grew up here, of course. She's just as excited, if not more excited to come back home. So it's just a really special opportunity. Q. She went to Dunedin High School? COACH WHITE: She went to Clearwater Central Catholic, and I didn't go to a day of school my first two weeks, I don't believe. You might have tried to get me out of the house, mom. Q. Okay. So the memories are short from Florida, but you seem to have this relationship with kids and coaches. How did that develop and how do you see that moving forward? And how do you want it to build? COACH WHITE: I'm glad you gave me another opportunity. I was born here, really never lived here, but it's funny that our family has always found a way to come back. I bet you out of the first 16, 18 summers as a kid growing up, we found our way, our extended family. Whether it's my mom's brothers and sisters or my dad's brothers and sisters, somehow we'd find ourselves in Florida just about every year. My parents actually bought a place on the east coast about ten years ago, and it's become where all of us‑‑ it's a big family. There are about a hundred of us on the beach over there on the east coast. So we've always been drawn here. My twin boys who are 5 years old were sick when I told them that we were moving. We weren't any longer going to be Bulldogs. I told them this the other day. And Jeremy had left some Gator hats, and they loved the Gator hats. They were sporting them around the house, but they didn't like that we weren't going to be Bulldogs. But when I said we were moving to Florida, they turned quickly. They turned quickly. Especially when we talked about the beach, and we talked about grandparents, and we talked about Mickey, and they were sold. They're ready to be down here immediately. I'm not sure that they're ready to be Gators yet. We still have to convert them, but everyone in the family is excited about living in Florida without question. Q. Your relationship with the coaches and kids here, how do you develop it? How do you see it building? How do you want it to build to develop? COACH WHITE: Well, I think that relationships just build overtime through connecting, you know, through phone calls and texts, and emails, and relationships with some of their players. We certainly expect that to continue. I've been able to coach, both at Ole Miss and at Louisiana Tech, Florida kids that have been very, very successful. This is obviously a different conference. It's a different level, but we hope to tap into some of those relationships and continue to build more. Q. SEC has brought in some great coaches this off‑season. How excited are you to go up against guys like that? COACH WHITE: It's really exciting. It's a terrific league. It's always been a terrific league in all sports. But basketball has made a jump, and really basketball in the SEC made a jump last season with the additional teams in the NCAA tournament, and really a couple others that were right there on the bubble. So it's a league that continues to build its basketball brand, and I'm excited to be a part of it. Q. With a family that's all in administration, was there a time that you considered going that route? What was it about coaching that of made you go away from the family business? COACH WHITE: My dad tried to talk me out of coaching early on, but it really, as a lot of coaches will tell you, it's not work to me. It's a passion. It's been a life‑long passion. I love the game, I love being around it, and to be paid for what we do, it's like stealing. Q. I was going to ask you about scheduling and what are the odds of a Florida‑Duke home at home seeing how you have some connections? COACH WHITE: Should we put them on the spot right now (laughing)? That would be incredible, of course, and we'll take a swing at it in terms of scheduling over the next couple years. I know we'll be leaning heavily on Mike Hill. I'm not really familiar with who we're playing right now. I'm not familiar with even where my office is or how to get to campus but we'll figure those things out here over the next couple weeks. Q. Another question about your dad and your family ties and stuff.  Just how competitive was that household growing up with two brothers that were in an athletic administration, and your dad who used to send you faxes maybe when you weren't playing well at Ole Miss? COACH WHITE: Really competitive household to say the least. All of us were in athletics. We were all athletes. There were five of us cramped up together as we were moving across the country several different times. We're a very, very tight knit family, but especially the middle part of the siblings, if you. Myself, and my two younger brothers, we're pretty close in age. We'd battle in football, soccer, basketball, what have you, but we had a lot of fun. Q. Four years at Louisiana, obviously had a lot of good, regular season success, and maybe a few slip‑ups in conference tournaments. How do you reflect on that? Do you look at it as maybe some bad luck or things that you maybe could have done differently in those situations? COACH WHITE: Yeah, as you go back, there are always things you could have done differently. Some of it is a missed free throw, a made free throw, a missed blockout, a poor transition, defensive possession, but that said, it's very, very difficult not only for Louisiana Tech in Conference USA, but other teams in that league and other mid‑major teams in mid‑major conferences that aren't producing more than one NCAA tournament team. It's tough. I don't want to call Conference USA a one ‑bid league, because I thought we were on our way. I thought Old Dominion was really close. We were just behind them in terms of fighting for an at‑large, and we were right on the bubble for an at‑large. It's a league I'm proud to say that I coached in, and I think they'll get to the point where they can be multi‑bid. But that said, for right now in the one-bid leagues, it's very, very difficult. The margin for error is so small, despite going 15‑3 and being as consistent as you can possibly be. Two years ago, despite winning 18 consecutive games and getting in the top 25, in those situations you better win three in three days or you're out of luck. Q. I know you just talked about how Conference USA, it's tough to make the tourney, but I want to take you back to your introductory press conference at Louisiana Tech. You mentioned that Reneau said, "Alexander the great was the same age as you when he conquered the world. The least you can do is take us to the NCAA tournament." COACH WHITE: That's what he said? I didn't say that, as you know. Q. Yes, he said that. COACH WHITE: Put me right on the spot before our first press conference. That made me feel really at ease. Thanks, Dr.Reneau. Q. I'm just wondering, if you still consider your time there a success, even though you didn't make it and do you feel like you accomplished your goals there? COACH WHITE: We accomplished 99% of them. An absolute success. We had 11 student‑athletes that exhausted their eligibility under me, and nine have graduated and the other two will have graduated by the end of this course. Louisiana Tech is on the quarter system. We have nine all‑league players. We won three consecutive championships. We've rejuvenated the fan base. The Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston has become a really, really tough place to play. We've won 49 out of the last 50 games at home, which out of the last 50 is number one in the country. I keep saying we. I still feel a part of it. But now, obviously, I'm excited to be a part of the O'Connell Center and the home court advantage here. But, absolutely, it was a tremendous success. I apologize to Dr.Reneau that we couldn't get back to the NCAA tournament, but now my focus is on helping the Gators get to the NCAA tournament. Q. Also, going back to just after your playing days, I know you talked about how you tried out some internships at some big companies, and I was just wondering what those companies were? Was there a time when you were there because I know you mentioned it was like Wall Street kind of stuff, and stuff very different from what you're doing now. Was there a time that you had an ah‑ha moment? COACH WHITE: Yeah, if I remember correctly, and we're going back a ways now. I did, and pops you could probably help me, but he had a couple buddies. There was a big donor at the university of Maine that owned Dexter's Shoe at the time. We went up and I worked for Dexter Shoe Company for a couple of weeks. It was quite the experience, had a great time. It was educational. Then a really close friend of my father was on Wall Street, and I actually forget the name of the company, but I ghosted him, if you will, for a week. This is probably, I don't know, 19 years old. Half of a lifetime ago. But those were great opportunities, but those opportunities also taught me what we talked about earlier, that basketball is my passion, and it's what I wanted to do for a living, if I could. Q. So technically were you a shoe salesman for two weeks? COACH WHITE: Sales went way down. I don't know what the heck I was doing. I was just in people's way, really. But they were gracious to give me the opportunity. Q. What do you consider a fair expectation for Florida basketball right out of the gate? COACH WHITE: I'm not sure I can answer that question. I'm sorry. I think that's for everyone else to decide. What I'm most focused on is getting better every day, being really competitive, doing our job helping these guys in the back of the room develop their skills and represent this university the way it deserves to be represented. We're going to play hard. We're going to play fast to a certain extent. We've got to figure out what's in this roster's best interest. Off the floor, we've got to do the things we're supposed to do. We're going to act like men and represent this athletic department as well. Q. I'm curious, what was your calling card as a player? COACH WHITE: Probably more than anything, fouling. I was a really good fouler. I know Jeremy stood up here, was it a week ago today, Jeremy? You said you were looking for a coach that played about 53 games in the NBA, right? And I thought to myself, I didn't tell Jeremy this in the interview. It probably would have knocked me out. But I think I averaged about 5.3 points a game at Ole Miss. That 53 somewhat similar. Probably 5.3 fouls a game too. But they only were three or four. I played hard. I played for a guy named Rob Evans who I loved dearly. Who outside of my parents, is probably my biggest mentor. Who really built Ole Miss from absolute scratch. When I got there in 1995, when I and my better teammates got there together, we had zero at‑large bids in the history of the school, and we earned three straight. Coach Evans did it the right way. He did it with great kids, and we defended, and rebounded, and we found ways to win close games. He was a great evaluator as well. So what I did was just try to stay on the floor by not turning the ball over again, and get that ball to the right guys. To Cece and Keith Carter and Jason Smith and Joezon Darby and those guys. In fact, Joezon, it was either a buzzer beater or it was really late in the game at a win in Florida, it's a memory that I have playing down here. I can't remember what year it was. We need to look it up, but we had a great, great group. Q. Is there anything more that you can draw from that now that you're going to be coaching in this league? COACH WHITE: Oh, probably more than anything in coaching in this league would be the relationships you have with the recruiting base, more than anything. Scouting is scouting, and coaches and programs and players have all changed. There's been turnover through the years, but I guess the pride of being in the SEC you have to have, obviously, to compete against some of the best coaches and players in the country. But my experience here will probably, hopefully we'll benefit more along the recruiting lines as much as anything else. Q. I'm sorry to bring up potentially a bad memory of your playing career. But were you on the court when Bryce Drew hit his shot? COACH WHITE: Oh, wow. I accept your apology. I was not. I had front row seats. I had probably made a couple dumb plays and I was on the bench. That was a tough moment there because we were having a great year. In fact, I want to say we were ranked maybe in the top 10 at the time and really finished strong. That was supposed to be our year. That was Coach Evans' last year before my father stole him from me at Arizona State. Just a tough memory, but I wasn't happy for Bryce at the time, but I still am happy for him. What a great guy. When I see him on the road at some of these recruiting events or Final Fours, coaching conventions, I always say I still hate you, Bryce, but you're a heck of a guy. Q. What is it going to be like coaching against Andy Kennedy for the first time in SEC play? COACH WHITE: Oh, I should have been prepared for this one. I'll have to look up, of course. He's a big dude. Andy's a big dude. It will be exciting, really. It will be probably emotional a little bit just going back and thinking about how much he helped me, really, and how much I learned from him and continue to learn from him just by watching his teams play. He's the winningest coach in Ole Miss history. He gave me a great opportunity to coach under him and work under him. It will be rewarding. It will be rewarding. I guess at some point when we go back to Oxford, it will be extra emotional at that time. Q. It's well‑documented that your father is the AD at Duke. So I'm wondering, has Coach "K" ever given you advice? COACH WHITE: He has. On several occasions he's reached out, and I've got some great memories. Some that I could probably share and some that I'd like to keep private. But in a small amount of time we've been able to really develop our own relationship from afar. I know him and my father are very, very close. Growing up in this business, just like you idolize a guy like Billy Donovan and try to emulate a lot of things that he does as a coach and as a recruiter, and you're always tuned in to watching them as much as possible, same goes for Mike Krzyzewski, obviously, one of the greatest coaches in the history of all sport. So for him to reach out and give guidance and advice at different times has been incredibly humbling, to say the least. Q. Being a former point guard, what is your philosophy on point guards? Do you look at them as facilitators or scorers, and how hard are you on them? COACH WHITE: I would say I'm a little harder on point guards than the other four spots on the floor, little bit more demanding. I'd like them to take more of a leadership role than anyone else, at least vocally during the game. I think leaders can be different in different ways. I also know how crucial it is to have really good point guard play. I've been around really good ones. I've been around really good ones. I've played with some good ones. And over the last, ever since I've been in coaching, you all would know better than I have, it's been a blur this week. I think I've been coaching 15 years or so, and I would say just about every year we've had an all‑league point guard. I don't know what the stat is on that. In the last four years I've had a special point guard in Speedy Smith. I hope he's watching. I owe him a lot of thanks. He was an incredible player and incredible leader for us. He's a guy that I think should be drafted next month. It's not up to me though. But I think he can play in the NBA. And a guy from Boca Ciega in St. Pete right down the road. But point guards are very, very important to the success of your program, and I look forward to working with ours, for sure. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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