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TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEMay 22, 2013Chancellor HanceKirby HocuttLawrence SchovanecCandace WhitakerCHANCELLOR HANCE: Thank you very much for being here. We appreciate it. This is a great turnout, and a couple of things. We've got two of the regents here, John Steinmetz and Nancy Neal. I was with them last night in San Antonio. We had about 400 people show up in San Antonio last night. Coach Kingsbury, and Coach Tubby Smith and Tom Stone were all there and they did a great job. It was such an enthusiastic day. It was a lot of fun. Today is a fun day. Last Friday I got a call from my niece, and Emily said, Do you remember Candy White? And I said, Yeah, your friend that lived down the street. I said, What's she doing? And she said she's interviewing you tomorrow at 2:30. I said, Oh. She said, You better vote right. We have a process that the athletic director goes through and comes to the president and then comes to me with a recommendation, and we've had a lot of recommendations lately, Kirby. Boy, we've been working overtime. What a delight, and you're going to love Candy. She is the best. We go through this process for a reason, and not only is she a great coach, but she's a good person and a sound citizen, and someone that loves Texas Tech. At this time I want to turn the program over to Lawrence Schovanec, he's been interim president at Texas Tech, and he's done an outstanding job. We are very proud of him. Lawrence Schovanec. LAWRENCE SCHOVANEC: Thank you, Chancellor, and thank everyone for being here today. On behalf of Texas Tech University and President Nellis who I know very much wanted to be here for this event, I wanted to welcome everyone and thank you for sharing in this great moment in our women's basketball program. Today we welcome back and reunite with one of our own, Candy Whitaker. Coach Whitaker, we are so pleased to have you back on campus leading our women's basketball program. I'd especially like to commend our athletic director, Kirby Hocutt, Marsha Sharp and Judy Henry for conducting such a successful search. President Nellis shared with me how much he appreciated working with them through this process. Our women's basketball program has an incredibly rich legacy, one of the richest traditions in the nation, and we can thank so many players and coaches for getting us to this point. I'd especially like to recognize Marsha Sharp‑‑ where is Coach Sharp? There she is‑‑ for elevating our program to such national prominence that culminated in that crowning achievement of the National Championship in 1993. Marsha's continued support and involvement with the women's basketball program and her former players helped get us to this point today, and we very much appreciate what you've done. Thank you, Marsha, thank you, Judy, and especially, Kirby, for the wonderful job you all did. Now I turn this program over to Kirby who will introduce our new coach. KIRBY HOCUTT: Thank you, Dr.Schovanec. Good afternoon. It is a great time to be a Red Raider. I want to thank everybody for being here this afternoon and sharing with us in this exciting introduction that we have planned in just a few minutes. Prior to that though we move towards the end of the 2012‑2013 academic and athletic year. I want to take a moment to recognize a couple of our teams that are still competing in NCAA competition. Congratulations to Coach Sands and our men's golf team who advanced out of the Columbus regional last week and travel to Atlanta to compete in the NCAA Men's Golf National Championship next week. We're proud of them and the way they have competed all year and wish them the best in Atlanta next week. Also, best wishes to Coach Wes Kittley and the members of our men's and women's track and field teams as they prepare for the NCAA preliminary track meets and the National Championship meet coming up in the next couple of weeks. Then also two members of our two‑time Big 12 Conference Championship women's tennis team, Samantha Adams and Kenna Kilgo, are competing in the doubles portion of the NCAA national tournament starting this week. We wish all of them the very best of luck and are very proud of their achievements. 11 days ago we set out on a search to find the next leader, the next head coach for the Lady Raider Women's Basketball program, and I am very, very excited to welcome back a former Lady Raider to take the lead and lead us into the future. It's going to be an exciting future, and one that we're going to share many successes. But before I formally introduce Candy and turn the microphone over to her, I do want to take a moment to thank Kristy Curry. Kristy Curry did a tremendous job in leading this basketball program. Kristy Curry always represented Texas Tech with dignity and with class, and I thank her for her service and her leadership. We wish her and Kelly only the best with their family as they move forward to Tuscaloosa. I want to also take just a moment and recognize Judy Henry. Judy Henry is the best senior woman administrator, senior associate athletics director in the country. The job she does is tremendous. She was a significant part of this search process. Judy, thank you for your continued leadership. Thank you for your partnership during this search process, and thank you for everything you do for our athletics department each and every day. I also would be remiss if I did not take a moment, as Dr.Schovanec did, and I want to extend a very special thank you to our National Championship Head Coach and Associate Athletic's Director, Coach Marsha Sharp. Coach Sharp, thank you for your support and your leadership during this search process. To have one of the most respected and successful individuals in college basketball history advising me during this search process was tremendous. I couldn't have asked for anything else. Her reach and her knowledge into the women's college basketball world is far reaching, and we are so fortunate and I am so fortunate to have her continue to serve in a leadership position in so many ways throughout our department day‑to‑day, but especially during this process. Coach Sharp was tremendous. Marsha, thank you for your friendship; thank you for your partnership as we worked through this search process to get to where we are today. We have a great team here at Texas Tech. We win together and working together we're going to achieve tremendous, tremendous things in the future. We have so many of our athletic department staff and coaches here today. I thank you for all that you continue to do to serve our student‑athletes in our mission to educate, serve and grow fearless champions. Thank you for the hard work that you bring each and every day to make sure that we are the premier intercollegiate athletics program in this country. And that is our goal to be the very best, and that's what we focus on each and every day and we're never going to take our eyes off of that ambition until we reach that pinnacle. I do want to recognize the head coaches that are with us today. I appreciate their continued leadership and support within our program and what they do each and every day, and to have a large number of them here today is truly special. A lot of them are out on the road recruiting and/or competing. But those with us today, Coach Kingsbury, Kliff, thank you for being here. We're excited about the fall and appreciate your support in being here today. Coach Smith is here with us. Tubby, thank you for being here. We're excited that you have joined our team. We look forward to exciting times ahead with our men's basketball program. I see Coach Flora is with us today. Don Flora is rebuilding our volleyball program. The success that he's having on the recruiting trail, more importantly, the impact he's having on the lives of the young men and women in that volleyball program is tremendous. Thank you for your continued leadership, Coach Don. Coach Siegel, thank you for being here. Appreciate your continued leadership, and look forward to working with you in the future. It's an exciting time. Tim does so much throughout our department. We're excited to have him to continue to be a part of this program as we move forward. Thank you for being here today, Coach Siegel. Any other head coaches that I just have not seen while I'm standing here? Thank all of you for being here today and your leadership. Lady Raider basketball, 1993 National Champions, eight conference titles, 20 NCAA Tournament appearances, a championship program that has been built on the shoulders of so many young talented women, great coaches, and the best fan base in the country. There was tremendous interest throughout the country and this job. It is a premier position and a premier program in this country. There was a very specific set of criteria of characteristics that we were looking for as we identified the next leader of our Lady Raider program. We wanted a leader. We wanted a winner. We wanted somebody who is driven to succeed at the highest level. We wanted somebody who had a plan as to how to elevate Lady Raider basketball back again to the elite level. We wanted a great role model. We wanted a great educator, and we wanted a great coach. The words that follow are the words that were used to describe Candy Whitaker, words that came from people that have worked with her, people that have coached with her, people that have played for her, people that have coached her: Leader, tough, fighter, role model, impeccable character, impeccable integrity were all words to describe Candace Whitaker. The fact that she is a Lady Raider, the fact that she is a West Texan just helped make her the perfect person to lead our Lady Raider program forward. The fact that Matt, her husband, is a former student‑athlete from Midland is a Red Raider was a plus. And the fact that as they got off the airplane last night, they didn't even have to teach Westin how to throw his guns up. We were in San Antonio at an event last night. And at 8:30, I got a text message from Judy who was at the airport with Candy and Matt and Westin and the picture was Westin, just like he is now, threw his guns up. So what a great family to welcome back to Texas Tech, a family that we look forward to working with for years and years to come. Please join me in welcoming our new fearless champion, the leader of our women's basketball program, Candy Whitaker. CANDACE WHITAKER: Thank you all. Thank you. Whew, wow. First, I want to take this opportunity and thank Chancellor Hance, President Schovanec, President Nellis, and obviously the Director of Athletics, Kirby Hocutt for this tremendous opportunity. They are strong, excellent leaders that I really look forward to working with and have the privilege to be here. I'd also like to give a special thank you to Dr.Judy Henry for her tremendous support, hospitality in transition, the help with this transition from Stillwater to Lubbock so quickly. So thank you, Dr.Henry. Obviously, a special, special thank you to coach Marsha Sharp for all her trust and confidence, her support, and most importantly her mentorship. She's just been an unbelievable mentor to me from day one of deciding I wanted to coach. What a great leader and ambassador for the game, and obviously Texas Tech. She is the biggest resource for me, and I will utilize her. I've kind of given her a hard time and begged her not to change her cell phone because I'm going to be calling her a lot. But just a resource that I have on campus and obviously has always been there for me to take my calls at all times. I'd also like to take this moment to thank any member of administration, obviously, the coaches that are here to support as well as the board of regents that are here today. I'm very honored to be the Lady Raider women's basketball coach. For Matt and I, we are just thrilled to be home. As Kirby mentioned, we went to school here and we grew up here, and we have great pride in West Texas and Texas Tech University. There is no better place to live. There is no other place in the world that we'd want to live. We're thrilled for our new baby to be a Texan and born a Red Raider, so we'll give Westin a hard time probably the rest of his life that he's a Kansas baby, but really excited to welcome our new child into the Lubbock community. We just can't think of a finer place to raise a family, and obviously know that firsthand. As I take over this program and have the opportunity to lead this program, I come from such a unique perspective. As a player, I got to experience the tremendous fan support and community support for Lady Raider basketball that made up Lady Raider Nation. The fans are truly what made this program so special and why we had such success and why people wanted to play here. There is no question, I think it takes all of us to compete at the highest level, and we need all of you. We welcome everyone with open arms and want you to be a part of Lady Raider basketball. In terms of recruiting, we are going to recruit high‑character kids that are obviously talented and athletic that can compete at this level. But we want to put a product on the floor that represents West Texas. If there's a West Texas player in this area that can play, we will not let them get out of our home and our backyard. All of our players want to represent Texas Tech and we want our fans and our University to be extremely proud of who they are as people and the product we put on the floor representing our basketball team. I've been very impressed with the players so far. I had the opportunity as soon as it was released that I got on the phone, because it's late May, they're not around, but I was able to reach out to them and speak with them. And I've been extremely impressed with the conversations I've had, their personalities, their attitudes, and the fact that four of them are in Uganda in an orphanage speaks highly for their character and the program. I have a lot of respect, obviously, for the people that have come before me and all the great work that Coach Sharp did, as well as the great season that the Lady Raiders had this past year. We have a lot of new faces coming into the program, and I look forward to working with them this summer with the rule of allowing us to work with them for two hours will be a huge opportunity for us to hit the ground running and for me to get caught up knowing what our strengths and weaknesses are right away. I want to thank everyone that's here. I see a lot of familiar faces. It's so great to be back. I want to especially thank my parents, Jerry and Rose White, my in‑laws, Pat and Barbara Whitaker, and obviously, Matt and Westin for all their love and support. I've always been proud to be part of Lady Raider Nation. I am just blessed to have this opportunity. This is something I've always dreamed of. From an early age, I wanted to coach, and this is a dream come true for me, and I thank you for this opportunity. Thank you. Q. Kirby talked about he wanted to bring someone in who had a plan to bring Lady Raider basketball back to the top. What is your plan? CANDACE WHITAKER: That's a great question. First of all, Tommy, I haven't been ignoring you. Things have been a little crazy. I appreciate you reaching out. Obviously, it starts with recruiting and you obviously have to get the right people on the bus, so to speak, and the right level of talent and athleticism to compete at this level and strong character and people that are going to fight and claw and work extremely hard to do the things that we have to do to win basketball games. It is my goal to reach out to every person in the community that's a Lady Raider fan and that was once a Lady Raider fan and people that want to be new Lady Raider fans. We want to continue to grow that, because, again, I can't tell you how special that makes Texas Tech and Lady Raider basketball is to have that support. When you run out of that tunnel and you have those people behind you, and West Texas people are very true and they're with you through thick and thin. But we welcome everyone with open arms and we're going to reach out as much as we possibly can. Obviously, our players will be a big aspect of that. We want our people and our fans to know our players, and they're going to be great people to know. I need a great staff, which I'm working hard to hire right now. I obviously can't do it alone and don't plan on it. I'm going to hire great people that I will allow them to work and do their jobs to the best of their ability, and we're going to just hit on all aspects of the program to continue to grow and move it forward. Q. I want to ask you if any of your former Lady Raider teammates have reached out to you, and what has been the response from Lady Raider Nation? CANDACE WHITAKER: It's been unbelievable. The thing that is so unique about being a Lady Raider and being in this program, and I have to give a lot of credit to Coach Sharp in how she built that culture. But people I didn't play with have always reached out and we're connected. So the response when I got the‑‑ when it was released that I was going to be the new head coach was just tremendous from all over. Again, players that came before me, players that came after me, we all want to see this program do really well, and I think we all have a great sense of pride in where it's been and where we want it to go. Q. Talk about the excitement. Why is the community so excited about you being back home other than the obvious? Kind of talk about that. CANDACE WHITAKER: You know how Texas folks are, and I think West Texas particularly. It's a special place. I tell people that. I'm very biased, but West Texas is good, hard‑working, loyal people that want to support and get behind people that do the right thing, and I hope that they view that in me and I view that in myself. I think when you can play in a program and come back it's a special thing. Obviously what Kliff Kingsbury has been able to do already, and he hasn't coached a game has been tremendous. I love that people are rallying behind him and excited about Texas Tech football, and I hope that it will be the same for women's basketball and Lady Raiders. I just think there is a level of pride and support that comes from West Texas people. Q. Wanted to get your assessment of the Big 12 conference now that life after Brittney Griner begins for everybody? CANDACE WHITAKER: Well, hopefully we can shoot lay‑ups, throw it to the post and run our offense. She changes that dynamic completely, and obviously being at Oklahoma State this last year, I saw that up close and personal. Baylor will still be good. They still have a lot of talent on their team. Oklahoma returns a lot of people. Iowa State returns a lot of people but loses some key people. I think Oklahoma State's going to be very good. Of course, I know them a little bit better up close and personal than the other teams. TCU will be better. I think Texas will be a lot better. So Kansas lost a lot, Texas Tech lost a lot as far as starters and scoring and production goes, as well as K‑State and Kansas. There will probably be some unknowns, but I assume it will be like every year that every game's a battle, nothing is easy, and it's a grind day‑in and day‑out. Q. You spoke about not letting the west Texas players out of the backyard here. Will you also look outside of the region for recruits? CANDACE WHITAKER: No question. I've been in Valparaiso, Indiana, I've been in Kansas City, and most recently in Stillwater. So I've had the privilege of really recruiting all over. Many of my players at UMKC were from Texas but also a lot of Californians, Missouri, Kansas, Minnesota. So I've been fortunate to be in places where I can bring other dynamics to the recruiting table. We want to recruit Texas. Obviously, there is a strength there if there is a West Texas kid like I mentioned, we're not going to let them out of our home backyard. But we're going to reach out and get the best players that we can possibly find that believe in what we're getting done here and want to be a part of Lady Raider basketball. Q. Coach, can you talk about not only your experiences at UMKC, but also your time in the Big 12 and how it will benefit you here at Texas Tech? CANDACE WHITAKER: I think both benefit me so much. One, head coaching and assistant coaching are two completely different jobs. Until you've done both of them you really don't understand. It's really a matter of comparing apples and oranges. I've been in that head coaching seat; I've learned a lot; I made some mistakes, and I did some things right. But I was fortunate that I was in a place that allowed me to grow and do those things. I'm very comfortable in that seat. And I realize that I really like that seat, and I'm excited. I understand what comes with it good and bad, decision making, and everything that comes with being a head coach. The assistant role allowed me to step back at the associate head position at Oklahoma State and continue to learn from others and watch and obviously get my feet wet coaching and preparing for games in the Big 12. Essentially, I think the game is the same, but to know the players in the Big 12 better as far as the scouting from the scouting perspective I think will help me tremendously. Q. Can you talk about what you learned from Marsha Sharp and what you'll use today that you learned from her as head coach? CANDACE WHITAKER: I think there are so many things. Of obviously, a couple of things that I won't go over all of them because we'll be here all day. But a couple of things when I think of Coach Sharp is, one, she is a problem solver. I can remember that as a player, it was never we're going to focus on the program; it was always what are we going to do to fix this? This can be done. I remember, I came to her and Valparaiso called and offered me a position, and I hadn't graduated yet. I needed to finish up in the summer, and it was going to be something crazy in the summer like 15 hours in a semester. And I went to her and she said, well, I think we can probably make that happen. And I thought, wow, okay. So I met with provost, and we figured out a way to make that happen. That always struck me that she's such a problem solver and a visionary, and someone who reaches out and wants to help other people. It's not about Marsha Sharp. It's about‑‑ it's always about growing the game of women's basketball and Lady Raider basketball. Now she's continued to do great things for all areas. The other thing is you look at her and she obviously knows how to grow a program. There are so many aspects to leading a program.  It's not just about X's and O's and being a great coach and not just about recruiting. While those are very important, there is just a huge umbrella, and I think no one understands that and did a better job than Coach Sharp. Q. Talk about some of the selling points that Texas Tech has right now and the recruiting as you arrive here? CANDACE WHITAKER: I think it's easy for me because I truly love it here. I think that comes across when you are recruiting someone. I think they can tell if you mean what you say, and obviously, I live it and I've been here and this is the place I chose to come to school. So right away I think I'm ahead with my commitment to them and selling them how much I love this place. Obviously, I think you have a tremendous staff. There are some great leaders up here that are great visionaries that are going to lead Texas Tech athletics and Texas Tech in the right direction. The billion dollar mark I think speaks highly of the support for Texas Tech, and I know Kirby is young and creative, and a great visionary, so I have no doubt he's going to take athletics to a new level. We have amazing facilities that will continue to be updated because of their commitment, and we'll stay, I think, ahead of the curve in those areas. I think Lubbock is a special place because not only do you have the college atmosphere that I think every student‑athlete and college person craves, but you also have a community that's big enough to do other things, and job opportunities, and networking opportunities. The education is fantastic and continues to grow. We're growing our research, we're growing our faculty and our enrollment. I think you see a huge commitment to Texas Tech in the future. Thank you all so much. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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