Bryan Mullins press conference transcript

CARBONDALE, Ill. — New Southern Illinois men's basketball head coach Bryan Mullins met with the media for the first time on Thursday afternoon. Here's a complete transcript of his first press conference at SIU.

Director of Athletics Jerry Kill Opening Statement
I will just tell you that when I was talking about what we were going to do in hiring somebody, that we had to get the right fit. That's what we looked for and Bryan is the right fit. I wanted to get somebody who was going to get our kids to play hard, and there's no question he will do that. You can tell by the way he played, players reflect the coach. You can tell by where he's come from the way (Loyola's) kids played. I will also add that from Coach (Porter) Moser from Loyola, you're always looking for a coach that kids want to play for, and as parents you want (the coach) to care for. The players loved Bryan Mullins at Loyola and that's important in coaching, there's no question about that. The other thing we talked about is toughness. I want a tough team. There's no question (Bryan) checked the box with that. I wanted a high-quality, high-intellect basketball coach. He checked the box with that because he's off the charts in that area. I sat and visited with him on his interview and when I walked out, I said, 'man, I was expecting him to be good, but I had no idea the intellect of basketball that he had.' I wanted a professional — a first-class person and a professional — and we got that in Bryan Mullins. There's no question we will be successful, we'll do it the right way, and we can't pick a (more) perfect person that is the right fit than Bryan Mullins.

Bryan Mullins Opening Statement
I want to first thank Chancellor Dunn and Coach Kill for giving me this incredible opportunity to come back home and represent my alma mater, this University once again. I want to start by also thanking my parents for instilling the values of hard work, humility, honesty, self-discipline and loyalty. They say you are who you are because of your parents, and I couldn't be more blessed to have two of the best parents by my side every single day. I need to thank my brothers, Brendan and Mike, for always being my biggest supporters through my playing career and through my coaching career. I want to thank my girlfriend, Kady, who is here with me today. She's agreed to go on this crazy, chaotic, emotional but unbelievably rewarding journey known as coaching, with me. I want to thank a couple of my coaching mentors — guys who have always been there for me. Starting with Chris Lowery, he believed in me as a player and I think truthfully, he believes in me now even more as a coach. Porter Moser, for giving me an opportunity to start in this profession and for allowing me to help create a vision where we created a culture that produced results, rather than trying to produce results that created a culture. I also want to thank Rodney Watson, Jack Owens, Daniyal Robinson, Brad Korn and Emmanuel Dildy for all their advice through the years.

A lot of people, especially this last week, asked me what makes SIU so special, why do you want to be the head coach at SIU? For me, it comes down to the tradition, the people and the future of the program.

For the tradition, there's no other team in the Valley that has SIU Basketball's history and tradition. To be able to play at this University and wear the Saluki jersey, the same jersey that Walt Frazier, Seymour Bryson, Greg Starrick, Mike Glenn, Kent Williams, Jermaine Dearman, Darren Brooks, Jamaal Tatum — all the great players that played here — it's truly, truly special to me. Now to be a head coach at this University, where Coach (Bruce) Weber, Coach (Matt) Painter, Coach (Chris) Lowery — so many great coaches have been here. Every coach has their own style and every coach has their own philosophy, but I think the coaches that have had success here, the coaches that have won here truly realized that in order to win at a place like SIU, you have to find kids who play hard and have a chip on their shoulder.

On to the people — the people are what makes this place so special. I've said it before and I'll always say it, to have the guidance and confidence of Chancellor Dunn, Coach Kill is amazing. To be able to work and to learn from Coach Kill every single day going forward is something I truly relish, and I cannot wait to learn from him. To be able to be involved with Dr. (Seymour) Bryson and Dr. (Harold) Bardo and be around Mike Reis again, and all the people who are great ambassadors for this University is something I'm truly looking forward to. To be in a department filled with coaches like Coach (Nick) Hill, Coach (Cindy) Stein, Coach (Ken) Henderson, Coach (Ed) Allen and Coach (Kerri) Blaylock, is an incredible honor for me. I know all the coaches at this place truly believe, they strive for and demand excellence on and off the court or the field. I'm definitely going to be one of those coaches.

I think the future of SIU Basketball, I think this is the best time to be here. I'm so excited to be the head coach. There's not a better time. This school, walking around the facilities, seeing the turnout, seeing the reaction, the passion, the fan base — it's amazing. To all the Saluki supporters, to all the alumni, to the people of Southern Illinois, it's because of your pride and passion for SIU Basketball that nowhere else in the Valley has. That's what makes it so special. The people here are the difference. I can't wait to coach my first game in the arena. I can't wait to coach my first sell-out game in the arena. It's a true honor for me to be here right now. I truly believe with every ounce of my body that this place is special, and when you have a group of young men and coaching staff and administration and a University and a community who are all pulling in the same direction, who all want the same thing, that's when special, unforgettable memories are created. That's what I hope and I know will happen here. Thank you again for allowing me to be your head coach and Go Dawgs.

What are your plans for keeping the players together?
I met with the players earlier today, they were all great. For me, I'm a relationship coach. I have to get to know the players to trust them, I want the players to trust me. The only way to build trust with players and build relationships is spend time with them. That's what I'm going to do, I'm going to spend time with the guys, I'm going to get to know them, I'm going to find out about their backgrounds some more. I think an advantage that I have is that I coached in this league, I know these guys, I scouted against them, so I know their basketball games. I just don't know their family histories, I don't know what makes them tick, I don't know why they love the game and that's what I'm going to find out.

Will senior guards Aaron Cook and Eric McGill stay for next year or transfer?
They haven't indicated they want to transfer. Like I said, I met with them today and they were great, unbelievable young men. We had great conversations, and like I said, it's about a relationship with them, I truly believe that. I'm going to reach out to their family members, people involved. With them I think I have an opportunity to really form a great relationship. I explained to them, we had two guards last year at Loyola — Marques Townes and Clayton Custer — they were both graduate seniors and they both could have gone to any school in the country, and they both chose to come back to Loyola this year because they realize that being here for three, four years — the comfortability factor allowed them to have the best success to have a great senior year. I explained that aspect to (Cook and McGill) and I think that related to them a little bit as well.

Have you talked to the players who signed with SIU last fall?
I reached out to the families and the kids last night. I talked to Lance (Jones), I talked to his dad. I left a message for Evan (Taylor), I talked to Chris Payton as well.

What are the advantages to you having coached in this league?
For me being a first-time head coach I think that's huge. I know this league, I know the team's rosters, I know what we need to make us successful, I know what type of players win championships in this league. I feel comfortable with everything in place here under the leadership of Coach Kill that it's going to happen here.

Can you take us through the last few days, coaching in the NIT to here you are?
It's been a crazy couple days for sure. Coaching in the NIT with those seniors — Marques Townes and Clayton Custer — I'll be forever connected with those guys. Knowing that it could be their last game, hoping it wasn't, I was trying to do my best to prepare them and the team to be as successful as possible. After the loss it was very hard, there's a lot of tears in the locker room, and then knowing that I had to move on, but excited about this opportunity, it's just been a whirlwind. It's been awesome for me to be able to see again the fan outreach and outpour of support from everyone down here.

When were you offered and when did you accept the job?
Coach Kill offered it to me on Sunday night and I told Coach Kill I accepted it. I didn't sign anything until yesterday, there was negotiations (with my agent), stuff that I was out of, but I signed the contract maybe two o'clock, three o'clock yesterday.

With six seniors graduating and three freshmen redshirting, how prepared for success is SIU's roster for the short term?
I think we have some work to do this spring. I'm excited about it. I can't wait to get out recruiting and wear the SIU logo and talk to kids and get into family's houses and explain my vision for the program and what type of kids I believe are successful. I think we have some great players returning as well, I think the other staff has done a great job and they have high-character guys in the locker room.

Was there something you felt like you needed to sell to Coach Kill during the interview?
It was really my first time having a sit-down conversation with Coach Kill. I knew a ton of people who knew him, and I know of him. The respect that everyone has for him is really what made this job really appealing for me. I think the biggest thing for myself was I wanted to let him know that I was ready to be a head coach, that I've prepared for this, really since the day I started coaching, especially at Southern Illinois, too, a school I played at and where I know you can be successful.

What strategies are you bringing with you to SIU from Loyola?
Offensively, I think Loyola has been one of the best field-goal percentage offensive teams in the country the past couple years. I believe in playing with pace and having good spacing and having good ball movement, good player movement. I believe the ball should move, it should be .5 seconds (to) pass, shoot or dribble. I want a self-less team, I want guys to make the extra pass. Defensively, in the Valley, you have to be able to win games on the defensive end. If you look at it the last 10 years, the top three teams in the league are the top three defensive teams. I believe in five guys playing as one on defense.

There's been a grassroots effort for two years here among fans to get you here. Were you aware of that?
I was aware of it when this whole process was going on, I think there was a story that came out, I don't know a week ago, or a week and a half ago. I have friends down here, I have life-long relationships down here, so you always here rumors, but I never thought any of it until last week.

What is it about you that has captured the imagination of Saluki fans?
I hope it's my work ethic, I hope it's my toughness, I hope it's my self-confidence, I hope it's my presence on the court and coaching off the court. There's nothing magical, there's nothing crazy about me. I believe in working hard and doing your best. I believe in relationships with the guys and I've got to be able to pull the most out of every single player. That's why I love coaching, because it's not just about the Xs and Os.

Knowing that (you have the fans support) does that put any more pressure on you?
I'm a head coach, I'm expected to win games. If I was at Southern Illinois or a Division II, Division III school, it would be the same for me. I'm going to do things the same way, I'm going to do things the right way, I'm going to recruit the right type of kids. I truly believe if you do that, good things will happen.

Can you expand on what you mean about results follow culture?
At Loyola, we wanted to create a culture that produced results, so we wanted to have that foundation, we wanted to create this culture where we didn't talk about the end goal, we didn't talk about the results, we didn't talk about winning the MVC championship or going to a Final Four. I think that's how you have to do it. You have to buy into the process, you have to be obsessed with your culture, and you have to protect it every single day. Rather than, hey, I want to win 20 games and hopefully the culture's really good later if I can win 20 games, I think if you can build a culture you can build a locker room. You do it with the right coaching staff and the right administration, then the results, the championships, the NCAA Tournaments will take care of themselves.

What are your plans for the coaching staff?
I'm definitely looking at it and going through it. I understand as a head coach you're only as good as your staff. It's a huge decision for me and I'm sorting that out right now, but the one thing I know is I'm going to have great people on my staff who care about the guys and who care about SIU and who represent themselves and this University the right way.

Drake had a lot of success this year going the juco route — is that something you're leaning toward or will you build with freshmen?
Coach (Darian) Devries did an amazing job. I think the Valley, mid-major basketball, you have to build your team in all different ways. You gotta get the right type of kids, whether that's a graduate senior, a junior college transfer or a high school freshman, they have to fit what you're trying to do. I think you can do a little bit of everything to build it. If you look at our Final Four team last year, we had one junior college transfer, we had two Division I transfers, we had four freshmen, so I think you have to get the right type of kids on your roster.

How hard was it to say goodbye to Loyola and those players?
It was extremely tough, just because of the relationship with them. Like I told them all when I accepted this position, our relationship isn't over. It's not about basketball with those guys — I know their families, I know their girlfriends and I'll always be in touch with those guys. For the seniors who just left, we'll be connected forever for sure.

What do you plan to do to get students to the games?
We have to cultivate that energy on campus. We have to get with resident housing, we have to get the freshmen out of the dorms and into the arena, we gotta get with Greek life, we have to be creative in different ways, different fund-raising, different advertising/promotional things. The arena is one of the best things about this University — the atmosphere in that arena. When the students are in there, it's an unbelievably hard place to play and we have to have that home court advantage.

What was the reaction of the recruits you talked to?
Lance was excited. I know a lot of those guys because they're local guys, they're Illinois guys. He was excited. I told all of those guys we'll talk again when I get back after today. Like I said, I left a message for Evan Taylor, I didn't get a hold of him, but I think he just tried to call me back an hour ago. Chris was the same way, Chris was excited. Chris knows my brother, Brendan, really well from being at Illinois State and being in Bloomington, so I know Chris as well a little bit.

How good should Southern be on a long-term basis?
Like I said, I believe this place is special because of the people here and the fan base here. I don't think in the Valley there's more passionate fans who love basketball, and with the facilities they have now, there's no reason why this shouldn't be a top program in the league every year. Obviously, when I was playing there were 3-4-5 teams from the conference getting into the NCAA Tournament, so it's hard to judge how many bids should the league get? Does that define your success? I truly believe this program should compete for championships year-in and year-out.

You were a two-time Academic All-American — comment on your focus on academics.
It's non-negotiable in terms of going to class, in terms of passing all your classes. I truly believe if you take care of everything off the court, usually that translates to on-the-court success as well. At Loyola, we had the top graduation rate in the country. Academic success and having kids who want to get a degree is extremely important to me. The kids are going to graduate, the kids are going to go to class. I'm definitely going to make sure of that.

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