Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
[ Applause ]
[ Silence ]
>> Mike Gore: Wow, what a great crowd for something with short notice.
Thank you so much for coming here today for this very,
very special day as Nick McDevitt becomes the first alumnus to ever -
to become our head men's basketball coach.
So Nick, congratulations.
[ Applause ]
We are going to hear from our Director of Athletics, Janet Cone, first.
Then we'll hear from Nick, and then we'll do some one-on-one interviews after that.
So without further ado, this is Janet Cone, our Director of Athletics.
[ Applause ]
>> Janet Cone: Thank you Mike Gore.
Wow, what a day.
What a day for our university, our athletic department,
our men's basketball program, our community.
And what a day for this guy.
This is a dream come true.
And, you know, to be a part of that is so much fun,
to know someone and actually see them grow up.
I spent a lot of time out there at Madison High School --
not recruiting Nick, but recruiting a lot of those wonderful women's basketball players.
And then to see Nick develop into the kind of leader that he is today.
But before I talk more about Nick, I actually want to take a little bit of time to thank -
you know, we are a university that's very resourceful, and we try to use our resources --
both people and funds and volunteers -- in the best way possible.
And one of the resources we were able to use for this particular process was
to really create our own search for him.
The only problem is we didn't get paid $50,000 to do it.
But what a great group of people that helped with this search.
And I want to start out by thanking - member of our board of trustees, Bruce Peterson,
for being on this and helping me in such a positive, positive way.
[ Applause ]
Absolutely.
[ Applause ]
I also want to thank Terri Brne, Associate Athletic Director, who is also the liaison
with our human resources, and Karla Piccirillo, who was very involved in that.
So thank you so much Terri.
[ Applause ]
A dear friend of mine, who for a couple of nights in a hotel, said he would help out,
who is a well respected -- actually he was a national athletic director of the year a couple
of years ago -- Nelson Bobb volunteered to kind of help us in this process,
and he was a great help doing a lot of research on our candidates,
actually interviewing Nick himself, and really helped our university in such a positive way.
So Nelson's not here, but I do want to recognize that he helped.
So if you would, next time he's in town visiting we will thank him properly.
Also I want to take time to actually ask the members of the search team
that spent two days locked up off campus interviewing candidates.
Mike Gore, if you'd stand up; Brenda Kirkpatrick, Coach Kirkpatrick; Dr. Jeff Wilcox;
Dr. Sally Wilkowski; James Carter; Joey Cutting, one of our fine student athletes;
Wilma M. Sherrill; Parker Spears; Dr. Bill Cedarburg [assumed spelling];
Dave Katterman; Rich Davis; and Pat Grimes.
Thank you so much.
What a great job you did helping us.
[ Applause ]
You know, in the day and age that we are in right now in Division I athletics,
these high-profile positions, an interview is not over a short period of time.
These coaches are interviewing every day.
The day they decide that they want to be a coach, they are actually being interviewed
because they are in the public eye.
They are representing our university.
They are representing their - the athletic departments, their programs.
So - and interviews really starts the day they decide they want to be a coach.
We were very fortunate that this was a very competitive process.
And throughout this process, it became very evident that we had a competitor that was going
to lift up and actually become - distinguish himself as the absolute perfect candidate.
And as we actually brought the finalists to campus this week and they met
with a cross section of faculty and staff, senior staff, the chancellor,
Bulldog Athletic Association board members, community members,
it was obvious that a champion was going to rise up and distinguish himself and earn the right
to be the next head men's basketball coach at UNC- Asheville.
And that's a key point.
When I met Nick when I came here, and we had conversation throughout the nine years,
one thing that became very clear to me, he never wanted something given to him --
that he was going to work and earn it.
So when and if -- and the "if" is now here, "when" is here -- when he got the opportunity,
it would be because he did all the right things all along.
He has been interviewing for this for a long time.
And when the time came, he wanted to make sure that he earned it.
And then the new era of men's basketball
at UNC-Asheville would be the Nicholas McDevitt era because he earned it.
He's a very popular man around town.
We love him.
He has a great family that's here, lots of friends.
But as of today, he is the new head coach and the face of our men's basketball program.
And the interview will continue.
And as we move forward it's going to be very important that we all support him
because as we know in college athletics, and I - and it'll happen, you're popular today.
But there are some long, lonely days, and that's when you are going to realize
that you are the head coach; and on the good days
and the bad days you are still interviewing and you are still representing.
And it's going to be very important that we continue to support Nick.
I want to talk a little bit more specifically about Nick and some of the things
that I believe are - distinguished him to be our next coach.
First of all, I am going to use the word "coach."
Those of you that know him a little more, he is a graduate of UNC-Asheville.
You may not know he's a history major and has a - came through our Teaching Fellows program.
The best coaches in America are teachers.
There is no doubt about it.
I am confident Nicholas is going to teach the game of basketball.
But is going to teach some other things, too.
He's going to teach life skills.
He's going to help our young men get ready to be part of the real world, as we like to call it.
He is going to be a part of an athletic department where he will continue
to teach not only his own team but other teams, and it's -
help us to aspire to do even greater things.
He is a teacher-coach first and foremost, and that is valuable because we all have areas
that we need to continue to learn and improve.
Is he a champion?
Hey, you only had to go through this interview process.
Talk about a competitor.
The minute he walked in for each interview, he was competing.
And he was doing it the right way.
He wasn't saying what people wanted to hear.
He was being honest and sincere and truthful, and he was being passionate.
Those are the qualities that make a champion, that we know we have a man of integrity,
that he is going to do this the right way every day.
There is going to be no getting in the gray areas,
because he realizes he is representing his university, his athletic department,
his program, his family, and his community.
He is a champion on the court.
He is a champion in the community already.
He is out and about.
He is representing himself.
And I hate to say this, but he's of the new generation,
this younger generation that's coming into Asheville that are our future leaders.
And boy, am I - I'm excited and inspired to know that we are going to be able
to watch him develop as a community leader.
He is a champion in the classroom.
This guy is an academic brain.
I'm telling you, he's smart.
You know, from the Day 1 when we started this process,
it's been about academics, academics, academics.
Of course he's also talked about athletics and winning championships.
But we know at UNC-Asheville it's about student athletes.
And we are so proud of that.
The graduation rates and the academic progress rates are so important.
And we are confident, under Nick's leadership, that's going to continue.
So we have a coach.
We have a champion and a leader.
Champions and athletics, leaders in life.
You know, we've got a great foundation here and a winning tradition.
But it's going to take a real leader to take us to that next level --
a leader that has new dreams but never forgets the Justice Center, the Coach Hartmans,
Jerry Greens, and Coach B, everyone that came before.
He's never going to forget that.
That's very important.
That's what a leader does.
They remember where they came from, but they are always looking ahead -- always looking ahead.
The other thing I think is going to be inspiring to us when - under Nick's leadership is this:
They say a manager is someone who tries to make people do the right things.
Nick's the kind of man that's going to inspire us to do the right thing because we want
to do the right thing, because it is the right thing whether on the court,
in the classroom, or in the community.
This man and his wife are on my refrigerator from their wedding picture.
And the day that Nick came into my office - I am going to get -
I am going to be a little emotional right now, because this is a special day.
And any of us that have ever been - had the opportunity to be introduced
as a head coach, it is an unbelievable feeling.
And those of you know, I love my title, Athletic Director.
But there is no better title than the word "coach."
I'm telling you, that is what it's about.
The day Nick told me about proposing to Lauren, I was crying.
I was in my office crying.
Well I'd go - we were standing out.
And as soon as he walked up I'm, like, boo-hooing.
I am so thrilled that we together have chosen the next head men's basketball coach
at UNC-Asheville.
Please help me welcome, one more time, Head Coach Nicholas McDevitt.
[ Applause ]
Nick McDevitt: Wow.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Again, sorry for the short notice, but sometimes that's how these things work a little bit.
You have to be able to adjust and move on the fly.
I thank you for your presence here today.
And I also thank you for your friendship.
I am humbled, and I recognize that your presence here tells us all about how much you care
about this university and this basketball program --
and the special opportunities we have together.
Looking forward to it.
So thank you for your partnership.
Janet mentioned a little bit about the process.
And I wanted to speak to that just a little bit.
It was long.
It involved some anxious times, some nervous times.
But all at the same time, it was a fun process.
It was good for me.
It allowed me to self evaluate, to evaluate the program, and also evaluate the vision that I
and that we all share for our program going into the future.
So it was a good process and one that I enjoyed.
This isn't the GRAMMYs.
But there are some folks that I would like to thank here that are special
to me and special to this program.
Unless you guys think I am out of my mind and stupid, I would like to start with Lauren.
[ Laughter ]
She has agreed to go on this journey with me and with us.
She understands the late nights and the long bus rides and the recruiting trips
and the occasional late-night phone calls from our players.
So for that I do want to say, "Thank you."
Together, Lauren and I would like to thank God.
Our faith is important to us, and we want to be at a place where we can make a difference.
And that has been our prayer.
Speaking of prayer, I also realize that the Bible says that it is a sin to worry,
and I have been sinning for 3-1/2 weeks.
[ Laughter ]
I also want to thank our Director of Athletics, Janet Cone, for her personal mentoring
and for leading this athletic department in the right and wonderful way.
I want to thank Chancellor Ponder for her leadership, her vision, her steady hand,
and for caring not only for this great institution but on a national stage as well.
Also, to the Board of Trustees, I thank you for your continued love for this university.
Janet, Chancellor Ponder, Board of Trustees, every day I will wake up to honor your decision.
I also want to acknowledge the support from the university community: from administrators,
faculty, and staff, students, alumni, current players, former players.
I truly appreciate all of the support, the e-mails, the texts,
the Tweets, the posts on Facebook.
Some of them are pretty creative.
[ Laughter ]
I truly appreciate it.
I can't tell you how deeply appreciative I am of that.
And to my colleagues: Some of you are in the room.
I look forward to our continued work together.
My mother, whose hands and knees are probably worn out from the 3-1/2 weeks of prayer.
To my dad, who is excited for me but is also excited for himself.
He always reminds me he has four years of eligibility left.
And so I know he is excited as well.
But seriously though, I thank you two for everything, along with my sister, Casey.
I really appreciate everything you guys do for me.
And I really do have to thank Eddie Biedenbach.
Eddie came to my parents' dining room and sat and had dinner with us about 17 years ago
and asked me to come play basketball here at Asheville for him.
And I want to thank him for his friendship and his inspiration.
He truly has been an inspiration for me for this past 16-plus years.
He has given me gray hair, and I know I have made him lose some of his.
[ Laughter ]
But his work ethic and his sense of caring are second to none,
and he truly has left a tremendous and lasting legacy here at this university.
I will say the same thing to you that I said to the selection committee.
I did not apply for this job because it was open.
I didn't apply for this job lightly.
I did not this year, nor have I ever had applications
out at other universities and other schools.
This is not a stepping stone for me.
This is not a stepping stone.
I want to be here.
I want to build a program.
My vision, my passion, my energy, are here at UNC-Asheville.
My Pappo [phonetic], my grandfather, he helped put the original plumbing in Governor's Village,
for you guys that don't know that.
I went to Super Saturday classes here when I was a young boy.
Mike Gore: Mike Gore was my camp counselor at the Don Doucette Basketball Camp.
[ Laughter ]
We don't teach lay-ups the way Mike taught lay-ups.
[ Laughter ]
My dad and his brother are both graduates of this university, mid 1970s.
I won't say the exact year to date them.
And my sister, as well as other immediate extended family members,
all still have an invested and excited interest in the continued success of this university
and this men's basketball program.
So it truly has been home for me and my family for 5-plus decades now.
As Janet mentioned earlier, UNC-Asheville basketball has a rich tradition,
going all the way back to the NI - NAIA days and the Justice Center with Mickey Gibson
and Mike Grace and Bamford Jones, Rep McElhaney.
We have also been fortunate to enjoy the Eddie Biedenbach era.
And now I believe we are poised to go to the next level.
I am excited but not daunted by the challenge that we have in front of us.
I do enter this journey, however, with a great deal of excitement and enthusiasm.
I enter this journey with great anticipation.
I enter this journey with great expectation for you guys.
I enter this journey with a sense of urgency.
And I do enter this journey with a great deal of confidence in the future.
I recognize, with great humility, the opportunity and the challenges that lie ahead.
Like you, I did not anticipate Eddie's departure.
But when he made this decision, it took me about two seconds to decide that I wanted
to go after this job and pursue it.
I pursued it because it's a great opportunity.
And I pursued it not just so that we could have a good series of teams
but to have a sustainable program built around the right values.
I pursued it because I believe we can assemble a great team of coaches, players,
and supporters that can take this program to the next level.
But ladies and gentlemen, this day is not about me.
This isn't about me.
It's about a successful program, and it's about these guys.
It's about these guys right here.
We are going to work hard, and we are going to work smart.
And because of that, and because of who these guys are, I am not daunted,
and I accept the responsibility and the challenge in front of us.
But also it's about the next class of guys coming in,
and the class after that, and the class after that.
We have to prepare these guys for us.
As I was going through the process -- I'll share with you a quick story --
I told the committee that I wanted to wow them a little bit.
I did. It's kind of like a recruiting process.
You bring recruits to campus, and our job is to try to wow them just a little bit.
We want them to walk away from here saying, "That's where I want to be."
So in part, with a portfolio, with our interviews, I wanted to wow them a little bit.
But more important to me, I wanted you guys -- the selection committee, the Board of Trustees,
the Chancellor -- for you guys to say, "Wow" a year from now,
next May when Trent Meyer graduates.
I want you to say, "Wow" five years down the road when we've won a couple of championships,
or the crisis that's come in the front door.
Because you guys that are in business,
or you guys that have been coaches, the crisis is going to come.
It's going to come in the front door.
But when it does, I want you guys to say, "Wow.
Those guys handled it the right way.
They stuck to their values.
They know what they stand for and what this university stands for.
And they handled that the right way."
I want you say "Wow" in ten years, when some
of these guys come back with their wives and their kids.
They've bought into the program and the vision that we have
for this basketball team and this university.
And they are here, and they are season ticket holders.
[ Laughter ]
I want you to say, "Wow."
That's when I want you to say, "Wow."
And it's about the difference we can make in those young men's lives.
I read once, somewhere, a poem.
I took some liberties with it, but it reads as follows:
"If you touch a rock, you touch history.
If you touch a flower, you touch the present.
And if you touch a human life, you touch eternity."
We can do that.
And we are going to do that.
And we are going to do that while we win some basketball games.
Since coming here to UNC-Asheville 16 years ago,
the standard of excellence at this place has been apparent.
And that standard will continue as this team carries it onto the floor,
as they carry it into the classroom,
and as a face of this university in the Asheville community.
Our primary job is to win games, and we are going to win games.
But your coaches and your players are going to work hard.
As a matter of fact, as soon as this press conference is over,
myself and two of our other coaches, we are hitting the road recruiting.
I am headed downstate to Fayetteville.
We are going up to Virginia, down to Atlanta, Georgia.
We are going to work hard for this program.
We are going to have a team meeting in about 30 minutes, when this thing is over.
We are going to get together.
I have got to finalize next year's schedule.
We have got a lot of games already finalized,
but we are going to get work finalizing next year's schedule.
We are going to run summer camps, our day camp.
We will be doing academic planning, both for the summer and for the fall semester.
So we are going to be hard at work, and we are going to be partnering
with you, our fan base, for some support.
I am indeed honored, I am indeed humbled,
for the privilege of leading our and your team into the future.
George Bernard Shaw - I'll leave you with this.
George Bernard Shaw, a great Irish playwright, once said, "Life isn't about finding yourself.
Life is about creating yourself."
Now let's get to work building a winning program.
Thank you.
[ Applause ]
[ Silence ]
>> Mike Gore: Thank you very much Nick.
And that camp was just about ten years ago when I was doing that, so --
[ Laughter ]
But anybody, you have any questions right off the bat for Nick?
For Janet?
[ Inaudible Audience Comment ]
God, he answered them all.
That's great.
OK, Nick, you can go.
[ Laughter ]
Sure. Does anybody - questions for Nick?
[ Inaudible Audience Question ]
>> Nick McDevitt: Absolutely.
Our staff, first of all I'll say this.
Brett Carey and Kevin Easley, Madison Davis, any program would be lucky to have them.
They are great coaches.
And two important aspects of being a good coach --
Janet mentioned one of them earlier -- you have to be a good teacher.
You have to teach the game.
And they are good teachers.
Second, you have got to be able to teach really good players the game.
So you got to be able to recruit.
And they are excellent recruiters and excellent coaches.
So I know that loyalty is the number one aspect I will look
for in a coaching staff, as anyone in here would.
A coaching staff or in a business, you have to look for loyalty.
That's one I will look for.
I know these guys have it.
And being good teachers and recruiters, these guys have it.
So in terms of Kevin, Brett, Madison, really excited about the future.
[ Silence ]
A shy bunch.
[ Laughter ]
>> Back there.
[ Inaudible Audience Question ]
>> Nick McDevitt: A little bit, I can.
We are excited about the future.
We are excited about the returning players, first and foremost.
It's always - we even tell recruits this, and sometimes some folks would look at it
as not necessarily good recruiting strategy.
But we tell recruits when they are here, "While you are here,
it's going to be about our players."
Some programs, some coaches, when the recruits are on campus they drop everything
and push their own players and their own staff
and everybody else aside while the recruits are on campus.
That's not the way we are going to do things.
We are family first here.
So we take care of our own guys before we take care of the possibility of future guys.
With that said, we do have two true incoming freshmen for next year, both guards:
a 5-10 guard from Virginia and a 6-2 guard from North Carolina that we are very excited about,
very skilled, very good shooters.
And when we add those guys to the players that we already have, we should be pretty tough.
[ Silence ]
>> Mike Gore: Anything else?
[ Silence ]
>> OK.
>> Mike Gore: OK, thank you very much for coming to today's press conference.
For the media members, why don't you come on up and you can get Nick one on one.
But thank you for this great day, and thank you for coming out on such short notice.
[ Applause ]
[ Background conversations ]