April 11, 2006
Athletic Director Lee Reed: "Gary Waters' accomplishments as a basketball coach are well chronicled, but it is Gary Waters the person that separates him from all of the rest. In this business, like with others, timing is everything, and during this short process, it became immediately clear that Gary Waters was the person for this job.
"To attract a coach as accomplished as Gary to CSU reflects the positive vision, commitment and teamwork of our Board of Trustees and President [Dr. Michael] Schwartz. Their progressive and aggressive attitudes toward building a first-rate institution of higher education played a critical role in our efforts to bring Gary here and will continue to help position this institution for great success in the future. I would like to personally thank the Board of Trustees, chair Tim Cosgrove specifically, and Dr. Schwartz for their unwavering commitment to building a better Cleveland State University for this city and region.
"Having known Gary and having worked with him at a previous institution [Eastern Michigan], I already know what Cleveland will soon find out, and that is, when you hire Gary, you get the better-half of Team Waters, and I'd like to not only welcome Gary to Cleveland, but his lovely better-half, Bernadette. And she is right here in the crowd. I'd also like to take this pause to introduce President Michael Schwartz, who will say a few brief words now."
President Dr. Michael Schwartz: "I can't tell you that I've really known Gary Waters for a long time, but I have been a big fan of his for a long time, and I've watched him coach teams to victory that I didn't think could happen, to tell you the truth.
"When I was at Kent State, I enjoyed every minute of Kent State basketball, and I am absolutely certain that that excitement will come to Cleveland State University very, very shortly. One thing I always liked about coach Waters is this: he knows that this business he's in isn't about him. It's about this team and everyone that he coaches, kinds of models that they have represented to the rest of the student body which, is to say, the future of this institution and the future of these players.
"He wills his teams into family. He does it because he has great help in Bernadette and he does it because he knows it's the right thing. And I know I will never again have to worry about academic matters in basketball. So, frankly, we've done it again. Thanks."
Athletic Director Lee Reed "Having worked with coach Waters, again, at a different institution, I learned a lot of lessons as a young administrator from him, and it was clear that when he was on the staff of [former head coach] Ben Braun's staff at Eastern Michigan University, that university was put in a good place because they had two head coaches on that staff. Ben Braun was the head coach but Gary Waters, as the associate head coach, carried himself, 12 or 13 years ago, like a head coach. It was just a matter of time before he got his opportunity.
"His track record is one of success, of 10 years as a head coach, six years in post-season tournament play, an average of 18 wins a season. But, again, it wasn't just those things that made Gary the right fit for Cleveland State at this time. It went back to his passion for student athletes, his passion for teaching. That has not changed in the years that I have known him and it's his commitment to developing the whole student-athlete that brings us to where we are at today, so without further ado, I would like to introduce and welcome Gary Waters as our new head men's basketball coach."
Head men's basketball coach Gary Waters: "You know, when you take a new job or you go into a different environment, they say things about you and you wonder if they are talking about you or if there is some foreign guy they are talking about. But I'm excited about being here, and I hope you have had the same excitement that I have.
"First of all, and I always do this before I speak at any place, I give honor to God because he's first in my life. Secondly, let me say that it is great to be back in northeast Ohio. It truly is. When I was in New Jersey, a different and foreign land, it was this that made me feel better about each and every day, that I could come back and be greeted. I used an example upstairs and I think I should use the same: if you read the Bible at all, it's about the Prodigal Son. You know, he went away, and when he came back, they welcomed him with open hands and arms and they were really committed to what he was doing. That's the way I feel about coming back here to northeast Ohio.
"Before I go any further, there are some people I think I should introduce. You've met my wife, and I want her to stand again. That's my love for 31 years. I have a person that is now on my staff. He's the first one that has joined my staff. He was the associate head coach at St. Bonaventure and he will be holding a similar position here, Jayson Gee. And I have another who doesn't want me to mention him, but I can't let him get away. He's in the background there, and his name is Larry DeSimpelare. Larry is with his family, Susan, his wife, and his lovely family, and Jayson, and his family. They are all here to support us. Larry has not joined the board yet, so if you want to grab him and choke him, you may do that. He's been with me a long time. He's been with me at Eastern Michigan, he was with me at Kent State and he went on with me to Rutgers. He's here for a reason.
"To get all this together, and I'll be very brief, I won't spend a lot of time trying to express things, but I will say this: when you make a decision on a place to go, you look at things first that are important that you need to accomplish. The first thing I looked at coming to any place was the people that you're going to work for. And I say that sincerely. When you go through an experience, you want to make sure your second experience - and we call this a journey - is a good journey, and the journey that you go into, you want to make sure it's with good people. But, I tell you, there wasn't a question in my mind. You know, I had two other schools that were really pursuing me, but when I had a chance to talk to our president, I tell you this, there wasn't a doubt in my mind I knew I was in good hands.
"And let me say this: we're very fortunate here at Cleveland State to have a person of vision like this. You see all the new things going up, buildings being built, that doesn't happen at a lot of places. I have been at a lot of schools and when you are at schools and you see this, that vision is very strong. Secondly in command is Lee [Reed], and, I tell you this, we had talked 12 years ago that we had wanted work together and then, every time I would see him, he would nudge me and say, `Hey, one day we're going to get together.' But, at that time, I could see the brilliance of this man. You're, again, fortunate to have a person of such passion that wants to have success. They want to build a program, and the biggest thing about Lee that I have noticed is he goes out and gets good people around him and I think you can attest to that by myself. Good people around you. But Lee is a good person, and, I tell you, when you can work for quality people, only quality things happen.
"But, as I go through this and look, I make decisions in my mind about what should happen and why should things happen and I have had a lot of people come to me and ask me questions. They've asked me, `Why should you go to Cleveland State? Why should you be there?" And, you know what? I only come with one phrase, and that phrase is going to be our theme this year. It's going to be called `get it done'. You know, we're here to get it done. I've watched different people in the past and I've watched them from afar when I was at Kent State, but we won't talk about that much because that's history. This is now.
"But, as I look and think about what's going on here, I watch this and I have always said in the back of my mind that there is something about that school. If done correctly, something special could happen here. So, in my mind, when Lee called, I said that is just a move in the right direction. My goal, and our goal as a staff and these players, is pretty unique. I'm very proud to see these young men here today. Why don't you guys stand. This is the basketball team right here. I know [former head coach] Mike Garland very well and obviously he has done an outstanding job in molding these young men. They are here in shirts and ties, and I didn't have to tell them that. So that tells you something good about them.
"When you have success, there are certain things that have to be accomplished. Discipline is number one, and if they can understand that first, then you can move into the next step. But, winning is not something that happens through osmosis. You really have to work at that. It's something that you have to put time into it. So, in essence, what I am trying to say to you is, this is not going to happen over night. You have to realize this. To build a solid program, you need a solid foundation. Just like a house: that house doesn't have a foundation underneath it, it's going to crumble pretty easily. Same thing with a basketball program: if you are going to have success with a basketball program, you truly are going to have to build a foundation. I'm going to say that the foundation is somewhat here, we just have to mold some of these young men and move them in a different direction. I don't want to say the right direction, in a different direction. And, in that direction, it's going to be a direction that I feel that you are going to be very proud of these young men and committed to these young men.
"I want one day for the community of Cleveland and the city to embrace Cleveland basketball. I don't want them to look at it and say, `Well, it's just a part out there that they have to be part of.' The uniqueness about this place, and what made me immediately think about this place, is that this is the only show in town at the collegiate level. Think about that. It has its own town and the town has not embraced it yet. It's time for us to have this city embrace their basketball program and have all the joys you see around the country when you watch the NCAA [Tournament] in the final days and get excited that their team can do something similar.
"I think these young men understand what they want to achieve. We've talked about it. I had a chance to meet with them on Friday and they understand what they have to do, but we're going to talk more and more about that, tonight even, we're going to try to move in a direction.
"To have success, and I'm must to say this once again and I don't want to belittle this statement, it's done first with a couple of things, and I don't need to say a couple. I have five things on my list here that are very important to get it right and to have the success that we're looking for and it starts first with the administration. I think that the administration here is supporting what we are doing. They want to support it and they want to have success. And when you have your administration behind you like that, only good things happen.
"Secondly, I think it's the city of Cleveland. Not many people have their own city, and, to have that, we have to get them to be a part of us. I have looked at the statistics and when you go two to three thousand people a game, someone's not supporting you. So we have to get out there and make sure that they understand what we're all about, but we have to also give them a product to feel good about, that they can go out and look at. And that product is not only basketball; it's a human being, the type of person you're dealing with, and that's what we're going to work with.
"Thirdly, the resources of Cleveland: when you have the resources of a city like this, there's money out there. It's time for us to go out and have those people become a part of us so we can move forward.
"The fourth thing is the [Horizon] League. The league itself will be a challenge, but, you know, it's not something that we can't get done. I was just in a league that was very, very difficult. To be exact, this summer, I was with [Memphis head coach John] Calipari and we were sitting down on the bench and we probably talked for an hour and during that time, he said, `You know, I'm really upset that we didn't get Memphis into the Big East,' and I said, `You're lucky you didn't get into the Big East, because you don't realize that day in and day out you have to play.' [Louisville head coach Rick] Pitino realized that real quickly in his first year. The thing that you realize going up against these great coaches of today that, if you do the little things right, you can compete at that level. So it doesn't matter what league you are in. That's what I'm trying to say to you. I was trying to say that also to Calipari. He can still be number one in the country if he just wins all his games and does what is necessary in his league. In our league, we're going to have to do some things to have some success. But I also believe we're going to have to do things outside of our league to have success. In order to fill that arena, we're going to have to bring some good people in here. That's the only way it's done today. And, then, eventually we have to beat some of those good people and that's how it happens and then, before you know it, your program moves forward.
"The fifth and final thing: I remember years ago when [former CSU head coach Kevin] Mackey was still here, it was almost done. I thought he did a great job to get it going. Even though many people did not believe in some of the antics of [former CSU head coach] Rollie [Massimino], but he was getting it done to a degree. We played good teams. There were some good teams. So they were very, very close. The key is that, when you're close, you have to get over the hump and that is what we are going to have to do here, and, in order to do that, the first thing that has to happen is, and I've said this before but I want to say it even more clearly, is that the city of Cleveland will have to embrace us. And, what does that mean? That means that the high school coaches have to understand what we are about, the people in the community are going have to understand what we are about, because I don't think you win with people all over the country. You will with your home people, and, every place I have been, that is where the success comes. There is some great talent here in Cleveland. The key is we have to keep some of them home and, at the same time, when you bring people, like we have quality people in our program right now that are from afar, they do the right things and promote themselves and promote the team.
"I have a little closing here, let me say this. In order for us to have the success we need here at Cleveland State, we are going to need what I call, in so many ways, a joint effort. And that joint effort is going to have to be between the city of Cleveland and Cleveland State. We're going to have to be joint partners in this endeavor. And if we are joint partners, I think positive things can happen. At the same time, I think we have to make a commitment to the city of Cleveland. We have to let them be a part of us, be with us, be on campus and be a part of what this is all about and then they will get an understanding about what we are all about. Once that's done, good things will happen. Thank you."
John Telich, Fox 8: "The Prodigal son comes home, how do you keep the prodigal son from leaving the area?"
Waters: "Sons, you know we are going to have to work hard, I've told our coaches already we're going to have to put the hard hats on, we got to go to work, we have to make them a part of us, want to just give you an example, one of the things I want to do we have to just bring all the coaches in and we sit down and just break bread and be together so they know what we're trying to do here, they have to see my face, they have to know what I'm all about and what I'm trying to develop here in order for it to get going.
David Glasier, Lake County News Herald: "I'm assuming it's a multi-year commitment, can you say for the record how many years?"
Waters: "Right now it's five, we hope to make it a long, long term commitment, I couldn't squeeze that out of Lee, I tried."
Glasier: "Have you had a change to look much at video of last year's team, of last years games, and what are some of the things you think are positive building blocks."
Waters: "There's quite a few positive building blocks, and as a team we've talked about some of these things. I think the potential is there, the thing they are going to have to realize that they have to play harder to play for me, that's something they have to do every minute you walk out on the floor, you got to play harder. Secondly you have to be a little more disciplined, this is what basketball is all about is being disciplined. And if they go out and do those two things, I think success can come their way to some degree.
"It's funny you ask that question, one of my assistants is now at the University of Detroit. They felt someone else was going to get this job, low and behold they didn't know I had Lee right next to me here. He made a comment that you are not going to give that job to one of my other assistants, and he also said to his head coach, he made this comment. "Well I'm going to tell you this though, if Waters gets that job, we have to watch out because they are going to come after you harder and with the ability of these players. Now what does that mean, they feel that within this league there's ability on this team, and they say with abilities of these players and we get together watch out, and I feel the same."
"Let me say again, it's not going to happen overnight."
Bill Livingston, Cleveland Plain Dealer: "One of the things I was wondering about is having been in the Big East and being in your mid fifties, this is a tough challenge. How do you go back to the mid majors with zest which obviously you are bringing to it, but could you kind of elaborate on that?"
Waters: "Well, you know what, and I indicated that I had a couple of other jobs, one was of size, in magnitude. So I could have literally just moved over if I wanted to. I've been there. You've ever heard that phrase been there, done that? The whole concept about that, I don't have to be there anymore. I've told people that and I realized what occurred when I was at that level. But you know the uniqueness about this thing is I've learned some things there. That was a time in my life that I had to have. I've had to experience that. I've learned some things there. Now I can take those same things and use them here and also use the things I learned when I was at this level. So, I'm going to put all of these things together to try to create something very, very special. Something for everyone to remember. That's my goal. Everyone goes into an endeavor with their own goals and passion. I tell you this, let me say this, I will leave this out, I have new vigor and excitement to take on this challenge. This is a good thing, I really feel good about.
Tom Mieskoski, CSU Cauldron: "Previous Coach Mike Garland, he said at a press conference last year that he didn't like playing big teams because you had to go to their house twice. If a big team wanted to play you, would you go to their house if you had a home here and had to go back there twice?"
Waters: "Well, let me tell you this. There are not going to come here too often and you better realize that. So you are going to have to do something to get them here. I'm a believer that if you look back, we've played a lot of big teams. I think when you play bigger and better teams it helps you when you get into conference play. Some people don't believe in that, I believe in that. I think you go through all the challenges, and you get to understand what you are facing. So, when you face people in your conference it's not as difficult. But I also think, in the preseason, that's when you can beat the bigger teams, because they are not as prepared. They are working on development, they are trying to find players and during that period of time in those earlier games, that's when you can have some upsets. If you look at some of the teams that are doing this like Gonzaga and people like that, that's' when they make their upsets. But then when they get into their league, they are better prepared to face the challenges within their own league."
"We are going to play some big teams, be aware of that. If we get these couple of deals going, we are going to cover them this year. So, we are going to go right to the rules. It's going to be good. It's going to be exciting. I think that's all that you can do is take on the challenges and try to do the very best job you can with the challenges you have in front of you."
Livingston: "One of the things that have changed is what you have put in place. Kent and Akron have good programs. Ohio State has one of the nationally anticipated recruiting classes. There's this fellow playing down the street too, so for the Cavaliers. So how does that impact Cleveland State?"
Waters: Well I think that the Cavaliers and the professionalism really should help us. You do a recruit on campus and you get the chance to meet Lebron James that's pretty good wouldn't you think? So, we are going to use all of those things. I even have a young man that I want to bring back that is a native of Cleveland that I coached was Earl Boykins. I want people to know what he is all about. I think we have to use these things to our advantage. The other schools, meaning Kent State and Akron, they are competitive now. They were competitive then, to be honest with you, they were competitive. But, that's something we are going to have to face. Something that's a challenge that we are going to have to take on. But again, those schools only help us get better.
The biggest thing is in our league, we are a one team league for the NCAA. My goal is to make sure that that changes. That we start developing a lower RPI so we can compete. At the same time, now they can consider more than one team going into the NCAA out of this conference. I remember three, four, maybe six years ago, they did have that. I think they have gotten away from that. They've settled for less. I don't think they have to settle for less. One of the ways to do that is you have to play people. You have to play bigger people. You have to play better people. So they realize that you are doing this. I know that for sure because the commissioner of our league, of the Big East, was on the committee, for many, many years. One of the reasons why you did not get certain people in the NCAA is who they play. One year I was at Kent State, we had an RPI of 36. They had never had a team not make it with an RPI of 36. We did not make it that year. We ended up going to the quarter finals of the NIT that year. However, I thought our guys realized that in order to have that opportunity next year, which we did, you have to get that lower. Now, how do you get that lower? You have to play better people. You have got to bring in quality student-athletes, and you have to go out and compete every time you walk out on that floor. That's why I told these young men here that they don't realize how hard they are going to have to go out and compete this year. They have talent, but talent is no good if it's not disciplined, and it doesn't work as hard as it can do.
Mieskoski: "How are you going to get more students to the game?"
Waters: "Lee and I are going to get together on that. We have to do something about that. That's difficult. But one thing we do want to do is bring the student body back. We also want to bring the community back. The students can only be so many. A lot of our students commute, so it's hard. We've got to develop some things there. But at the same time the community, meaning Cleveland can come out. They can start supporting this team. They support professionalism, and now it's time they support the collegiate level."
"And you understand our ticket is cheaper, much cheaper."
