The University of Mississippi Athletics
Carol Ross Press Conference Transcript
3/18/2003 | Women's Basketball
March 18, 2003
ATHLETICS DIRECTOR PETE BOONE
"It's my distinct pleasure to be here today and make the announcement we have all anticipated for the past week. There are times in your life that things seem to just work like they are supposed to. The stars and the moon all align properly. That doesn't happen very often, but this time it did. We speak a lot about the Ole Miss family, and there's nothing that speaks as loudly to that as what we are about to do today.
When you are searching for the head of a program like our women's basketball team, or any program, you are looking for certain qualities. You'd like to find someone who has proven success, an in-depth knowledge of your program, someone who is well known throughout the athletic fields. Trying to find all of those characteristics, and add on top of that being a winner on every level, sometimes that's a lot to ask of one person. That sort of accolades are certainly warranted for who we are about to announce as our head women's basketball coach.
Carol Ross is a member of the family. It's a real family. It's our family at the university and family that will be around for the years to come. We're pleased and we're excited for what we have in store for our women's basketball program. I'd like to introduce to you our next head coach for our women's basketball program, Carol Ross."
Q: Can you talk about the decision and how quickly it was made?
A: We talked about a week ago this past Sunday. It was the first time we had talked. When I found out there was an interest there, Lynnette Johnson and I were relentless. Every opportunity we got we tried to find out what Carol's vision was, and where Ole Miss was in relation to that vision. Any hurdles there were, we tried to work through those. It was a whirlwind courtship that started a week ago, Sunday. She was the only candidate.
HEAD COACH CAROL ROSS
"Hotty Toddy and buckle up because we are real excited about the opportunity that Chancellor Khayat, Pete Boone and a host of people have made possible. If you had asked me if this would happen a month ago, I would have and probably have told a few of you, absolutely not. I was enjoying myself on the beach. Sometimes when opportunity comes, you have to make a decision. This was a no-brainer for me. My passions are people, family, friends, the state of Mississippi and basketball. There's really only one place where all of those things come together, and that's Ole Miss. I'm excited. I've been around the block a few times in this league as a player, assistant coach and head coach. I believe I am aware of what it takes to take a program and move it forward. I understand the obstacles and opportunities and am excited about both. I'm not smart enough to be scared. I think there's a world of potential here that we can grab hold of and move forward.
There were a lot of things that factored in when making the decision to live the life of a beach bum or get back into coaching. If I can teach my team to full court press like Pete Boone and Dr. Khayat we'll be off to a good start. They made it where there really was no decision for me. With the commitment they have made, not to me personally, but to this program, they want this program to be the best it can be. It was important to me to surround myself with people who believe in excellence, success and being part of the team. I felt from the get go this wouldn't be about me, but about me surrounding myself with good and talented people. After spending a day in town last week, I felt Pete Boone would be my biggest cheerleader and that Dr. Khayat would be someone who would be very interested and enthusiastic about the good things we'll have happen here. Those are the type of people I wanted to surround myself with. The ultimate factor, however, is sitting to my right.
A long time ago when we were wearing Chuck Taylors and running up and down the court in Tad Smith Coliseum, Peggie Gillom and I had a dream that one day we would have a chance to work together. Where that dream would become reality we didn't know, but it was important to us to continue a relationship that began as players at Ole Miss. We talked on the phone last week and Peggie put it simply, 'If you're in, I'm in.' I told her I wasn't doing it without her. It became a simple process at that point. I wanted Peggie Gillom here with me. As a player she made an average basketball player look like a talented basketball player. I'm hoping she can make an average old head coach look like a great head coach. She's done that at every level. She's been one of the best assistant coaches to coach in the Southeastern Conference. She's been a top assistant in the WNBA, for the Olympic team, and is very much a proven basketball coach. More importantly, she's a proven Ole Miss person and a proven friend. I feel much better knowing we'll take this step together and the best is yet to come for Ole Miss. I'm very happy to know Peggie is sitting here beside me and will be for a long time."
Q: Can you talk about your experience at Florida and the year off?
A: "I think the Gator experience and being the head coach at Florida for 12 years was a tremendous experience. Jeremy Foley and Ann Marie Rogers really gave me an opportunity as a very young 30-year-old to become a head coach in the toughest league for women's basketball. They really nurtured me and helped me along the way, and I wouldn't have this opportunity today had it not been for the Gator experience. I am very grateful to them.
The year off was a surprise to people, that I would walk out of a what was a great situation for me. I have always moved on instinct and a sense of what was right. I was extremely convinced that it was time for me to walk away and really have an opportunity to reinspect and reevaluate and rest. I have always tried to run away from basketball, and it's always kept bouncing along behind me. I have been intrigued by what else might be out there and wanted to see what else was out there. I played basketball competitively and intensely since fifth grade. I never had an opportunity to just step out and look. When I did that, I realized I was supposed to be a basketball coach and was supposed to influence young people and young ladies and make them better basketball players and students. It's a great gift and opportunity. Somewhere along the way this past year, I really recommitted what I have been doing. I come into it with a lot more resolution and enthusiasm. I feel 100 percent sure I am doing what I am supposed to be doing, and can't think of a better place to begin again than Ole Miss.
I talked to Sue Gunter at the SEC Women's Tournament and she told me she had done what I did and stepped out for a while. She said 'You'll be a lot better the second time because you'll gain a whole new perspective and see things differently. Things that seemed real important as a young head coach won't seem as important, and things that should be more important will become more important.' I knew she was right because I already had a different perspective on things."
Q: You said a month ago you wouldn't be here. Were those revelations in that time, or has it been gradual?
A: There's never been a light switch in my life. Things have been dim and then gotten clearer. I think when SEC play started up, my interest and my longing for basketball really started to crank back up. I was in a good place where I was, so I wouldn't have moved at just any opportunity. I wasn't looking to get back in, it just happened. When it happened I just felt a real strong sense and a calling that I was supposed to come back here. When Peggie said she was coming to, I thought it was divine intervention or something, because it was too good to be true. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up. I think getting to the point where I would say yes was gradual, but the recruitment of Pete Boone and company was good. They made it a place I wanted to come back to and am appreciative of being given that opportunity. I feel strongly that it's the right place, the right time and the right opportunity."
Q: How persuasive was he? What did he say?
A: "Pete is passionate about Ole Miss. He's passionate about success. He was convincing in that it was time to make a big commitment and move and make sure that the next person had the right opportunity. He made me believe that it was me, and deep in my heart, I believed all along once the opportunity came along that maybe I was supposed to be the person. I just didn't tell him that quickly, I made him sweat."
Q: What does Van Chancellor think about you guys coming back?
A: He laughed and said who'd have ever thought it? Ross and Gillom and there might be a third wheel coming along shortly. He thinks it's great. He has strong ties to both of us and strong ties to this university and program. He'll be a big part of this and we'd obviously like to have him around here as much as we could."
Q: Talk about Peggie and her role as Associate Head Coach.
A: "It means she's very important to me. It's a respect issue with me. If I trip on a rock and hit my head and don't remember who I am, we won't miss a beat. She's capable and will take over. The way I work in any role I've been in is it's about us. We'll be a team. The stronger the team I have, the stronger the team on the court will be. I believe Peggie's role, and it's not defined yet and may be a revolving description, but we're in this together. I'm not one that says you have to do this and this. We'll get it done and work hard. Peggie has grace under pressure. She's got grace under fire and she can handle the battles and the intensity and some of the harder aspects of coaching in this league. But there's a sense of fun. This job is difficult, and it's a job we have a lot of respect for and we understand it. We're going to try to enjoy the opportunity and have some fun. We want to bring a lot of excitement and energy into this place. Peggie is going to mean everything to this program. There's a building with her name on it. She is Ole Miss. It's a great honor for me to share this job and undertaking of pushing this program to national prominence with her."
Q: How much have you had to analyze the roster and last year's players.
A: I have had more of an opportunity to see them play than Peggie has since I was still around the league some this year. The one thing that excites me about these young ladies is they have always handled themselves with class and dignity on the court. Recruiting is the lifeblood of any program and will be very important. I want every young lady in the state of Mississippi to have the same opportunity that we had as young girls to come here and put on the uniform and feel great about representing a great university like Ole Miss. I want them to have opportunities to cut that net down and feel great about being excellent. We go through our lives and it's hard to have moments of excellence and moments where you know you are the best. I hope we can give young ladies across the state and at this university the opportunity in their career to feel like they are the best. To know that there is nobody passing, shooting or playing defense who is better than we are. We have achieved excellence and that's the mind-set and vision we have. I think the young ladies here now will be the backbone of what we are going to be doing. I am anxious to sit down with them and talk to them. You always want to start with good people, and obviously there are some holes that need to be filled, but I am comfortable and excited that these young ladies will be the ones who help propel us forward. I think they are fully capable, have the hearts of champions and have the mind-set to be successful. They will be the foundation from which this grows."
Q: Talk about the style you hope to play.
A: I like to press and run. I like to bring excitement to the arena. I like to coach like I played. I want the players to have fun. I know the hardships and how tough it is to compete. I want it to be fun. I know we'll put the work in, but I want everybody thinking big and dreaming big and having the mind-set to be the best you can be. I don't want anyone accepting less than excellence and being your best. I like people who can fly all over the place, attack and are aggressive. I don't care if you can shoot a lick. If you can shoot a lay-up that's good enough for me if you are pressing and running. We'll have a lot of energy and people flying around and having a good time. If someone 6-8 comes to town we might slow it down, but until that happens we'll play it fast and furious."
Q: When do you plan to round out your staff?
A: "I am pretty close to securing one other commitment to the staff. I'll sit back for a little bit after that one and evaluate our strengths and weaknesses as a staff to make sure we have everything covered. I'm comfortable now that Peggie and I are here, and this next person will be here in a couple of weeks, I'll feel good about moving forward with things. I want to get it right."
Q: Talk about both you and Peggie, who some call two of the best recruiters in the SEC, being on the same team as recruiting.
A: I think we're good recruiters because we believe in what we are recruiting the players to. We've got great passion and are competitive. I want to blanket this state. I have always enjoyed recruiting Mississippi, but it's been with a bit of guilt because it was across state lines, but I was doing what I was supposed to do. Now I can do it with 100 percent enthusiasm for doing my job and doing it well. There are a lot of great things about Mississippi and great people who have come out of Mississippi. We need to spread to these young ladies that you can the best here and we'll give you every opportunity to realize your dreams and be the best you can be. I think our energy, enthusiasm, passion and commitment are strengths. We'll wear them down. We aren't gonna let them move. They'll have to come through Oxford to get around us, through us, or if the full court press is as good as what Pete Boone and them put on us then we'll keep them here. We're nutty enough to love recruiting. It's all about engaging people and sharing a vision and a dream. I can't think of anything more fun than that."
Q: Have you talked to Coach Chancellor and Coach Aldy since this all transpired?
A: "I have talked to both Coach Aldy and Coach Chancellor, so I have talked to two of the four previous head coaches. Obviously Coach Aldy is a man who means a lot to me personally. He was my coach, just as he was these young ladies' coach. I have a lot of respect for him, and recommended him for the job here. I was disappointed for him for the way things worked out. I didn't spend a lot of time talking about the past. I wished him well. He's a fighter, and a champion, and he'll find his way. He's always been a good basketball coach and he always will be. I know he will find success. He's a person I have a great deal of love for."
ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH PEGGIE GILLOM
Q: Give us some of your thoughts about coming back.
A: I am overwhelmed. I thought I would be like Carol and take some time off. People don't know this, but when she took the job at Florida she gave me the opportunity then to take the Associate Head job there. I was with her, and Billy Brewer came down and said 'There's no way in hell you're gonna leave Ole Miss. I'll see to that." I remember that and he came and talked to me and said some things and it was hard to leave at that time being from Ole Miss. I hated to turn it down. I thought I would get a chance now, not to be a beach bum but to come home and be momma's kid again. Since I left here, I have had a lot of good things happen to me and I have no regrets. From the Olympics, to the Pan Am Games, to the Comets, to Texas A&M, I wanted to just step away. This opportunity came and Carol called and we always said we wanted to work together. It was a dream come true. We always kept up with each other and when she called and said what she was doing I didn't believe her, because I thought she had the easy life. But seeing her on TV doing those games you could see the passion was still in her. Like she said, this is divine intervention and I am glad to be back with her and back at Ole Miss. It's good to be back."
Q: Talk about your role as Associate Head Coach.
A: Carol always gave me the ball. She'd tease me about how she'd give me the ball and I'd never give it back. I want to thank her for giving me this opportunity and everything she did in the past. We know this is not going to be an easy job. But, with us knowing each other it's going to be fun going out and overcoming obstacles and doing the hard work to make Ole Miss better.
