Hokie ClubVirginia Tech women's basketball head coach Megan Duffy addressed the media and Hokie Nation for the first time after her hiring announcement earlier this week. Coach Duffy was warmly introduced by Director of Athletics Whit Babcock and received questions from the media to conclude the media availability.
Read below for an overview of the introductory press conference:
Intro statement:
"I just want to express my gratitude for this opportunity and the excitement that's ahead for Hokie women's basketball. This incredible institution–the fans, alumni base, supporters–is really unlike anything I've ever seen. There's been times in my past that I dreamed about coming to a university that loved women's basketball like you do, and I can't tell you how thrilled I am to be your leader for women's basketball."
Gratitude of Kenny Brooks' impact:
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank Coach Brooks and his staff and support staff for what they did to put Virginia Tech women's basketball back on the map. It's been incredible to watch from afar, and it's something that, when this job opened up, I was really motivated to say, hey, let's keep this going. So, congratulations to them and the student-athletes who helped make all the memories, wins, and championships possible."
Importance of building relationships:
"I'm so confident with the base of what we have here. Success is coming, and hopefully very fast. I appreciate you being phenomenal young women. Relationships have always been important to me with our teams. I look forward to making sure that's something at the forefront of what we do before any x's and o's. Winning or losing, we build those relationships."
Foundations for the program:
"I'm really looking forward to building this program. Just to kind of clue you in on a couple of things that's always been important to me with the foundations of my programs are an incredible toughness about our teams. We celebrate things on both sides of the ball, whether that's a charge, a loose ball, or an assist on the offensive end. I love that we've played uptempo here; we can shoot the three. As we develop our roster here in the next few weeks and months, I think you'll see some similarities to why things were successful here. And obviously, some unique and interesting tweaks and changes to bring more versatility to our team as well."
On the transition for the program:
"I think we can have all the perks, the glitz, and the glamour and still stay true to who we are in Hokie Nation. The culture, the women we're proud of, and if we can get the right people again to fill out an incredible roster, I think the sky's the limit."
On the team's style of play:
"You have to evolve and change to your players. So it's not a situation that I believe we have to do it this way or that this is the only way to win. You have to put those pieces and that connected group together and pick the best offense you can pick. My teams have always been great on the defensive end; they've been tough on the boards. So as you develop your current team, some of those staples that I mentioned will have to be the core of what we do. Then you continue to evolve, whether that's developing your young players or bringing in new players that maybe haven't played for me. You kind of have that patience and that mix to do both."
On expectations for the program:
"For me, there's going to be some building, obviously, with roster management, like we mentioned. I'll let you guys set the expectations from the outside. From the inside, we're going to establish our culture. We're going to build relationships. We're going to fill out our roster with women who want to do it the right way, want to win and care about each other."
Gallery: (4-5-2024) WBB: Megan Duffy Intro Press Conference