Insight on why Buzz Williams Came to Tech, and the New Look Roster

Last Wednesday, Virginia Tech Men's Basketball Coach Buzz Williams was a guest on ESPN 950 AM's radio program "Hardly Workin'" hosted by Greg Burton. I recommend listening to the entire 15 minute segment, but I transcribed some quotes from Buzz that stood out to me.

The number one thing he's learned about being part of the Hokie Nation:

"That people really, really care. I'd say that's the No. 1 thing that I've learned. Obviously it's evident in football, but I think when you say 'Hokie Nation', I think all of them care whether it's football, or basketball, or volleyball. And I think that's a great quality to have as it relates to an institution, particularly to an athletic department."

On prioritizing and reshaping the roster in a short amount of time:

"We got such a huge amount of work to do. You have to be careful, and I don't try to sound too much like a coach here, but you have to be careful because you don't want to do things for publicity, you don't want to do things just for notoriety, and when you start talking about kids, and you start talking about coaches, and putting together a staff, and putting together a roster, you're talking about people's lives. You're talking about people's sons, brothers. You're talking about wives, and children, so you have to be really careful, and really thoughtful, and methodical about how you go about that.

"I still think honestly, we still have another transaction or two. I don't know whether or not that you can say they'll be necessarily good or bad, but I think there's still a couple of more transactions that we've got to make as it relates to our roster and our staff over the next 60-80 days before school starts."

Discussing his drive to compete against the top tier programs and hall of fame coaches in the ACC:

"There is a demented side to my drive. That is easy to see if you shadow me for 48 hours, and a portion of that demented drive is, 'Can you do it against the best?', and then when you add, 'Can you do it against the best, where you're currently at?', I just think that the chapter of that particular book, if you can do that, is an incredible chapter that resonates over time, over lives.

Is it what drives me? I think it's bigger than winning and losing, I know that sounds cliche, but if it's not bigger than winning and losing, then it's very shallow. I think there has to be depth to the process, and not to sound like Nick Saban, but if it's just about winning, then I don't know that's enough. It is what drives me, but it's bigger and deeper than just winning. But that's also why I have sleep apnea, and when you call me in February and you look at me and you go, 'Hey man you look like you're swollen about 19 pounds', I'll be like, 'Yeah that's probably because I haven't slept since I talked to you in June.'"

It's obvious he gets what Hokie Nation is about. After 5 minutes of listening to him talk, it's easy to understand why he's able to recruit well. He's a likeable guy, motivated, and sells himself well. His background as a coach who grinded his way up the ladder of success probably relates extremely well to kids/prospects who are, and have been, working towards lofty goals of their own.

It seems like he came to Virginia Tech to make a legacy for himself. If he can build the program into one that competes with the likes of Duke, North Carolina, Louisville, Syracuse, etc... that's something fans, pundits, journalists, but more importantly, historians of the sport will take note of.