Just got back from the press conference. There were t-shirts. There was pizza. A lot of pizza.
Whit did a great job in pulling this off and making this open to the public. The team, Buzz, and his wife all came out to an entrance.
In his remarks, Buzz stressed the point that this whole thing is about hokie nation as a whole, not just about him or the team. It was really a breath of fresh air to have a guy with this amount of energy lead the basketball team. Also a breath of fresh air (I believe Berman asked this), was that Buzz seems like a guy who actually adapts his offense to his players.
Buzz made a really good first impression. After the press conference was over, they allowed everyone down on the floor and Buzz took pictures with everyone in line to see him. Whit Babcock also was there to talk to anyone who wanted to ask something.
Overall, great fan interaction, and truly a breath of fresh air. Couldn't be more excited.
Comments
my favorite moment:
i was in line to get a photo with buzz and a guy in front of me asked if he would foul up by 3. buzz could have easily answered yes or no and moved on but instead he started asking a bunch of questions to clarify the situation. how much time is left? is it an in-bound or rebound? where is the opponent in-bounding from? the guy answered all these and buzz answers he would foul up by 3 under 5 seconds once over timeline. then he pauses and asks Home or Away? the guy says it doesn't matter and buzz says Oh I think it does.
I loved this. Willingness to interact with fans and clearly thinks a lot about strategy.
in terms of actual press conference - when Buzz talked about his past, how he came from nothing and is now coaching in the ACC. it was really moving - I'd encourage those who missed it to watch when whole video goes up on hokiesports.com
I must've been near you then because I remember that question too. When I heard that I just started laughing. I agree with you about his past. As Jimmy V said, you have to remember where you came from, where you are and where you're going. Buzz clearly remembers where he came from and is humbled by it.
I was there too, right in front of him (side note: I took every opportunity I could to photobomb pictures. It may or may not be frowned upon, but I had a ton of fun with it). His answers to just about everything were hilarious. I asked him if, given the opportunity, he would dance on the WVU logo again and he said, "No, they'd string me up." Just a funny, energetic guy. SUPER stoked with this hire.
You were that guy! I must've taken your picture then because I'm pretty sure I was right behind the guy who asked if Buzz would dance on the WVU logo again.
Yup, that was me. Thanks for taking the picture! The whole event was awesome. Whit and Buzz absolutely crushed it.
Brings tears to my eyes to see TKPers come together...
All I could think of once I saw how many people showed up, was how many of these people are TKPers? Had a feeling it was a solid number.
Share the Pic!!
Should have asked if he would dance on the uva logo instead
I figured that was implied.
Would they need to call timeout to figure out how to use the rope? Manual labor is beneath them you know....
A series of inappropriate jokes are flying through my head right now, better if I keep those to myself.
Their biggest problem is they keep looking for that manual, but can never find it so they have no idea what to do. The they pay someone to do it.
That was me and I did ask if he had a dance prepared for UVA's logo, not WVU. Buzz said he didn't know if he could still dance like that.
Yup, saw you there and heard that question. Funny how so many of us were there/interacting without knowing it.
Yes he can:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TizsgaGRKeU
Was standing right near that guy
i also thought it was a great move to bring bimbo coles and ace custis to the press conference, shows reverence for the past while we plow headlong into the future.
how was the crowd? looks like a lot of empty seats behind the screen.
No one was sitting behind the screen. Everyone was on the other side. Maybe 3/4 filled on that other side. Mix between students and donors/other people.
Everyone was on the opposite side. Educated guess based on the capacity of Cassell, there were maybe 3000 people.
I watched it on hokiesports and the mics couldn't mic up what Buzz said to his players and then the team huddle/cheer that they did. What did they say?
Out of curiosity, where was the pizza from?
"Family". The pizza was from all over, dominos, firehouse, papa johns...
As I said on Twitter, Berman is still mad there wasn't enough Little Caesars.
Only so many pizza ovens in the Roanoke Valley when you need 900 pies!!
Forgot pizza hut! However, my favorite is papa johns.
He had the entire crowd stick their hands up like they were part of the huddle, and a "1,2,3 family"
This was the best part. He looks like a little kid who just discovered candy.
http://www.theacc.com/#!/video-detail/VrZDlkbDr1T2P2gmTr4hV_KYNI00FFCu
damn. I missed pizza
I just realized during an interview that this will be CJ Barksdale's 3rd coach in his 4 years at Tech. Have to give him credit for staying no matter what. Definition of a Hokie, I look for him to have a great senior season.
I am a huge fan of CJ! I sometimes end up sitting next to him in Music in America and he is easy to talk to.
He was at McComas after the press conference (at least I think it was him). Had a boot on one of his legs.
Yeah, his ankle is still pretty jacked up. Hopefully that'll get sorted out sooner rather than later.
I admit that I am jealous of those of you that got to go. I would equate the atmosphere to be similar to 1995 when Tech made its first Sugar Bowl. Tech was a madhouse back then because we had never really known success of that magnitude with the football team. Seems like there are a lot of similarities and I would have just loved the opportunity to interact with Buzz and Whit like has been described above. That darn real world and having a job and stuff, sometimes its just no fun.
Those of us living outside of "the motherland" are living vicariously through this site right now.
To everyone still living in Blacksburg...
Yes. Yes. Yes... Atlanta SUCKS, being in the middle of SEC cuntry -not a misspelling (my house sucks for that matter) and then dealing with Yellow Jacket fanfare... I love my wife, but as soon as she dies I'm packing up and taking the kids back to the homeland and their birthright; to be raised properly in an appropriate environment -ok maybe not THAT appropriate as youngsters...
Try moving to Alabama...
Well shit. Now that is ruined.
Tell me about it, I live in Florida with annoying bandwagon fsu fans that claim they're huge fans but they couldn't name anyone other than famous Jameis
I loved how his energy was infectious, can't wait to see how he motivates the players! All in all, I walked away extremely happy with 3 full pizzas( 1 pizza hut, 1 papa john's, and 1 dominoes), a picture with Buzz, and an opportunity to walk on the court / see my roommate dunk. 'Twas a good day for sure!
Man, things like this remind me how much I miss Blacksburg. Wish I could've been there today.
Anyone got a link to the replay?
http://www.hokiesports.com/
Front page has three different links worth checking out
Attempting to watch the videos:
"Is this a video or stop motion animation?" - my gf.
That's hokie sports for you. They really need to do something about that
Blame the guy they're investigating for white collar crimes. He probably made it suck so that others would have to buy the tape instead of watching it for free online.
The new front page picture of Buzz is spectacular
We have found exclusive footage of Mark Berman trying to cast a negative shadow on the day.
00:01:43–00:01:59
"[Buzz Williams] will roll up his sleeves and get after it."
Even our month-long AD takes cues from Beamer.
why do we dislike mark berman again? I have trouble keeping up with these things.
thanks! :D
Yeah, I don't really know either. Been a while since I've read the Times on a regular basis.
Hate to be negative nancy after all this...are there legitimate performance clauses in these $18 mil contracts?
Edit: because he's cleared all the hurdles so far; I've just got the "pit of my stomachs" concerning all these power moves and what's going to end up on the court.
I wouldn't worry about it.
Buzz strikes me as the kind of guy who won't accept mediocrity over the long haul. He knows there's a long road to go, but the eventual goal is to have this program humming at the level he did with Marquette. Our goal is to win titles. We want that ACC crown and we want to contend for the NCAA. Buzz seems to have a bit of an ego, which is a good thing for a coach.
Edit:
negative nancyBUZZ kill.Oh, are we going to go with the witty puns on his name, cause I've had a few Buzzing in my mind over the last few days.
you missed a great opportunity to use Whit-ty
I totally would have, but I didn't want to be a total Babcock over the whole thing.
I'll give the reasons why I dislike Berman, it's everyone for themselves. First, let's remember - his primary focus at the RT is to cover Hokie basketball. So, the reasons? He really makes it obvious through both his words and actions that he dislikes virtually everything about VT basketball. His questions always tend to be antagonistic and/or negatively biased. His articles do not contain many of the fundamental components of a sports article. He offers zero commentary on the program for 'readers'. He is actually combative with followers on his blog. His questions of sports figures focus on the negative. He offers zero insight in his columns or articles. There is nothing gained by his contributions that you couldn't get from ESPN or AP reports. (I know, he is the source of many AP reports on VTBB)
Everyone that I know who has met him comes away with a similar comment to this - 'What is his problem?' Personally, I chalk it up to a Napolean complex in an environment of tall people. I find it much easier to read David Teel or Mike Barber for insight on the program, and more effective to read ESPN for statistical reports. Mark Berman adds zero that I can see. Even on all the coaching rumors for this job? he didn't break ANYTHING. He didn't even really comment(that I could discover) on any of them. That amazes me...
Thanks swvadon for your opinion; that -even if only 50% biased clears up the slant on him. funny, I rarely search and find major hits on his articles when reading up/linking BB stuff...
That is one of my biggest issues with his reporting. I understand the appeal of brevity - I fight it constantly in my posts. He goes beyond that and omits all layers of context. His blogs are as dry as his articles. He really does not seem to grasp social media at all, either. Anyway, don't expect anything breaking from him. I could tell in the press conference that Buzz has already identified him as such, too. He laughed at Berman getting bristly on him.
I have to credit Teel & Barber, as I think they do good jobs covering VT hoops. I don't want homerism, but I don't want antagonism, either. I do want context. ESPN gives us the scores & stats. I look to Commonwealth scribes for context.
two questions:
1) Are you saying "VaTech" sarcastically, because Berman writes it that way? Or are you actually saying "VaTech"? Because I thought we outlawed that moniker a long time ago.
2) Are you in the design field? Not many people would have the Cassel arches as their avatar. If so, welcome, good to have another one on TKP
No sarcasm about the 'VaTech', and I had no knowledge of any ban on that. If I were doing it sarcastically, I would have probably done VahTech. I have no issues with 'it', as I think virtually any attention is superior to the lack of attention we endured for decades. No big deal either way...
I was going to upvote this but I can't get over the "VaTech." Please edit for upvote
I was sad to have to miss this, but I have the flu and didn't want to get everyone sick. I watched it online, and I fell even more in love with this hire the more he spoke. It was amazing to watch Buzz lead the "LET'S GO!!! HOKIES!!!" chant, and to watch the huge grin appear on his face when he got a massive crowd response gave me chills. To hear our program described as a "sleeping giant" pretty much lets us know where Buzz thinks he can eventually get us, and I think it reaffirms what many of the members of this website tend to think: we have the best fans, a great place to live/study, great recruiting grounds, and a winning spirit as a university.
Sorry I'm not sorry. YEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHH
This is more of whats to come for Virginia Tech, the man cares so much.. He not only is a coach but a mentor and a great representative of our University already.
Buzz Reads Army Letter