Did we hire Ward Cleaver to Coach Basketball?

Hey, I'm kidding, OK? I'm a father, and it has defined my life, and if you believe in family, you will fit in well at BG. The only remarkable thing here is how open he is. He certainly sounds like a man who knows what he is about.

There's a certain tone to these opening press conferences. It isn't all that different from the John Beilein conference at UM, and sounds stunningly like the introduction Rod Marinelli gave for himself in Detroit. Keep this in mind: it isn't an easy task. Introduce yourself as a basketball coach and a person, without sounding overly preachy or trite....a very awkward feeling. I'm sure every coach is glad when these things are over and they can get to work.

Back to hoops, here's the report from Coach Orr's welcome presser: (Any wiseass commentary by me is in orange, but there isn't much to say).

BGSU HEAD MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH Louis Orr
(puts on BGSU cap) I don't wear many hats. I think it's a family trait. There are not many hats that fit; our heads are kind of a large size.

To God be the glory. (This isn't my cup of tea, but it is a free country.) I am very thrilled and pleased, and feel very blessed to be the men's head basketball coach here at Bowling Green State University; to become a member of the Bowling Green family. That's what it's about. As I get older, and the more I've been in coaching and athletics, you can take all the nice buildings and the arenas, all of the glitter and the glamour (Sardonic Falcon fans will point out a lack of nice arenas and glitter and glamour at our school, but we get the point).; it comes down to relationships. It comes down to people. It comes down to commitment. That's the feeling I got the minute I talked to Greg, when I got the chance to meet other administrators, and when I got the chance to sit down with Dr. Ribeau and his wife. It is a large school, but it is truly a warm family.

The fact that I have my family here ... as you get to know me, I can be an emotional guy at times. I don't mind shedding a tear or two. But to have my family here -- I've been involved in a few press conferences in my day, but this is the first time that I've been able to have a lot of my family here. I have my beautiful wife, Yvette, here. I miss my son, Chauncey, and my daughter, Monica, but coming from New Jersey, they have their responsibilities and their obligations. But, it is truly a blessing. It feels good to have family, and to be part of a family that is committed to excellence and support.

The tradition here at Bowling Green is something I have known about since I was young. Growing up in Cincinnati, I've been a fan of MAC basketball for a long time. I remember working out with Cornelius Cash and Skip Howard when I was in high school, and I knew they were from Bowling Green. (Cash and Howard were on the Falcon teams of my youth--the first ones. This is a cool connection to have--they were both remarkable players who only failed to win a MAC title because CMU had James McElroy, Dan Roundfield and Ben Poquette). I remember as a youngster watching Nate Thurmond play, because I was a big NBA fan from a young age. Nate was a great defensive center, played for the Warriors for a long time as you well know, and was one of the top 50 players in the NBA. So, I have been familiar with the history here, and I have gotten more familiar as time has gone on.

And, I am excited about the future, and these young men here to my right. I got a chance to speak to them earlier, and I got a chance to let them know that we are expecting great things. We want to go in expecting great things. It's a process, but I think we have to expect great things out of ourselves. Sometimes, in our youth, we don't expect enough out of you. There's a fine line between winning and losing, and we talked about that, but we are going to make the commitment to be the best that we can be.

We want to compete for championships. I think when you play ball, just like anything else, you want to compete to be the best. You want to compete to be champions. The first champions have to come from within (This is perhaps the single thing I have most learned in my life...your biggest opponent is yourself); you have to be the best that you can be as an individual, and then as a team, and you hope that equates to wins. But the first thing you have to do is be the best you can be, and that's our challenge: to be the best that we can be. Those young men that are in the room; that's our challenge, and it starts today, to build on the tradition of Bowling Green basketball. (Music to my ears, Coach Orr!)

It is good to be back in Ohio; it is good to be home. I have been a Buckeye all my life; traveled around the East coast for a while, but it is time to get back home. It is good to have the support and the love, not just from the Bowling Green family, but also from my immediate family. It feels good, and I am looking forward to the challenge.

My expectations ... I have been through a lot of things as a player and a coach, and I know what it takes to win. I know you have to lay the foundation to building a championship team, but these young men have what it takes to get off to a good start, and like I said, our expecations are high. We shoot for the stars, and that's what we are looking for. (He sounds hungry to win to me...)

Again, I am thrilled to be here, I'm looking forward to a great relationship with the community, and I am a family guy and a people person. I lead a normal life. I go to the grocery store -- this past year that I have been off, I did a lot of grocery shopping. (We have a nice Kroger, coach.) My wife went to work; she graduated from college in '05, so I told her, 'I'll take this year off; you go out and earn a living, and I will take care of our son.' I was the one that, when he forgot his schoolwork or his sneakers -- which he did a lot -- he would call and say, 'Dad, can you bring my supplies to school' or 'Dad, can you take me to the game,' and I was the one to make the run. I had more time to spend with my son than I ever had ... I counted my blessings to have the opportunity, but it is time to get back to work, and I am looking forward to it.

Thanks for coming out. It means a lot to me, and I promise you, I'll give you everything that I have, and all that the good Lord allows me to give, and I'm looking forward to great things from these young men and in the future.

Maureen also had some comments on her blog. First, some housekeeping. Brandon Bland is gone--I'm not sure if he was on a schollie or not. Marschall will be ready to practice again in two weeks.

Coach Orr is making $160K, which is more than Coach Brandon. Also:

The team met with Orr for about an hour before their press conference. The players were extremely impressed that he knew all their names and faces. He had watched several DVDs of their games already.

I cannot wait to get started again next Fall.