New head coach Brian Keefe tackles the expectations for the Washington Wizards
welcome back to Toyota Sports Talk a big day for the Washington Wizards introducing their new head coach interm tag gone and now we have Brian Keith as the new head coach of the Washington Wizards first of all congratulations thank you what is this day like for you Brian uh yeah just tremendous gratitude for getting opportunity to lead an organization and partner with like you know I think I said with you know ownership and Michael and will um just couldn’t be more thrilled or more excited you’ve had 19 years in the NBA these jobs are rare and you have one has that sunk in a little bit yeah I mean I think it’s humbling when you think about it in that way um obviously have coached for a long time I think that’s where the Gratitude C comes in like you realize that not these weren’t promised to anybody um I’ve always just focused on doing the best job I can and I got lucky to get this opportunity I like that moment in the press conference when they discussed that phone call when they called you and told you you were going to be the head coach peel that curtain what was that like what was that moment like tell me those emotions uh yeah it was great my full family was with me my my wife and my two daughters were actually just right there which was great um so we all got kind of got to sharing it that moment um and Michael and will called um you know just it’s hard to explain but it was just a surreal moment I was just so excited my family was excited so it was just a nice moment we got to share together some tears H there might have been yeah possibly for sure sure when you take over this team you had what 39 games yep what was that like for you to kind of understand the process understand being the guy leading a team head coach how helpful was that to maybe you getting you to this point right now yeah I mean I I I focused on just pouring myself into to helping our guys be the best version of themselves to help them individually collectively so I was supported into it and really the collabora of nature of working with our players but also all of our support staff working with management I wanted that to be the basis of how we were going to operate um I think those things probably helped you know maybe lead me to getting this opportunity but I didn’t think about it that way it was this what’s best right now for this group and how can I help lead them and just did the best I could you’re known as almost like a guru in terms of Player Development why do you think you’re so good at that what what is about that connection that allows you to get into those players and allow them to flourish I I think it’s I believe that you can improve in things and I was a late developer probably myself as a player a little bit so I you know I you can relate I can relate to um them and the guys and I just try to put in their shoes and try to Envision where they can go um so I really believe in the growth mindset of things so I’ve always looked at that through the lens of each guy I’ve worked with and I the credit should be more to them I’ve worked with a lot of good guys a lot of good players so I’m very gr a lot of gratitude for the amount of people that I’ve gotten to have experiences with who I’ve learned more from them trust me than they learned from me every team has an identity sometimes teams take on the personality of their head coach what is a Brian Keef Le team going to look like I I think you saw some of that this year I think you saw a team that is going to come to play every night who’s going to be competitive who’s going to fight each other as teammates who’s going to share the ball um I think you’re going to see even more going forward a team that really enjoys the process of improving and believes in the stuff that you do dayto day to be great those are the things I’m focused on and I hopefully those will be the reflection that you guys are going to see on the court big opportunity here coming up for the Wizards with that number two overall pick yeah not every day a franchise has that opportunity to select maybe a franchise altering player how excited are you for that process of helping Michael helping will to try to determine who you’re going to take with that number two pick well I’m definitely going to rely on them they’re the experts in this field and that’s why it’s such a great opportunity to me for work for guys who I know uh who I trust imp pibly with their their skill in this specific area um I’m sure my opinion will be asked for sure um but it’s a chance for us to add someone who can help our organization grow and those are things that are exciting and I know that we’re focused on but to get there you got to go through the process of that and that’s the things we’re focused on right now what type of player do you want what do you think fits in your style and what you want to build with this team I think it’s the type of character we’re looking for I think those are the things that are going to fit for us the things that guys who want who love the game guys who are competitive guys who are workers we want to add as many people like that as possible in our gym um we feel like we do that then we’re going to have sustainable success couple of buzzword I’d liked from the press conference one was aligned Vision with Michael will yourself why is that so important Brian I think that allows you to get to the point where you can streamline things where you can streamline your processes um when you’re Aline you think alike it that doesn’t mean there’s not going to be disagreements or it’s all about searching for the right answers and the best Solutions but when you’re line you can streamline your processes down to be more efficient and that trickles down to our players when I say give me the state of the Washington Wizards how would you characterize where this franchise is at right now I think we’re in the part we’re establishing on a day-to-day basis on how we’re going to operate and the environment we’re going to do um we’re obviously the acquisition Fades of some of our players too um but I think it’s our dayto day and how we’re going to treat people how we’re going to work how we’re going to work on our games how we’re going to collaborate those are the things that are going to be the the standard Bearer for our organization that’s not going to ever change but I think we’re really on the ground FL of really laying that Foundation down you know you’ve been an assistant coach working your way up to head coach what are the big challenges now going from you know the assistant coach level to the head coach level and how do you Embrace those challenges I think you feel more responsibility I did notice that when you when I did take get the chance to take over during the season um I probably cared just as much as an assistant as I did is the head but like you feel the responsibility um because someone has given you an opportunity um losses hurt a little bit more wins feel a little bit better I think you yeah I think all those things are true but I think the responsibility to make sure that we’re operating the right way those are the things that I took wanted to make sure that we were creating the right environment for our players to get better and the only way you could do that is to make sure that we were having a collaborative approach not just with Michael and will but also with our support staff uh everybody who was touching our players everybody who worked on our building that feel like we were all getting better to help support our group um those are the things that matter to me you were so right when you said Washington DC is a basketball City because it is at its core there are Hoops fans in this city it doesn’t matter it’s high school college Pros they love basketball here and they love supporting a winner how much of a responsibility as you mentioned do you feel toward this fan base toward this city to develop that winner again here with this franchise uh TR what a great opportunity because this fan base is that uh I felt that when I was coaching this year and I’ll be out the community that people are highly intelligent about the game they are they’re smart they understand the game and the feedback I got from them is they could see what we were doing they could see how we were playing they could see the style they could see the teamwork uh I was impressed by that um I’ve worked with some guys over the years in different places I’ve been who are from here so I know quite a bit about the history of the game in this city and how much it means to it this is why I think this is such a great place to be right now I’m so excited excited about the opportunity as wrap things up what’s your message to the Wizards fan base what do you want to tell them you going to see a team that’s going to fight they’re going to do it together and they’re going to work really hard to get better every day and be a good example for them in the community we’re going to be out in the community too and we’re going to be supporting them but we really appreciate their support and we felt it this year Brian Keith appreciate your time thank congratulations again yes nice to meeting you much more to come right here on Toyota Sports Talk stay with us what
7News Sports Director Scott Abraham sits down with the Washington Wizards head coach.
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