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Travis Steele made his first public appearance as Xavier’s head coach today, and he didn’t disappoint. There is always some trepidation in a fan base when a successful coach moves on, but Steele projected no personal trepidation today. Confident, enthusiastic, and clearly already possessed of a plan, Steele sounded ready for the task awaiting him. Following is our live coverage of the press conference.
We'll be live tweeting as much of the press conference as time allows. Right now Father Graham is at the dais. Says Steele "killed his interview," before pulling off his jacket and waving it over his head. Classic.
— Banners on the Parkway (@BannersParkway) April 4, 2018
AD Greg Christopher says Xavier did a "deep dive" in the industry to learn about all candidates.
— Banners on the Parkway (@BannersParkway) April 4, 2018
Another joke about Steele's age, which has been reported as somewhere in his 30s depending on who you ask. He's 36. "Look where we are: Big East champions, #1 seed, in the Elite Eight last year...each coach has taken it a little bit higher."
— Banners on the Parkway (@BannersParkway) April 4, 2018
"There is one final hurdle. We've never been to a Final Four, never won a national championship." Christopher now gives way to Xavier's new head coach, @CoachSteeleXU. Travis Steele thanks his wife and calls her "the best recruit I've ever signed."
— Banners on the Parkway (@BannersParkway) April 4, 2018
"Xavier's about doing both, we've graduated 106 straight seniors... we've also made 12 of the last 13 NCAA tournaments. Only eight programs can say that." Steele is giving something of a Xavier history lesson now, and I could not possibly be more excited to hear him do it.
— Banners on the Parkway (@BannersParkway) April 4, 2018
It has taken about two minutes of talking, but Steele has completely hooked me. This dude knows the school, knows the history, and is already infectiously enthusiastic. "Every coach has made Xavier a better place than it was before, and that's my responsibility."
— Banners on the Parkway (@BannersParkway) April 4, 2018
"Q's from...I don't know where in Kentucky. Out in the middle of nowhere." Coach, that's Campbellsville, home of the NAIA Tigers, the second best team in the Mid South Conference. #CumberlandPride
— Banners on the Parkway (@BannersParkway) April 4, 2018
"I'm going to be out recruiting tomorrow." -Travis Steele
— Banners on the Parkway (@BannersParkway) April 4, 2018
Steele recognizes that fans think the defense needs to improve and says the team will stay primarily man to man. "This could be our best defensive team ever."
— Banners on the Parkway (@BannersParkway) April 4, 2018
Coach Steele has been unstinting in his praise of Chris Mack. Calls him a great friend and "a better person than he is a coach, and he's a great coach."
— Banners on the Parkway (@BannersParkway) April 4, 2018
Coach Steele, @CoachSteeleXU, says he will "get better' at social media. So long as he doesn't start tweeting about jet fuel and steel beams, I think he'll be fine. We will not ask him to comment on our enduring question about Ed Cooley.
— Banners on the Parkway (@BannersParkway) April 4, 2018
That's a wrap from here. If you watched that and didn't get excited, I don't know what to tell you. Maybe I'm not cynical enough anymore, but Xavier's new hire said (almost) all the right things today. I'm excited. Let's get to November.
— Banners on the Parkway (@BannersParkway) April 4, 2018
It was a good press conference. Whatever you were expecting, Steele likely delivered. More importantly, he’s clearly invested in the program. That’s not to say he won’t leave in a decade but, if he does, I’m now confident that he will leave the program in even better shape than he found. Steele is fond of saying that Xavier has only 2% of the mountain left to climb. On today’s evidence, he may be the man to guide them to the summit.