Get to know Coach Gottfried

Mark Gottfried YouTube Channel56

Great ten minutes of conversation here.

Coach G comes off as calm, yet energetic. Cool, yet competent and confident. He’s ready to fight and prove to the world that he’s learned from his mistakes.

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Mark Gottfried YouTube Channel

56 Responses to Get to know Coach Gottfried

  1. papackman 04/13/2011 at 7:48 PM #

    Is it November yet?

  2. Rochester 04/13/2011 at 8:16 PM #

    The more I see him, the more I like him. I’ve gone from WTF to very happy with this hire.

  3. BureauOfMines 04/13/2011 at 8:24 PM #

    Sounds good to me.

  4. ADVENTUROO 04/13/2011 at 8:33 PM #

    GREAT CLIP….THANKS FOR SHARING IT.

    After reading a LOT of credible stuff about the three coaches, I am fully convinced they are a good team. Gottfried won, I think, the top student ACADEMIC award as a Senior at Alabama (and NO, I don’t want to hear the SEC jokes). Lutz was valedictorian of his Sr. Class in High School and has two MA’s. My high school were there arch rivals….good guys…tough. Orlando took his UL-M team and went to help with Katrina. He also coached in some summer leagues to help the less fortunate kids learn good skills. These guys are GOOD guys off the court. Now, I DO remember that one of our coaches, the YOUNGEST, was a Suma Cum Laude grad….so being smart is not always the “key”, but these guys and their academic records ought to keep the jealous faculty at bay for a while….and it is ALWAYS great to have coaches who do emphasize the need to be well rounded.

    Coach G’s remarks were to the point, very logical and very focused. I like him the MORE I hear him and also read about him.

    Debbie did GOOD!

  5. leewolf 04/13/2011 at 8:42 PM #

    Everything has sounded good so far. Here’s to hoping he can get the guys working and working TOGETHER this season. There is certainly the talent there for big things to happen.

  6. TLeo 04/13/2011 at 8:43 PM #

    He really comes across well and I think he can do a great job here.

  7. Avid109 04/13/2011 at 8:50 PM #

    He continues to impress me.

  8. MrPlywood 04/13/2011 at 8:53 PM #

    So far so good. I liked the part about his phone ringing off the hook with coaches wanting a job. If that’s truly the case, then the State profile has already risen. A lot remains to be seen, but it’s an encouraging start.

  9. ryebread 04/13/2011 at 8:58 PM #

    I liked the interview. I wasn’t thrilled with the process, but think that we walked away with a pretty solid hire. Coach Gott sounds hungry, which is important.

    I think stepping back and thinking about that third assistant hire is a good move. Hiring the right assistants and support staff is the single most important thing that needs to happen. I’d rather is be slower and right now that we have two on board than rush into a third one. I’m already a lot happier with the assistants this time around than I was last time.

  10. JSRy2k 04/13/2011 at 9:02 PM #

    Favorite Gottfried Line:
    “I don’t have to prove anything to anybody, but I want to.”
    That’s a man who is confident in who he is, who is motivated by love and not fear. Sounds like the character needed for sustaining success with grace.

    Classic Line from Gravely:
    “…that was one of the biggest missiles I’ve heard come across a press conference…” (re: Yow’s shot at Gary Williams)
    Ha, ha, ha – too funny! Great question, and I loved Gottfried’s response of saying that’s between Yow and Gary, but he loves having a leader that’s competitive and will go to bat for him.

  11. Boyd 04/13/2011 at 9:07 PM #

    Excellent composure. Intelligent. Hungry. Coach G is a competitor. He seems to really care about teaching his kids (players). Not just in basketball, but in school and life. I’m really happy with this hire.

    If you look at his records at Alabama, the 2 years he had ex-head coaches on his staff were the 2 years he did the best. 1 year he won the SEC, and the other year he was in 2nd place. We’ve got 41 years in HC experience on the staff right now. Hopefully they can emphasize intensity on both offense and defense.

    I’m really excited about the future. Here’s to hoping it happens sooner, rather than later.

  12. bruced123 04/13/2011 at 9:35 PM #

    This is a going to be a GREAT hire for the Pack guys. I’m getting excited about our future. Go State!

  13. swamppack 04/13/2011 at 9:53 PM #

    He does not have a smug arrogance about himself, seems to be a humble guy. Seems to be intelligent. Seems to have his priorities straight. Seems to have good perspective. Seems like the perfect fit.

    I posted some doubting or disappointed remarks on SFN when the hire was first announced, but thankfully I have a more positive outlook now after reading some about him and seeing things like this video.

    Go G and go Pack. Can’t wait till next season.

  14. MBS 04/13/2011 at 10:00 PM #

    That is a really great interview. He seems confident, and it is not hard to see why he has a reputation as a great recruiter. The way things ended at Alabama is a little scary to me, but I’m excited to see what he will do with a second chance. He has the makings of a great stuff, which is probably huge, and if everyone really does come back, he has a pretty good foundation on which to build.

    I’m cautiously optimistic. If he can learn from his mistakes, he could do a really, really good job here.

  15. tractor57 04/13/2011 at 10:03 PM #

    We aren’t to on court action but so far I’m happy.

  16. Tampa-Pack 04/13/2011 at 10:22 PM #

    Great interview. I loved the talk about controlling the state first, and going out and getting those top players where ever they might be. A lot of talent has left the state over the past few years, and if we can get a hold of most of those guys we will be sitting well. Reminded me a lot of TOB’s philosophy about winning the state battles, then the competing in the conference battles, then competing nationally.

    PS – Anyone else catch the “importance of being on time” line. Sid must have pretty much let these guys do whatever they wanted…

  17. MrPlywood 04/13/2011 at 10:54 PM #

    “PS – Anyone else catch the “importance of being on time” line. Sid must have pretty much let these guys do whatever they wanted…”

    I meant to mention that – I laughed when I heard it. In the last episode of Friday Night Lights, Coach Taylor says “…you’re gonna be back here at 6am… that means no later than 5:45…”

    Sounds like the bball team is having a little wake up call of their own…

  18. mafpack 04/14/2011 at 12:00 AM #

    I wonder if he was always that natural on camera or if ESPN helped him out there, but that was one of the best interviews I’ve ever watched from an NCAA head coach. I was a little apprehensive before but after listening to the man speak, I’m absolutely excited for next season.

    For the 1000 time, welcome Coach G!

  19. JSRy2k 04/14/2011 at 12:18 AM #

    He looks good in red and white too!

  20. PoppaJohn 04/14/2011 at 3:59 AM #

    Haven’t watched yet, but one thing I have really worried about was the 2012 recruiting class. Why was Sid handing out next year’s scholarships to mediocre players?? He had to know he was leaving.

    In another interview (and maybe this one too?) Coach G mentioned that he is focusing on that 2012 class and that some guys might no longer want to come to State, and that he and his asst coaches wanted to focus on getting a really strong class. Exactly the right thing to say! Don’t wait 3 or 4 years to recruit an awesome class.

    Also, “…everyone has to earn playing time…” is a great message. This year’s class never played to it’s potential, time to start pushing the message that “if you want to play, you’ve got to get in shape and give it all on the court.”

    I was really worried by the hire – but (like many of you) I am coming around to a glimmer of optimism. I think that Coach G’s first two weeks on the job have been a home run. (it’s baseball season)

    It will get mostly quiet soon and stay that way through the summer as he and his coaches settle in and start preparing for the season.

    Reserving judgement till the fall, but liking what I am hearing …

  21. tuckerdorm1983 04/14/2011 at 6:07 AM #

    I hope the legacy of Lee Fowler is clearly behind us now. The further we get away from his hire of Sidney Lowe, the clearer it becomes how screwed up that was. While it may have pulled at the heart strings of the wolfpack faithful because we love Lowe so much, it was a boneheaded move. Lowe had in no way shown that he could in fact coach at the college or pro-level. He should have been an assistant coach somewhere for many years or head coach at a small school. Well this time the coach has a great deal of experience. While I don’t expect us to beat the Heels and Devils very often in the near future, I expect us to be competitive with most teams in the ACC and play in the post season (NCAA or NIT).

  22. PackerInRussia 04/14/2011 at 6:49 AM #

    “He looks good in red and white too!”

    Everyone looks better in red and white 😉

  23. PackMan97 04/14/2011 at 8:22 AM #

    MBS, Re: Alabama – From what I’ve read his last few teams had trouble because of Ronald Steele’s ability (made it tough to recruit another quality PG) and because of his injuries (meant there was no PG on the floor). The team suffered as a result. I do think he had some distracting stuff going on at home between the wife/talk radio, bad blood between him and the ADand who knows what else. It’s tough getting forced out at your alma mater but I’m sure he did what he thought was best for his family and his school. Just as Lowe did when he stepped down.

    —————–

    PackerInRussia – That’s not true. I try and picture Dean Smith or Roy Williams in red and white and want to puke. Coach K wouldn’t be so bad, but it’s still not natural.

  24. Rochester 04/14/2011 at 8:31 AM #

    Mildly off topic here, but it’s funny to see Miami “spurned” by Tommy Amaker. Will the national press be as unkind to them as they were to us? If you read any of the stories about their coaching search on the Miami Herald, their fans seem more negative and disgruntled than we ever were.

    The biggest loser in this all could be the Parker search firm, whose role in Miami is being diminished with the hiring of their new AD. Parker didn’t exactly come up aces for us during our search. I’m not sure how involved they were in the eventual hire of Gottfried, but considering Yow has known him since he was in college, it doesn’t seem like she needed any help finding him. If Parker bungled both our search and Miami’s it’s hard to imagine them getting much business in the future.

  25. ZZ 04/14/2011 at 8:36 AM #

    Kool-Aid!!
    And I got a big heaping glass of it!!

    Loving our new coach. Any kid that doesn’t want to stay because of MG, can go to chapelhell. I feel a solid foundation below our feet guys; O’Brien, Gottfried and Yow. If you’re too young to remember, or you didn’t live here in the 80’s….Get used to the feeling of being a winner!

    Debbie Yow is a bull in a china shop, just what the nation needed…and I’m loving it!!

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