New Longwood head basketball coaches Griff Aldrich and Rebecca Tillett were officially introduced in their introductory press conference on April 26, alongside President W. Taylor Reveley IV and Director of Athletics Troy Austin. The press conference was immediately followed by an open event with the Longwood community, the coaches first official gathering as Lancers.
Austin began the press conference with an opening statement regarding the hiring of both coaches, as well as noted the arduous process they took in searching for the right candidates.
“I am excited to introduce these two individuals. The president and I have spent a good time in the bunker going through a list of names, fielding a lot of calls and having a lot of conversations,” said Austin. “At the end of the day, the two individuals that stand before you rose to the top because of their character and leadership ability.”
Before Aldrich began his opening statement, Austin said the late press conference date was because both coaches wanted to get off the ground running in meeting their current team and in their offseason recruitment.
In his opening statement, Aldrich thanked both Reveley and Austin, and stated his goals were to develop his players on and off the court, which will be an important element to their success in his first season. Aspects such as the program’s culture and long-term success were discussed.
“First and foremost, we want to be a program that the university and the community can really take pride in,” said Aldrich. “We want to be men of character, we want to be men who do the right thing, and we want to be great representatives of the university. Those are going to be critical things that we focus on.”
Aldrich then shifted focus to his preferred style of play, which was influenced by his former coach when he played at Hampden-Sydney College (H-SC) and when he coached at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. He said he wants to control the pace and apply pressure both offensively and defensively.
“We will look to be aggressive offensively, but also disciplined. We want to share the ball and be unselfish, and we will look to shoot it when open,” said Aldrich. “Defensively, we will continue to work on that as our personnel comes together, but we will be a team that plays defense and understands that you’ve got to play on both ends of the court in order to win championships and be successful.”
When acknowledging his staff, he introduced his first staff hire which was former John Hopkins assistant, Maurice Williams. He then officially announced the hire of former Minnesota women’s basketball assistant coach Marty McGillan, and the return of assistant coach Cody Anderson.
Following Aldrich’s introduction, Tillett then took his spot between Reveley and Austin in front of the Longwood community to be formally introduced for the first time.
“In talking with (Reveley and Austin) in their vision of Longwood and Longwood athletics, I was inspired,” Tillett said. “Just thinking about their visions, and the fact that they were both Division I college athletes, is really something that compelled me to want to be a part of it.”
The former Navy associate head coach said becoming a Division I head coach wasn’t her original dream, as she wanted to be an elementary school teacher. After teaching second grade and coaching at the same time, she said coaching became more integrated in her life, and her teaching experience will help with her head coaching career.
“As far as building relationships with our players and with the other staff members here I think will be critical to our success,” said Tillett. “I’m a teacher first, and one of the things that is important to me and to our staff that we’re working on to assemble is that we are matching the citizen leader vision that Longwood University has.”
She said they will accomplish this with a leadership program, where players will need to apply to be on the team by submitting a cover letter and résumé, and go through an interviewing process with the coaching staff.
Regarding systems her team will be playing, Tillett said she doesn’t like tying down one particular style of play, as she’ll adjust as the season moves forward.
“I love an up-tempo style of play, and I think to do that, we’re trying to teach the players the right read and how to make the right decision,” she said. “As I assemble our staff, that’s something that’s critical to me, that they have the ability to teach and interact with one another, and get them to understand the decisions they have to make.”
Tillett did not announce any hires to her staff, saying she is continuously working on assembling a unit soon.
Neither Aldrich nor Tillett commented on recruitment updates or any official signings.
Immediately following Tillett’s introduction, the coaches were introduced to the Longwood community and made opening remarks in a formal meet and greet, where they had the opportunity to meet students and Farmville residents.
Men's Basketball head coach Griff Aldrich sat alongside President W. Taylor Reveley IV and Director of Athletics Troy Austin during his and Women's Basketball Rebecca Tillett's introductory press conference.
Tillett spoke about her teaching career and how it will help her in her coaching career as Women's Basketball head coach.
