Washington State University President Kirk Schultz and Athletic Director Pat Chun officially introduced new head men’s basketball coach Kyle Smith to the WSU faithful April 1. The 19th coach in program history expressed his thanks for opportunity and is ready to turn the WSU culture around.

Actually, the turnaround begun before his introductory press conference.

“I’ve had two practices with these guys and they are eager –I’ve done this three times and they are eager to learn. They’re exciting me. I already threw it out there after the second practice — ‘I love you guys.’ And I do, I come from the heart. It’s just an honor to have guys that look at it that way.”

Even though, he hasn’t spent a lot of time with the core group of players yet, he knows he already “loves” this group.

With only eight players remaining in the program, it is a little easier for Smith to create a bond with his team. Forward Isaiah Wade called the remaining eight Cougars “the Almighty Eight” when Smith asked him about a nickname.

Eventually, Smith will get on the recruiting trail. However, he wants to focus on this current group first. He acknowledged that this group will be the heart of what he wants to build in Pullman. For that reason, his main focus daily will be on the players.

“There are three things we will focus on every day with the players. You’re going to have a great attitude, you will show appreciation for your scholarship, the opportunity to play basketball, to be in Pullman.”

He warned everyone that he will repeat this phrase or some variation of it often.

Lastly, Smith explained his basketball-analytic approached. As a result, he provided some insight on what his future WSU teams will focus on: defense, rebounding and ball control.

“We stat everything we do, whether it’s on the court, off the court. And really want it does is make you hard to beat… We call it ‘D.R.T’: Defend, rebound and take care of the ball.”

He said he focused a lot on defense over the first two practices. He addressed the “brutal facts” about WSU being 291st in defense with team; stressing that they have to get better in that area in order to succeed. Don’t know what metric Smith used to get that ranking because the Cougars ranked 330th in scoring defense and 314th in defensive efficiency last year.

Overall, Smith certainly said all the right things during his press conference. With this and all the public endorsements for Smith lately, it feels like WSU made the right hire here. However, he knows he’ll be judged by results and not his words. Luckily, WSU will give him plenty of time and leeway to get hose results. Smith and WSU agreed to a six-year deal that is worth $1.4 million annually.

You can see the full recording of the Kyle Smith’s introductory press conference can be found below: