-- South Alabama ended its search for a new men's basketball coach Monday with the introduction of former Butler associate head coach

as the Jaguars' new coach.

Former Butler assistant coach Matthew Graves speaks to the media during a press conference Monday, Mar. 25, 2013 in the John Counts room at the Mitchell Center on the USA campus. The press conference was held to announce that Graves will take the reins at South Alabama as head coach of the men's basketball team. (Bill Starling/bstarling@al.com)

Graves spent 17 years at Butler -- five as a player and 12 on the coaching staff -- and arrives at South Alabama directly after Butler's ouster from the NCAA Tournament over the weekend.

Following Monday's press conference, Graves sat down with AL.com for a question and answer session. Here are the highlights of that session:

Q:

What attracted you to the South Alabama job?

A:

The thing that attracted me to Mobile is there's a history and tradition here, the location is unbelievable, there's resources, (and) the facilities are outstanding. Once I got to know the people, that really sold me that this place is a sleeping giant. There's an opportunity here to do really big things and I'm excited to be on the ground floor of that.

Q:

This is your first head coaching job, but it's also away from your alma mater where you spent 17 years. Was it a tough decision to accept the job?

A:

It was a tough decision but at the end of the day the thing that made it an easier decision was the people involved. I've been associated with Butler for 17 years -- 12 in coaching and five as a player -- so it was hard. There were tears saying goodbye to people. But at the same time, it's a new chapter and I'm excited to call South Alabama home now.

Q:

What stood out about this job that made you believe this can be a successful program?

A:

I think there is a commitment by the administration and the support staff, they want to be good, they want to do it the right way, and that excites me. Any time you go into a situation with the support that's here, you feel good right away. This is a top three or four job in the league right now and we're here to make it just a little bit better.

Q:

Do you really remember the 2008 NCAA Tournament against South Alabama and thinking at the time it was a program with promise

?

A:

At the time I felt like South Alabama was a place that had had some success and I was familiar with it from a tournament run and also an acquaintance of mine, Toby Madison, had played here. We were together on the Indiana all-star team in high school back in '93. ... I remember when he went down here and the great success that he had as a player down here, so there was some familiarity with the tradition and success South Alabama had.

Former Butler assistant coach Matthew Graves speaks to the media during a press conference Monday, Mar. 25, 2013 in the John Counts room at the Mitchell Center on the USA campus. The press conference was held to announce that Graves will take the reins at South Alabama as head coach of the men's basketball team. (Bill Starling/bstarling@al.com)

Q:

This has been a place that has had success at times but has not sustained that success for long periods of time. Certainly not like at Butler. How can you produce sustained success here?

A:

I think it will start initially through the recruiting process. In the past, it's been a mixture of recruitment of various kids from different backgrounds, whether it be transfers or junior college or mixing in high school kids. We're still going to continue to recruit at the junior college level some, but we're going to try to build a program that sustains success and I think the best way to do that is through high school kids and transfers that spend multiple years in your program. By doing that, I think it really gets the community involved. They get a chance to kind of grow with that student-athlete and get accustomed to who that is. I think by doing that you also grow the community to attend more games.

Q:

Leaving Butler and leaving the Midwest, this is going to be a big culture change. Butler is a place that fills up the gym with fans, this is not. How much did you weight those factors and how big a change will this be for you?

A:

It's certainly going to be a change, but you look at the situation and if you're filling up the arena down here and winning games, we're probably not sitting here talking. Certainly change is always hard, but at the same time when you have people in place and you have resources -- my first impression in walking into the Mitchell Center in person, I was absolutely blown away with the facility. Looking at it online just doesn't do it justice. It's a beautiful facility. When we get it full it's going to be really nice.

Q:

In terms of hiring a staff, do you have people in place or is that something that will take some time?

A:

It's a work in progress. I've got a short list of people I want to talk to and visit with, guys that are both familiar with the background of Butler and also have recruited in various regions throughout the South and Midwest. I'm really keeping my options open. I'm really excited that President (John) Smith and Dr. (Joel) Erdmann (USA's director of athletics) have really encouraged me to be slow int he process. They really wanted me to be sure it's done the right way, so I'm really pleased with that approach. From Day One, we don't want to make any mistakes. We're going to be very diligent in every move that we make.

Q:

What can people look forward to seeing out of your team in terms of coaching and playing styles?

A:

There's going to be a lot of similarities to Butler. There's going to be very hard-nosed and tough defensively. There's going to be a defensive-oriented team and our offense will change based on our personnel. I really need to dig in and get to work with these guys offensively to see where their strengths and weaknesses lie. With the little bit of film I've seen, I'm certainly encouraged. There's a lot of room for improvement from a basic skill set offensively, but on the defensive end of the floor we're going to be very hard-nosed. I tell people if there's a loose ball and you're in the front row, you better watch out.

Q:

Are you concerned at all about losing players currently on the roster?

A:

There's always a concern, certainly. But at the same time, and I told the guys in the locker room, 'I don't know you very well and you don't know me hardly at all; let's get to know each other over the next couple of weeks before we make any rash decisions over what's going to happen.' It's stressful for all of but we're in this together and we want to make this work and at the same time I told them I want guys here who want to represent South Alabama. So if you're wavering on that and after we get to know each other, there are no hard feelings (if a player wishes to leave). But we really want to get to know each other and take that process slow over the next couple of weeks. That's why I'm going to meet with each one of them individually over the next 24 hours and try to get them on the court and go through some things so we can get to know each other better.

Q:

What is priority one right now? On the check list of what needs to happen now, what's there?

A:

Make this team comfortable. I want them to have the opportunity to get to know me and we need to see who's on board and who wants to row the boat in the same direction. That's priority No. 1, the guys in that locker room. From there, it will be the five guys who signed (early) and see what their interest is and talk about the process and see where they are and then putting together a staff from there. ... A commitment has been made to those young men (five early signees) and they made a commitment to this university and we would certainly honor that. AT the same time, we are going to have conversations to make sure it's the right fit. If they don't feel it's the right fit there's no hard feelings. It's a change for everybody and we want to make this work out the best for both parties.

Q:

Although you haven't been a head coach before, how much can being on the Butler staff and being around that success, how much will that help you?

A:

I don't think there's any substitute for experience and I've been around one of the best head coaches int he country to see how he operates on a daily basis and fortunately he has had me involved in every facet of the program. So it gives you confidence knowing that you are working from a great blueprint. I'm just excited to get going from Day One. There are going to be mistakes that are made, but we're going to work hard and do it the right way and make this thing go in the right direction.