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We'll bring in some guys that when you ask them why they went to Columbia, the first thing they'll say is the basketball program.

That's why I wanted to be there along with all the other great things.

Kevin Hovdi was hired as the 24th men's basketball head coach at Columbia University in March of 2025.

He returns to the Lions after helping the University of Florida Gators win a national championship this year as an assistant to head coach Todd Golden.

Hovdy went to Florida after spending the 2021-22 season at his alma mater, Richmond, under the direction of his former head coach Chris Mooney.

While there, he helped the spiders to the second round of the NCAA tournament following an Atlantic 10 tournament championship.

Hovdi was on the staff at the University of San Francisco for five years and was promoted to the team's associate coach on golden staff from 2019 to 2021.

He helped the Dons to a 2212 record in 2019-20 and a win over fourth ranked Virginia on Nov. 27, 2020, the program's first win over a top five opponent in 39 years.

From 2016 to 2019, the Dons posted three consecutive 20 win seasons for the first time in more than 35 years during his first tenure at Columbia.

Kevin joined the program as the Director of basketball operations in 2011 and was promoted to assistant coach the following season in 2015 16.

His final season at Columbia, the Lions finished 25 10, setting a school record for wins and won the postseason College Insider.com tournament.

Hovdi played his collegiate basketball at Richmond from 2006 to 2011, arriving as a walk on.

Hovde earned a scholarship after his first year.

He appeared in 99 games over four seasons, scoring 195 total points as a senior.

In 2011, Hovdy and the Spiders won the Atlantic 10 and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16.

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Get ready to take some notes as you listen to this episode with Kevin Hovde, men's basketball head coach at Columbia University.

Hello and welcome to the Hoop Heads podcast.

It's Mike Cleansing here without my co host Jason Sunkel tonight.

But I am pleased to welcome back to the Hoop Heads pod Kevin Hovdi, the new men's basketball coach at Columbia University, national champion as an assistant coach this year with the Florida Gators.

Kevin, a lot has happened since we last talked.

Welcome back, man.

Thanks so much for having me, Mike.

I really appreciate it.

Excited to have you on.

A lot of interesting things to talk about that have developed in your career since we last talked.

Start by talking about the tournament run.

And I guess my first question, let's start here with the idea that going into the season, obviously you guys know that you're going to have a pretty good team.

Was there a moment during the season where you guys as a staff started looking at each other and saying this team might be better than just really good, that we might really have a chance to, to win the whole thing?

Was there a moment?

Yeah, I would say probably the game at Auburn in the kind of the middle of SEC play where we went down there and really controlled the game.

And I think at the time they were, you know, ranked number one in the country.

They were certainly the best team in the country at that time based on, you know, their resume up to that point.

And you know, we had a double digit lead and it never, never really got that close in the second half, which is really hard to do, especially in that environment.

So I think after that game, we really felt like, all right, we can.

We can beat anyone on any given night.

And that game, going on the road at a place like that really gave us confidence moving forward.

What did you guys start looking at, talking about, thinking in terms of what you needed to do?

Well.

What did that team need to do?

Well, as you built through the season in order to maximize what its potential.

Was, I think it was really the defensive side of the ball going into this season, really starting in the summer.

Last summer, when we got the group together on campus, we really felt like that if we developed a gritty mentality defensively and could be a great defensive team, that we'd have a chance to be really good, because we knew that we had really good talent, and we knew that we'd be pretty connected on the offensive end, so we were pretty confident in that.

But I think developing that mentality and putting the time in every day to really focus on defending and just.

And getting that.

That grittiness to go out every night and.

And defend and be tough and physical was.

Was the biggest key for us to be one of the elite teams in the country and give ourselves a chance to make the run that we did.

What did that look like day to day, trying to instill that in the team?

Is that a everyday discussion they're hearing?

The message is that specific tactics that you guys are doing on the practice floor.

How do you go about taking a team that you think has the potential to do that on the defensive end, but then to be able to take it from potential to reality?

What's that process look like dayto day?

Well, I think the.

The first part of that was gets back to recruiting, like most things.

And the biggest key was that we added a couple guys who were great defenders, starting with Elijah Martin, who, you know, was obviously understood from his time at Florida Atlantic, understood what it meant to compete at a championship level day in and day out, and just the mentality how hard you have to go, the level of accountability.

So.

So just adding him to the program, I thought was really important as far as just increasing accountability.

And then also Ruben Chinyelu was a huge key.

Just our.

To have a guy who is your starting center who's, you know, playing 25 minutes per game, that is an amazing rim protector, an amazing defensive rebounder, has great instincts.

So, you know, I always go back to.

To your personnel and the guys you have being the most important thing.

But I think we as a coaching staff did a good job of Making sure that we put the time in on the defensive end of the court.

You know, really in the, in the fall when we, when we started individual workouts kind of in late August, we were making sure that we put at least 30 minutes into just our defensive principles, playing one on one, competing all those things to try to develop that mentality.

And then, you know, we had a group of guys that was really special because they were extremely coachable.

They had great attitudes.

So we, we sort of had that buy in, if you will, as far as what we were emphasizing.

And, you know, they're the ones that went out there and had to do it and had to compete.

But I would say it was a combination of those three things.

And obviously you have to have a good plan that makes sense for your personnel.

Right?

That's, that's a big part of coaching.

But I think for us it was.

We knew that we had the talent and it was more putting the time in and making sure that the guys kind of develop that gritty mentality.

Having a senior dominated backcourt, how important was that?

Especially when you think about just being able to control games in the tournament with guys who have experience.

We all know what the turnover in college basketball and just the way that teams are constructed and whether they're young, whether they're made up of guys that are just coming together for the first time.

How much did you guys lean on Walter Clayton Jr. And the other guys in your backcourt as seniors to be able to kind of lead that team in the right direction and sort of reinforce the message that you guys were trying to get across to everybody?

Yeah, I mean, it was so important.

It was so important.

I, I just think that was.

That was probably the biggest key to us being able to have success, especially in the NCAA tournament there.

There were a few games that we were kind of on the ropes and had to come back and just Walter, some of the shots that he was able to make, tough contested shots down the stretch of games and even, you know, in the, throughout the course of games as well, where, you know, we, we might have a bad possession, he can, he can bail you out by making a tough shot to keep you in a game or extend a lead or those things.

And, you know, it goes to your point to, to the experience of just, you know, that was.

That was his third NCAA tournament that he had played in.

You know, he expected to make a deep run.

That's why he came back to Florida.

So he had that confidence mentality.

And then Will Richard is just the ultimate program Guy for us, you know, he was the first guy that we signed when we got down to Gainesville three years ago and just embodied what it meant to be a Florida Gator and was also extremely talented as well.

And even in the national championship game, he kept us in that game when we were struggling against Houston, he made some huge shots in the first half and, and, you know, throughout the course of the game.

And then Elijah Martin was just, as I said, he was solid as a rock the whole year for us, and I think he was.

His mentality and what he brought to our team, the moment that he stepped on campus, it just elevated our culture.

And obviously, to win the whole thing and to make a run like we did, you have to have a great culture.

And I think he was one of the most important guys as far as elevating that for our team.

It just always feels like when you.

Have especially experience in the backcourt, it just gives you such an advantage in the tournament because you have guys who are an extension of the coaching staff and guys, as you said, who have been there before.

When you have culture builders and people who have been in your program, which doesn't always happen, especially in today's world where you're building year to year in the portal and everything that goes along with that.

The challenge is for you to be able to guys to be able to have that kind of stability in the backcourt and to be able to lean on those guys as coaches on the floor throughout the run.

I think clearly from watching it from the outside, that was a critical piece of what you guys were doing.

You could just tell that the team leaned on those guys and you guys could put.

Put the ball in their hands and trust that they were going to make good decisions and keep you, you know, keep you in games even when you were struggling a little bit at times.

So let's go to the beginning of the tournament and tell me a little bit about how the prep goes for you guys when you're at a weekend site, right?

You play either on a Thursday, you go Thursday, Saturday, you go Friday, Sunday.

Walk me through how you guys prep for the first game and then how that prep is the same different for the second game in a weekend where obviously you have less turnaround time to be able to scout the team you're going to play in the second game on a weekend.

So how do you guys go about the prep work to be able to have your team ready to go for both game, both the first and the second game of a given weekend in the NCAA Tournament.

Yeah, I would say we put most of the prep into the first game and so most of the practice time for that week and the scouting is just to try to win one game and then for the second game, you know, I think we were, we, we were obviously seasoned at that point.

And when you're on a one day prep where you have one day off in between games, I think it can be really helpful to be able to compare the team you're playing to a team that you might have played earlier in the season.

So, for example, in the Final Four, obviously we were familiar with Auburn, we prepared for Auburn and we're fortunate to win that game.

And then going into the national championship game, we were able on that short prep to try to emphasize to the guys that this game was going to be a similar game to playing Tennessee.

That's what we felt like as far as just the physicality, the culture that Houston has, we have a ton of respect for Tennessee and sec and so I think we were able on that short prep to kind of get the guys to understand a little bit of what they were, what they were going into.

And then obviously you're trying to, you know, give them as much, you know, film and, you know, the way we go about it, we're really analytical.

We try to give them a lot of data and that stuff as far as to paint a picture of the scout.

And so you're trying to give them as much as possible without overloading it.

Right.

Because, you know, a big part for us is that we, you know, fortunately we felt like we were extremely talented, so we felt like we could dictate games with our style of play and our pace and really on both sides of the ball.

So, you know, it's, it's not an exact science, but I think it was a balance of making sure you're prepared, making sure they understand what's coming, what the important things that they might have to guard or might have to be prepared for, you know, as far as how the other team's going to guard or guard us.

And then also understand that, hey, we're really good and that, you know, we need to do what we do and we're not going to adjust too much to, you know, how another team is playing us.

From an analytics standpoint, when you're sharing numbers with players, is there a metric, multiple metrics?

Is it team by team in terms of what you share with the guys that you think is important?

Yeah, I think it starts with usage.

That's a really big one for us.

So you know, we've gotten to the point where we're even.

We're even using that terminology with our guys.

So we might say this is a high usage player just to kind of give them an understanding of this guy's going to be really aggressive.

He's going to be trying to score, trying to make plays.

That.

That's a big one for us.

I think shot distribution, what I mean by that is the percentage of shots that a guy takes, his threes.

So when we're going through a scout, just personnel wise, we might say, hey, this guy shoots, you know, 70% of his shots or threes.

So this is what he wants to do.

This is we need to limit his attempts, all right, in order to be able to guard him.

So, you know, I think those two, obviously rebounding rates, offensive rebounding rates, you see a lot of guys in the SEC with great offensive rebounding rates.

So you have to be really alert to that, to those things.

You know, the only other one I really, that I think is really important is free throw rate as well, as far as just making sure a guy understand.

Our guys understand, hey, this guy is trying to draw fouls.

And, you know, when he drives in there, you got to go vertical, you got to make him finish and make baskets.

We can't put him at the line.

So, you know, I think those.

Those four things, and it all goes back to the four factors, you know, when you're kind of looking at a team and preparing for a scout.

But.

But I do think personnel wise, we.

We do a good job of kind of looking at the analytics, looking at the data, and then being able to present it to our guys in a good way that they understand and then can go out and execute.

Yeah, that all makes sense, because I think from a player standpoint, right, they want something that's actionable, that can help them to understand, hey, what's this guy going to do?

What are the tendencies?

What do I need to take away?

What are his strengths?

And if you keep it in that realm now, the player has something that they can actually take and be able to execute on the floor.

So to go along with that piece of it, what's something that you guys, as a coaching staff look at that's important to you on the analytics side, but maybe doesn't translate to, hey, we got to make the guys individually aware of this.

But this is something that we're aware of as a coaching staff that we really want to be focused in on.

I don't know if there's anything that.

That Fits that criteria.

Yeah.

I think there is one thing we, one thing that we will look at is lineup data or like advanced plus minus stats.

So we look at like, when a guy's on the court, what's his plus minus?

How is he affecting the four factors?

How is he affecting his team's rates?

As the season goes on, we might, you know, pile that into like two player lineups.

You know, if you're getting past that, then you're not really dealing with a big enough sample size, we feel.

So these are things that, that we know, like when a guy's on the court, how he's impacting the game analytically, you know, that might be a little bit too much to get to give to the guys.

But we've, we've tried so many different things over the years as we've kind of.

We've had a lot of trial and error using analytics and using different data points throughout different seasons and, you know, coaching different guys and that stuff.

And, you know, I think that's what, that's what makes.

I think that's what one of our biggest strengths of our coaching dream, of our Florida coaching tree and other guys that I've worked with is kind of the ability to analyze the data and then implement it in the correct way, where you're going to really get something out of it and really be able to help the guys go out there and execute a game plan.

So it's, again, it's a big strength, but always the negative and the downfalls, you don't want to give, you don't want to be.

Be using it too much where it's just, you know, you're not getting the, the bang for your buck, if you will.

You have to kind of pick and choose what, what you want to get to the give to the guys, what the coaching staff needs to understand, and then, you know, also understand when is it too much.

And hey, these, these things don't really matter.

For us to be able to win this game, you have to have a feel for that, too.

So it's not, you know, data and using analytics and being data driven is, is a very important part of, of how we do and how.

Of what we do and how we make decisions.

But there's also a huge feel and sense factor as well into how we coach our teams.

It's an art and a science.

Right, Both combined, and you got to have the scientific part of it.

But then, as you said, there's definitely an art to being able to understand what your guys need in a given Moment, what your team needs in a given moment, whether that's on the practice floor, whether that's in the middle of a game, whatever it might be, you got to coach a little bit by feel and hope that, that, you know, hope that the numbers, the numbers are there to support it as well and then balance those two out.

I think that definitely when you consider what coaching has become, that feel piece of it is huge because you can, I think, become over reliant on the numbers.

And there's times where, and I just feel like this is going to work or this isn't going to work and we got to go maybe slightly against what the numbers would tell us.

And I think that's really what makes good coaches good coaches.

I agree.

I agree completely.

And you know, I think in game adjustments, that's, that's a big one where like you can go into a game using the numbers and you watch every inch of film and then, you know, in a 40 minute game, it can go the, the opposite way of how you thought it would or the rhythm of the game could be different.

So the ability to adapt and change and understand, you know, what's going on with your players out there too, what they're going through is probably the most important thing as far as managing a game and trying to go win a game.

But, you know, as I said, I completely agree with you.

I think that the data and being data driven is always going to be a huge part of how we make decisions.

But there's a huge human element to basketball and if you don't understand that, then you know it's going to be really hard to be successful.

All right, so let's bring the human element into the championship game.

Guys are down 12.

It's looking a little dicey.

Obviously you've got the experience that we talked about, but still there's a moment where it's possible that doubt starts creeping in.

You're looking at it going, man, they're playing really well.

We can't quite get it together offensively.

We know how hard Houston plays, we know how tough they are.

What's the conversation like?

How do you keep the ship going in the right direction?

How do you keep the confidence during timeouts?

Just what's, what's this conversation like amongst the coaching staff, amongst your players, player to coach?

What's it like in that moment?

How are you guys galvanizing yourselves to be able to come back and, and do what you did?

Yeah, honestly, you know, I think I've talked about this before.

I think we Were just so confident at that point, you know, I mean, at that point we had won 35 games on the season.

So we just, we had a lot of belief that we were going to win because, because of the experience that we had together throughout the year.

And you know, I think the, the thing about the championship game that was, that was relatively unique was that we were really, really gritty defensively.

That's why we won the game.

And in that second half we were down, we really got some stops, is, is how we were able to get back in it.

And it never really smoothed out offensively, right.

Like we made some big plays late.

Obviously Walter got going late and you know, made a really big three, you know, had a big time drive, those things that, that helped us come back and eventually take the lead.

But, but the grittiness that we showed, you know, I think that's again part of being a championship level team is obviously winning in different ways.

And to beat Houston you gotta, you know, you have to be as tough as them, you know, and I think they're the toughest program in the country, them in Tennessee.

And you know, I felt like our guys were, were extremely tough and gritty and you know, locked in and made them miss a few shots and came up with the rebounds and that's why we were able to make a run and, and get back in it.

But you know, I think as far as like telling the guys and talking timeouts, it just, at that point in the season we just had, we had so much belief, you know, I don't think there was ever really a feeling where we felt like, oh, we're out of it.

You know, I think we always had the confidence that we were going to get back in it and give ourselves a chance to win.

After you win, when's the first moment where you get a second by yourself to be able to reflect on what's just happened?

Was it right after the game?

Was it two days later?

When, when did you get a moment to really just kind of take a deep breath and think about what you guys had accomplished?

Honestly?

Yeah, maybe not, not.

Not soon after.

I would say probably maybe a month or so.

It was, it was just crazy because after winning it, you know, the night and the celebration and then you get getting back to Gainesville and it's just, it's just surreal.

Just the, the whole thing, the celebration on the court and then it was really cool.

In the riverwalk in San Antonio they did like a boat parade.

So we were right onto that.

And it's just Thousands of Florida fans and you're, it's almost like a dream in the short term.

And then for me, you know, getting right up to, to Columbia, to this new job, new opportunity was kind of the next thing right away that I kind of dove into.

But I think even for the guys, the staff in Gainesville, the other assistants and, and Todd, I think for them as well, it probably didn't sink in for a little while.

We've talked about it now, because even for them, they're, they're two days later, they're, you know, in the transfer portal and, you know, making sure that the, the guys on the team are coming back and all that stuff.

So it's just, you know, it kind of never ends.

But I do think after a little bit of time when things kind of slow down a little bit, I think you can kind of sinks in and you're like, wow, I can't believe we really did that.

It's honestly, honestly, that's how it was for me.

It was, it was kind of a little while later, one of those things.

You dream about right from the time you're a little kid and you start watching games and whether you're first dreaming about it as a player and then you're dreaming about it as a coach, and then to be able to actually accomplish it, like you said, and then you're looking around, I think surreal is probably a pretty good definition of how most people feel when they do that for the first time.

Because you're looking around going, this is kind of what I've been working for my entire basketball life.

And all of a sudden now it's, now it's happened and you're looking around going, is this, this really, did this really happen?

And how am I supposed to feel and how am I supposed to react and everything else that goes along with it.

I'm sure it was just again, an unbelievable feeling in the moment and then the first reflection.

And I'm sure as you continue to reflect on it for the rest of your life, obviously always is going to be a special moment for you, the guys that you worked with on the coaching staff and your history with them.

And then clearly when you have a team that has that kind of success, those guys and you as a staff are going to be bonded in whatever your, your 30 year reunion, your 40 year reunion, whatever.

The stories you guys are going to be able to tell, I'm sure are going to be unbelievable.

No question, no question.

It's, it's, it's an amazing thing.

And you know Kind of the culmination of the time in Gainesville.

It's like when we spoke a year ago and we were just talking about just the first two years in Gainesville and kind of what we were trying to do and, you know, talking about how do we get to that elite level program, and that was only a year ago.

At the time, I thought we'd be pretty good, but I didn't think we'd.

I didn't.

I'd be lying if I said I thought I'd be sitting here having this conversation after, you know, winning the whole thing.

But, but I do think it's just, it's surreal.

Like in going down to Florida, that was the first time I was at a place where the goal is to win and that you're trying to win a national championship.

That's what you're trying to do and to, you know, get yourself in that, in that game where you're one of, you know, five, ten programs every year that can make a run that's talented enough and, and, you know, culturally good enough and those things.

So to do it in three years, obviously now with the, with the transfer portal, you can, you can do it quicker, right?

That's the, you know, that's the key and that's what we, we obviously were able to accomplish that.

But, but yeah, it's just to, to have it culminate and to do it alongside Todd, who I've known for a long time.

You know, about 15 years ago we were here at Columbia together, just young assistants and, and Carlin Hartman as well, who I've known Since I was 17, who's one of the best assistant coaches in the country, you know, and everyone else on staff, really.

But it's, it's just surreal.

It's a great story.

All right, last Florida question.

Give me your favorite behind the scenes story moment.

Some little thing that when you think back, probably nobody else is going to remember, but maybe just something that was said in the locker room or something that happened in the coach's office or in the hotel.

What's your favorite little behind the scenes story from the whole run?

Ah, I mean, there's, there's so many, you know, it's hard to, I'm trying to think what's, what's a good one here to share?

You know, honestly, the last game we lost, we lost to Georgia on the road.

And then I think we won.

I don't know how many we won in a row.

Maybe 12, 13 games in a row.

And, you know, that was a game where you know, I just think we.

We were really disappointed in the locker room after the game.

I would say I thought the guys really came together after that game just in the lock.

Just as far as taking ownership and accountability and going into that game, you know, we were, we were very confident.

We had, we had won a few in a row.

And I didn't think our approach to the game after, we didn't feel like we were, we were right.

We felt like we were, you know, just a little too.

A little too confident, if you will.

So I think that kind of.

That kind of set us right.

And then, you know, at that point, I just remember, like after the game in the locker room, you know, we kind of left as coaches, but them kind of talking about it and, you know, the next couple days feeling like, all right, that's.

They're not going to let that happen again now and they have ownership of this team.

So, you know, I would say that's.

That was the one thing that, you know, behind the scenes that I feel like kind of was.

Was really important for us.

That changed our season in a great way.

Obviously, players taking ownership, obviously, always when you think about it from a coaching perspective, right, you want guys, if the coach has to provide everything, that makes for a tough.

That makes for a tough.

That makes for a tough year.

It really does.

There's another one that just popped into my head that was good, that kind of got public that actually Elijah Martin did.

I think it was before the SEC tournament, maybe the NCAA tournament, where this is a little more.

More personal and light hearted.

But he.

So he put together a, like a graphic of all of us.

He called, I think he called it like the underdogs or something.

And it was like pictures of everyone in the program.

And it got, I think it got out there on social media, but from like where we all came from.

And it was funny because it had, you know, the guys like that had transferred up.

So it was like a picture of Walter, you know, when he was at Iona.

And you know, some guys from like high school just like funny pictures.

And even the coaching staff from back like in our playing days.

And so it was like, it was, it was like a funny thing that, you know, kind of.

It just kind of.

It's kind of who we were as a team.

Like we could, we could make fun of each other.

They were super mature.

They had great attitudes.

It's why we were good.

So I feel like it kind of embodied who we were and then, but also had like the serious component of like, hey, let's not forget that the reason we're good is because we're underdogs, right?

Where we have that gritty mentality.

So, you know, I thought that was really cool.

And, you know, again, it kind of speaks to who he is as a leader.

And, you know, it's just one of the things that we were actually really proud of is that there was no top 100 recruits, like ESPN, top 100 recruits on the roster, which was the first time ever that a team had won the national championship with that.

So it was just obviously transfers and, you know, some under recruited high school guys that were underdogs.

So that was one that was, that was behind the scenes.

I should have led with that one.

That was, that was a better one.

That was, I thought, pretty cool and kind of embodied who we were.

Yeah, absolutely.

I mean, I love, again, the underdog piece.

Right.

Sort of brings guys together.

But then the other thing I take from that is that ability for teams to be able to kind of poke at each other a little bit, but in a good natured way.

People know how to take it.

People know what the, the story, what the intent is behind it.

And when you have that, when you have that kind of trust to be able to do that, I think that speaks to, again, the camaraderie that a team is building.

You can have.

I've been around teams where one guy pokes at another guy and all of a sudden you got lots of internal strife as opposed to people taking it the right way and guys understanding going both directions.

Hey, I can dish it out, but I also got to take it a little bit.

And again, it's a good natured thing back and forth, and everybody sees it for what it is, but we know that on the wrong team with the wrong players, that things like that can sometimes go the other direction.

And so it's clear that you guys were.

How connected you were.

That story does a really good job of, I think, illustrating that.

For sure.

For sure.

All right, let's transition to the opportunity at Columbia.

For those who don't know, Kevin was previously at Columbia as an assistant, as a director of OPS for five seasons back from 2011 to 2016.

So clearly a familiarity with the institution, obviously Ivy League, the academics, everything that goes along with it.

There's no question why it's an attractive job.

But just from your perspective, coming down off the high of the national championship, how do you first become aware of the opportunity and then secondly, do you immediately know that it's an opportunity that.

You want to pursue yeah, so I had actually been announced as the head coach.

I think it was right after.

It was right when we made the sweet 16.

So we had beaten Yukon in the second round on the first weekend, and then on the Monday after that, it was, it was out.

It was announced that I was the head coach.

So, you know, I, I, I kind of knew going into that weekend.

I did know going into that weekend that I was going to get this opportunity.

And, you know, it's.

It's an amazing opportunity, which I'll touch on.

But, but that process, one thing that was great for me was that I got to get up to campus at Columbia right after that UConn game.

So again, we played UConn on a Sunday evening and won that game.

And then I hopped on a flight from Raleigh, which is where we played, right up to New York, and again, it was announced the next morning.

And then right away, I was able to meet with the team, you know, within about an hour of them, kind of knowing that I was going to be the coach.

So I thought that that was extremely valuable as far as, like, getting up there, getting up to campus for a day, getting in front of the team, talking about, you know, the vision, the things that are important to us, and then, you know, doing some individual meetings as well with guys.

That was huge.

And then I had to.

So then I kind of.

I knew the guys, you know, I had their information and had seen them face to face and all that stuff, their cell phone numbers and.

And then going back to Florida.

It was about two more weeks of coaching at Florida and trying to do everything I could to help, you know, you know, with our, with our tournament run in Florida.

But at that point, I was connected with the guys, so that was, that was great because now they could text me after.

They were texting me after games, and, you know, I was just engaging with them, which was huge, even though I couldn't be up on campus yet working with them.

So it was a unique process that way, because they knew I was going to be the coach.

And there was a couple weeks where I wasn't there yet, but I felt like getting up there was really important.

So the process, though.

The athletic director at Columbia, Peter Pilling, has been here since 2014.

So my last two years as an assistant here, he was the athletic director.

So I had a relationship with him and stayed connected with him over the years.

And, you know, it was just.

The familiarity was a huge part of it for me.

Being comfortable with the people here, the support, knowing that.

I think it can be really, really good.

All those things I felt super comfortable with and it just made the process so much easier for me as far as being able to jump in and say, hey, let's go.

I really, really want to do that.

So anyway, I'm, I'm a little long winded here, but I'm just so excited for the opportunity and appreciative and it was just a, a great process for Transit, for transitioning to being the head coach here.

What were some of the things that you tried to talk to the guys about in those individual meetings?

What were you trying to get a feel for beyond just getting a feel for them as an individual, getting to know them?

What were some things that you were asking them about the program or things that you were thinking about that maybe you were bouncing ideas off them or they were bouncing ideas off you?

What did those meetings look and sound like?

Yeah, well, honestly, it goes back to being data driven and that's where I felt like I had a good.

I could, you know, quickly have a good feel and a good pulse for, you know, the team and, you know, what made them successful?

You know, the team last year started out the season really, really well and had really good success early in the year.

And then the individual players on the team and how, you know, how.

What their games were like just by looking at Kempom and Bartorvic.

So I think going in, in those individual meetings, I did some, some presenting to them about the vision in the program and the important things culturally.

But then I was also able to dive in and specifically, especially analytically on, you know, what their strengths were, what their weaknesses were, you know, the things that, that maybe held the team back a little bit and kind of give them a little insight into how I think about things and say, hey, you know, I think I have a really good feel for, you know, where we're at, where you guys are at as a team and individually, and we're going to attack these things.

And, you know, I think we have a chance to be good right away.

And that's how I feel.

And so, you know, that again that day and the first few weeks when I actually did get up to campus was, was very important as far as instilling that the vision of what we need to do, how we need to do it, and then individually how, you know, I feel like I can help them get better.

And, you know, I did compare some of the guys to other guys that I've coached and helped in the past and that stuff.

And, you know, that's an Advantage, too, from coaching at different levels and, you know, not just at Florida, but, you know, Richmond, San Francisco, and then, you know, starting off at Columbia and being able to coach some.

Some great players along the way who were.

Who were really successful college players, but also went on to have, you know, great professional careers, some in the NBA.

And that can be a pretty powerful thing, I think, you know, when taking over a program and trying to.

To gain and earn trust from the guys in the program is to be able to kind of compare them to other guys that, that I've coached in the past.

So that was kind of the.

The nuts and bolts of it for, for the beginning, as far as what those conversations were.

Like, what about putting together a coaching staff?

What was that process?

Yeah, we have a great staff.

So, you know, the first thing was, you know, I knew right when I got the job, I knew I wanted to go after someone that I really knew and trusted.

And so one of my assistants, Mark McGonagall, who I think is one of the best assistants in our league, he was actually at Cornell last year with John Jakes, who's a very, very good friend, and Mark, someone I've known for a long time.

He was an assistant at Richmond for a while, which is where we.

We actually played together.

So.

So that was really important, getting him on board, just because there's a.

There's a great trust there, but also it's a coach who's extremely talented, coaching and recruiting and has made my life a lot easier.

And then Shasha Brown is another one of our assistant coaches and someone I've known for a really long time.

He was a great player at Wesleyan in Connecticut back in the day, and he used to come and play pickup with our guys at Columbia in the summers.

And we joke that if there was the transfer portal, if it was in existence back then, we probably would have got him to come to Columbia.

He would have been a really good player, Ivy League player, but he's someone I've known for a long time.

He's a New Yorker.

He grew up on the Upper east side, so he's a lot of pride in New York.

Really smart, talented guy.

Just feel really comfortable that he's going to do a great job for us and thankful that he's with us.

And then Matt Elkin was a guy who was at.

Has great Ivy League experience.

He was at Yale working for Coach Jones, which has been the best program in the league.

And then most recently at Stanford with Kyle Smith, who's obviously a huge mentor of mine.

And I joke that, you know, Kyle, I worked for him for eight years and you know, I still do whatever he tells me to do.

So he called for when I got the job and said, hey, you gotta, you gotta hire this guy.

And I pretty much did it.

But.

But no, I'm half kidding, but no.

Matt is another guy who's extremely talented and he's incredible with his great relationships with people.

He's gonna be a great recruiter because of that and just a really smart, extremely hard working guy who's just kind of an up and coming guy in our business.

So really feel like we're, we're very talented staff and we balance each other out really well, which, you know, I think is really important.

As I was putting, putting the staff together and you know, talking to different people, I think that balance and having guys, that, what I mean by that is like guys with different skill sets so different strengths that balance each other out well, I think is probably the most important thing.

Even more important than experience in a way is that talent and balance and obviously you got to have a great attitude and you know, make sure that you're, you know, putting the, putting the student athletes first and being a good mentor to them.

Those are the most important things.

But anyway, I'm just, I'm really, really excited about my staff and wanted to highlight those guys because they're, they're really good and talented and I'm just really excited for what we can do together on the floor.

When you guys are coaching, how do you envision as the head coach dividing up responsibilities?

Are you an offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator?

Are you everybody, coaches, everything?

Are you.

Hey, specifically in this practice you're looking for this thing, how do you think about delegating the, the roles of your assistant coaches?

Yeah, I think, I think it'll be.

For me, obviously, I was offensive coordinator at Florida, so I think I'll naturally probably take on a lot of that at Columbia.

And you know, I think having Mark and Shasha really focus on the defensive side of the ball and everyone will coach, everything is the reality.

And that's going back to my really time as a player at Richmond and kind of that mentality and culture, how much the coaching mattered.

You know, every coach just coached every part of the game.

And that's kind of how I, I learned it and you know, getting into it, what I wanted to do.

And so I want those guys, I want my staff to, to attack it that way.

I don't want them to feel like they're, you know, put in you know, a situation where they, they can't speak up and, you know, coach anything they see.

Right.

I think that's, that's really important.

But I do think having that focus on where, you know, you can have a couple of guys that are really focusing on the defensive side of the ball and, you know, one guy specifically on the rebounding as well, is also really important.

So we'll break it up.

And part of what we do analytically is what we call our hustle stats, which is kind of the heart and soul of our program.

These 50 different stats that we keep that are internal to our program.

And so when you have that, and, you know, you have that kind of labor intensive program, if you will, for assisting coaches to have to track all that stuff, naturally you're going to have, you know, one guy that's in charge of keeping track of the defense, one guy that's keeping charge of the rebounding, etc.

So it can kind of, you know, focus them in on some specific areas that'll happen naturally.

You talked about recruiting a little bit earlier and how important that is, and it all kind of comes back to recruiting.

So clearly when you get the job as a new head coach, you got to talk to your returning players, but very quickly the priority turns to, hey, we got to get out and we got to start recruiting.

And obviously in the Ivy League, the recruiting there is a little bit different, right?

You can recruit nationally.

You talked about it in our last conversation at Florida that we can recruit the best players across the country, no matter who they are, no matter where they are.

And in the Ivy League, you're not necessarily recruiting at that same super, super high level in terms of competing for that national championship year in, year out, but you're competing for tremendous players, tremendous student athletes, and those guys can come from anywhere across the country, anywhere across the world.

And obviously you have New York City to back you up.

Besides, so for guys who have an idea that they'd love to be in New York, there's just all these different pieces that go into it.

It's not like, hey, I'm taking a job where I got to recruit this, I got to recruit upstate New York, or I got to recruit, you know, just the DMV or whatever, you're recruiting nationally.

So what's that process like as a guy coming in brand new, figuring out like, hey, where's the list start?

Where's our list of guys?

What are we doing?

Obviously, your assistants are coming from programs where they had some, some knowledge of what, who's out there and whatever.

But just talk me through what it looks like.

Getting organized to start recruiting.

Yeah, yeah.

I think there's kind of two parts to that.

The first part was when we got the job, it was too late to add any high school players.

So we did have some spots to fill.

But because of the admissions or application deadlines for the Ivy League, which are league rules, we weren't able to have any high school players apply to school.

So the only players that could apply were transfers.

So that was, you know, just challenging, obviously, because as you said, there's an academic component that's going to kind of whittle down the pool of guys that you can recruit from.

And you know, for, especially for transfers, you know, a huge piece of being admitted to Columbia is having their credits transfer in.

Right.

Which is very difficult.

So, so that process can be difficult and you really have to recruit, got recruit transfers that are younger guys that have either just completed their freshman year or maybe just completed their sophomore year.

And you know, they have to, they have to be at really good schools and have really good grades.

So, so that was kind of the first challenge.

And we were able to, to get three transfers in, in the spring, which might be, might be an Ivy League record, I'm not sure.

But, but it was, it was good.

And you know, I thought, I thought we did a good job of just identifying guys that can help help the program right away and, and you know, be valuable pieces for us as we build it.

But you know, as far as high school recruiting and this first recruiting class, I feel like the, the big advantage is that I was here as an assistant for five years.

So, you know, I did recruit to Columbia.

So, you know, getting the kind of, the pitch back was, was relatively easy.

But, but I think for us it's understanding.

Like we, we do need to recruit all across the country.

We can't be, you know, just recruiting the Northeast or anything like that.

And then we need to do a good job in, in Europe as well.

But we have to, we also have to understand what guys are in our wheelhouse.

And evaluating is extremely important at this, at Columbia.

We have to do a great job evaluating and having a feel and understanding for guys that can really get better within our program and you know, being able to bring in guys that, you know, maybe are really talented players, but maybe they're a little skinny or, or maybe they're two sport athletes and they haven't just focused on basketball yet.

And those things that, you know, guys that we feel like could make huge jumps into, you know, all league caliber players as they get older within our program.

So that evaluation piece is, is difficult and you know, it's very, very important to be able to have a feel and understanding for, you know, what those guys look like and be able to identify them and, and also look at a high volume of guys.

And you know, I think for us like our process starts with like when we, when we do see a guy or we hear about a guy from, you know, whether it's a scouting service or whether it's a connection or somebody that you trust, you know, you have to very quickly get the transcript and figure out academically if, you know, the, the, the guy can, you know, potentially get into school.

That's huge because you don't want to be wasting your time, you know, recruiting a guy for a few weeks or a month that never had a chance to get into school.

So, so getting that information quickly.

And then the other component for us is the financial aid piece where, you know, Ivy League is need based financial aid.

So that's a really important part to be able to figure out if, if a family can, can make it work.

So those two things, being able to, to kind of get to the bottom of those things very quickly are really important for, for our staff as far as being able to identify guys.

And you know, you always say you want to, it's better just to get to a no quickly and move on.

And there's a lot of really good players out there and a lot of guys that are going to be super appreciative about the opportunity to be a part of this program.

And you know, we, we got to find those guys and find the right pieces that they're going to fit our culture.

How quickly does asking guys if they want to come to New York City get them a yes or a no?

I would think that there are not too many people who are neutral on, hey, I want to come and go to school in New York.

I would think there's either guys who are like, oh yeah, let's do it.

And then there are other guys that are like, yeah, I have no, I have no interest in being, in being in New York.

No question, no question.

Obviously that's a huge part of it.

And like you said, you either know right away if it's for you or not.

And you know, when you step foot in the city and our campus is, is unique because it's, you know, it's a beautiful, you know, kind of oasis in the middle of the city.

Like when you're, when you're on campus, you can't even hear the street noise.

It's, it's really, for most people, it kind of blows their mind when they step foot on campus just like that.

This place exists in Manhattan, this kind of enclosed campus.

So it's, it's really unique.

It's a obviously unique place that way.

But, you know, I think for us too, emphasizing the basketball piece so much is in recruiting is also really important because I think your instincts can be, you know, you're in New York City, so you want to sell that part of it.

But for us, really emphasizing the basketball program and, and that part of it along, you know, equally as important as the academic piece and the how great a school it is, really emphasizing those two things in recruiting is the key.

And then New York, as you said, they, you got to figure out if you want, if you want that and want to and can do it and feel comfortable.

But the reality is with how hard they're going to have to work in the classroom, how hard they're going to have to work within our program, 99 of their time is going to be spent, you know, on campus, in the gym, right.

This small, small part of New York City.

And, you know, on an off day or something, you can go explore the city, Central Park.

There's obviously a million great things to do, but we really need guys that are, that are focused on the hoops and academics.

During the summer.

What are the conversations that you and your coaching staff are having right now, day to day?

What are the things that you guys are talking about, discussing as you're thinking about getting ready for the season?

What do you, what, what are the, what are the, what are the daily topics in coaches meetings?

Yeah, I think.

Well, right now it's, it's, you know, a huge emphasis on recruiting.

This first recruiting class in 2026 is very important for us.

We have a lot of the team.

The guys are actually on campus.

One great thing about Columbia and being in New York City is guys stay around in the summers and can get, you know, incredible internships and, you know, it's a, it's a great place to be.

So we have about 10 guys that are here.

We that are working out on their own, playing pickup, lifting on their own, doing those things, which is great.

So the guys are kind of around, but for us in the office, it's, it's a lot of talking about recruiting and obviously we're going out.

These next two weekends are live recruiting weekends and, you know, making sure that we're doing everything we can to, you know, make sure we're identifying the right guys.

Right now, I think we're recruiting some guys that are great fits for our program, but also trying to, you know, find more, more names, more guys that could be good potential fits.

You just want to constantly be doing that.

So, so that's a huge part of it.

And, you know, once we kind of get through this, these next few weeks in recruiting, I think we'll kind of have a feel for, you know, which guys are really interested and what, which guys make sense for us as far as culturally, where we want to go, the kind of guys that we want to bring into the program.

And, you know, from there we'll, we'll start to schedule the visits for the fall and, and that stuff.

But I think when we, when we get through these next couple of weeks, we'll, we'll really focus on the fall as far as how we want to build our team.

And, you know, I think we'll, we're going to spend a good few weeks as far as building out the team workouts, the individual workouts, the things that we're going to emphasize day to day in September and October, because one thing that's unique about the Ivy League is we don't have the summer where we have the, you know, time on the court with them.

Right.

So especially in the first year for our program, the two months leading up to the season are going to be extremely important for us to be focused on the right things and work as hard as we can while also keeping them fresh and ready for the season.

So we'll be, we'll be getting really prepared for that throughout the month of August.

So what do you anticipate that looking like when guys get back on campus in the fall?

If I'm a player in the program, what can I expect in terms of what am I doing from an individual workout standpoint?

And obviously not asking to break down drills or whatever, but just in terms of how much am I in the gym, am I doing film work?

What, what's the, you know, what's the strength and conditioning piece of it look like?

Obviously, at Columbia, the academics is a huge part of it, so just kind of walk through like, maybe what's a, what's a typical day for a kid in the program look like in September?

Yeah, I think especially because it's the first year, I think it's going to be very important for us to do a lot of team stuff.

So again, you know, trying to, you know, know, instill the important things in Our program, right?

Our.

Our systems, our processes, the things that we work on, I think we need to do those things as a team more so than, like, individual or small group workouts, especially right now.

So, you know, when we get back in September, we'll.

We'll use that time together on the court.

I think we get four hours on the court in those, in those September weeks, and that'll be mostly full team stuff and, you know, along with lifting and, you know, guys will be getting in the gym on their own and that stuff, just like, you know, any good player would.

But, but we, we need to do it as a team.

And, you know, I think emphasizing especially the defensive side of the ball from the beginning, I think that's an area where we as a program have to make, you know, a huge jump going forward is, you know, just getting tougher and grittier and kind of building that foundation.

So when we get back in September, we're going to.

We're going to get after that pretty, pretty good.

And, you know, I'm really excited for it.

We.

We actually had a great little spring with the team, with the returning guys, where we, we were able to get on the court with them for about four weeks before kind of graduation.

So we have been on the court with them, and that was valuable because they kind of.

They understand our, My coaching style, our staff's coaching style, just the kind of level of intensity and the speed and pace in which we do things.

But when we get back in the fall, it's going to be a lot of team stuff and a really good amount of time spent on defense and rebounding as we kind of build our foundation leading up to practice.

As an analytics guy, how much are you looking at your competition in the Ivy League, trying to figure out, hey, what do we have to do to be able to beat the other teams in the league?

What do they do well?

What are their strengths?

What are their weaknesses?

How much of your time in the summer is kind of spent looking at that and trying to then figure out, hey, what are we going to have to do to beat these guys come January?

February?

Yeah, not.

I think maybe in the future, maybe more.

Not as much yet, just because, you know, I feel like there's been.

There's been more important or more urgent things that we've had to kind of get going in the last few months.

But I, I think for us, especially this year, in year one, it's, It's.

It has to be more about us and our program and the things that are important to us.

That's just really important to me to, to get these, the foundations of our offense, our defense, where our guys are, you know, understanding on what we're working on, what we care about, what we emphasize, all those things.

And you know, as we get into the season and get into scouting and that stuff, obviously we'll, we'll focus way more on, on what the other teams are doing.

But I think, you know, I have a pretty good feel for, for the league coaching it.

I've always paid attention to it.

You know, I just, I love, I love the league.

I think it's, it's such a great level.

It's really a, you know, mid major plus level.

And you know, to win the league, you got to be top 75 program, which is really a high major level program.

So it's, it's a, it's an incredible level.

And you know, obviously most of the kids, the guys in the league are high achieving kids who are really smart and most of the teams are pretty old, you know, playing mostly juniors and seniors.

So it just makes it so tough and you know, well coached and physical and you know, those are the areas where you have to be really good if you want to be able to compete at the top of this league.

And that's what we got to, we got to raise, raise the bar that way.

Leading up to the season, who's been.

The most important person to the program?

Who's not a member of the coaching staff or a player, who's somebody that you've actively felt their support and their impact on what you've done so far?

I mean, I would just say my athletic director, Peter Pilling, again, he made the transition so not just very comfortable for me, which was really important coming from Florida.

And you know, even in our first conversations that we had when the, when the job came open, you know, I felt like, I felt like I was a pretty good candidate for the job with, you know, just my resume and being at Columbia before and you know, being a part of some success at Columbia as well.

We had some really good teams when I was an assistant here, so that was, I felt like that was pretty evident.

But you know, I think he had to make sure that my vision and values aligned with what he knew the job needed right now, the program needed.

So I just felt like it was, it was, it was a good, easy conversation as far as like getting aligned.

And then, you know, since being here, you know, I just, he's been really helpful, supportive.

As I mentioned, right when we got here, as far as you Know, being able to.

To bring in some.

Some transfers, which was really important for us, and just kind of getting the program off the ground.

And, you know, obviously, there's a lot of people here that have a lot of pride in Colombia and these places.

You know, a place like Columbia, there's, you know, it's like that at every place, but it's even more at a place like this, which it's such a prestigious school.

And one thing that's, that's pretty unique is that a lot of the alums, and specifically guys that played in the program will stay in New York City to kind of build their careers.

So they're very close to the program, and that makes it a great advantage for us.

And, you know, Peter telling, again, my ad, just from the beginning, he's.

He's done such a great job helping me connect with those people and the people that care about it and want it to be good, which is.

Which is so, so important for us getting off the ground.

So, again, just very, very thankful for my relationship with him in this.

In these first few months as I'm kind of taking on this challenge.

In answering that question, you actually answered my next question.

And maybe you can build on it, but my next question was going to be within the Ivy League.

What sets Columbia apart?

When you go to sell the school, the basketball program, obviously now, the coaching staff, you guys, and what you bring to the table, obviously that's part of what you're selling.

But when you think about Columbia as an institution, what sets it apart, what makes it different?

And you mentioned one of the things, right, is that, hey, a lot of alumni of our program are right here.

They're still involved, obviously, with the level of academics at the school and the level of success that guys who have graduated from there in all walks of life have been able to have.

I'm sure the opportunities like you mentioned earlier, to get internships, to be able to have people who are connected to the program, to be able to get employment after you graduate, all those things, I'm sure is a big.

Are a big selling point.

So I don't know if there's anything else that you can point to beyond that answer, but I thought that was a really good answer.

When you start thinking about what's unique about Columbia, that's one that, yeah, I'm sure that it's an easy sell to the, to the smart guys that you're recruiting.

Exactly.

Exactly.

It's.

And we.

We do talk about that in recruiting when we.

We obviously start with, you know, the Columbia University and how, you know, amazing school it is, how difficult it is.

You know, it's obviously a great challenge to, to go to school here and to go through it.

And you know, we, we talk about the, the degree, but, but a lot of that kind of sells itself, right?

It's just highly ranked.

It's always, you know, top 10 across any, you know, news outlet as far as, you know, best universities.

And so I think when, when you get involved with, in recruiting with a guy, they kind of know, all right, this is one of the best schools in the world.

Like, that's very evident.

But I do think that's where talking about the network and specifically the basketball network, as far as guys who played in the program, who went through it, who love it, who are still connected to it, and the, you know, the idea that they're within arm's length of campus and, you know, they're going to get back to watch games, our guys are going to know those guys that are, you know, doing great in New York City, building really successful careers.

So, you know, those things are, are tremendous selling points and they do make us different than the other schools in the league because of being in New York City.

But, you know, I think I'll say as important as that is the, the basketball program and you know, that's what we're, we're really hitting hard with guys is, you know, this, this program and you know, it's a big part of that is my, my background and my experience and you know, starting with three months ago, seeing it culminate with the national championship.

But we just have a lot of confidence and belief in our program and you know, we could talk through the style of play, being really data driven, the culture and attitude and work ethic and pride in the program being really important.

But, you know, seeing it work at Florida, Florida, seeing it work at Richmond, seeing it work at San Francisco, seeing it work at Columbia when I was there as an assistant, I think we have incredible proof of concept for guys that want to be great players, want to be part of a great program, want to be pros, you know, that, that are excited about a younger coach and a data driven, analytical, kind of modern style.

I think we have an awesome sell for, for basketball.

And, you know, my hope is that we can, I know we will.

We'll bring in some guys that, you know, when you ask them why they went to Columbia, the first thing they'll say is the basketball program, like, that's why I wanted to be there, along with all the other great Things.

Well, there's no question that, as you said, that proof of concept, having been a part of a national championship team, having coached multiple guys that have made it to the highest level of the game, your previous experience at Columbia, all those things put you in a position where if I'm a player and I'm thinking about whether or not I want to become part of the Columbia program, those are all things, certainly, that are tremendous selling points.

I always go back to something that a lot of coaches have told me, Kevin, and that's that when you have players, right, ultimately the best players, regardless of whether we're talking about NBA players, college players, high school players, whatever, the best players always want somebody to coach them and they want to get better.

And if they believe that you can help them to get better, then they're going to be willing to run through a wall for you.

And clearly, with the way that you've been able to do things in your career and the players that you've worked with and the teams you've been on, the success you've had and every spot.

Stop.

That you've been.

If I'm a player and I look at that, it gives me pretty good, a pretty good feeling of confidence that I'm going to be put into that same position.

And clearly, after you establish yourself as the head coach at Columbia, two or three years down the road, it's going to be even more clear that, hey, this is going to be a great place for me to come and play if I'm a tremendous student athlete, if I want the New York City piece of it, I want this out of the basketball program.

There's just a whole bunch of things that, again, you're going to be able to sell and that you're already able to sell because of your previous experience.

And I do think, like I said, that the best players want to be in a situation where you're going to get the most out of them.

And when you can do that and when you can sell that, and like you said, when it becomes, yeah, we've got all these other great things around what we're doing, and, you know, as you said, you are going to be in New York City, but a lot of your time is going to be spent in the classroom and on the practice floor and in the gym and being a part of the basketball program and with those guys and with your coaching staff.

And so if you can get guys to believe in that, and obviously your track record would indicate already that the belief should be there, you're.

You're 99% of the way to being, you know, to being successful.

For sure.

For sure.

I appreciate you saying that, Mike.

All right, final two part question.

When you look ahead over the next year or two, clearly going into your first year and you're putting the plan together of what you want it to look like, what do you see as being the biggest challenge and how are you going to define success at the end of this first year?

So that's the first part of the question.

So challenge and how do you define success?

And then second part is when you think about the opportunity at Columbo Columbia, what brings you the most joy about being able to be back at Columbia in a place where you previously spent five years?

So biggest challenge, how you define success and biggest joy.

And if you forget what all the, all three parts, I'll jump back, I'll jump back in and remind you.

Well, yeah, I love the question or the questions, but I think the biggest challenge is the obvious.

It's first year, right?

It's first year.

So instilling the number one is the culture.

And we always talk about attitude, work ethic, and then pride in the program.

Those three things, trying to be a lead in those three things define your culture.

And we honestly, I'm very thankful because our group, our returning group has been awesome as far as just trying to do what we ask and kind of embodying those, those characteristics.

And so I think that's the, the main challenge is just raising the bar in those areas every day and holding guys accountable and, and making sure that we're, we're doing our best that way.

And then, you know, I think as far as defining success, I, you know, I'm, I'm pretty bullish on our group.

And you know, I think again, I think we have a good understanding of the, the talent that's in the program that, that we inherited.

And I really feel like with just a little bit of kind of tweaks to, obviously we're playing a little a different style offensively and then that, the getting that grittiness defensively that, you know, we can, we can have a winning season.

Like, that's what I, that's what I would define as a successful first year with these guys.

That's how I really feel.

And you know, as far as the joy that comes with it, I think for me, I think I told you this when we, when we spoke a year ago is, you know, when I was here, part of what drew me to come back was this was the most fun I ever had coaching I always say that I always, um, you know, and the, the chance to coach really high achieving guys, you know, on and off the court that, you know, are for the most part going to, you know, be extremely coachable.

Do you ask?

You know, I think the data driven model really works.

It works everywhere but, but it's the best here, I think because you're going to attract guys that are excited about it and that, you know, you know, really invest in it and invest in themselves so, you know, that piece of it and to be back at, at a place that, you know, I spent five years, I didn't mention to.

I met my wife here.

My wife's a Columbia grad.

She played, she eventually that earlier she played two sports here as well.

So this is really like home for us.

And you know, partly because of my time here and how much I loved it, but also because of that, that connection with, with her and you know, she loved her experience and a lot of our best friends are, you know, people that are Columbia people because of that.

So there's just a lot of great things that, that made me so excited and joyful to be back at, at this place.

And yeah, I'm just, I'm just absolutely grateful for, for the opportunity and really excited for, for what we can build.

Fantastic.

Mean again, I'm, I'm super excited for you.

You can feel, I can feel your enthusiasm coming through the screen and that's really what it's all about.

I think it.

If you're bringing that kind of passion to the job, which clearly that's what you're going to do, I don't think there's any question that you're headed for a tremendous amount of success.

Before we get out, I want to give you a chance to share how can people connect with you?

Find out more about what you're building at Columbia.

Share, email, social media, whatever you feel comfortable with.

And then after you do that, I'll jump back in and wrap things up.

Yeah, absolutely.

My social media, my Twitter is coach KevinHubby.

So that's the best way to, to connect with me is definitely on, on that platform.

So you know, most people reach out the follow, I'll follow back and, and kind of connect that way.

That's been, been the easiest way, especially over, over the last couple months.

And you keep it, and you keep it nice and general, right Coach Kevin, you don't have to change it every time you change jobs.

That makes it easy.

Makes it easy too.

No question.

No question.

All right, Kevin, I cannot thank you enough.

For taking the time out of your schedule to jump on with us for a second time tonight.

Fun talking National Championship with the Florida Gators, but also fun talking about the opportunity that you have in front of you as a head coach at Columbia University.

So again, thanks for your time tonight Kevin.

Really appreciate it.

And to everyone out there, thanks for listening and we will catch you on our next episode.

Thanks.

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