Somehow this press conference was different. It was different from those that had preceded it. It was the “feel” to the press conference announcing that Associate Head Coach Tyler Geving was named Portland State University's 12th head basketball coach (and fifth since reinstituting basketball as an NCAA Division I sport in 1996).
Just about everyone agreed: fans, who had attended a number of Viking athletics press conferences and who were among the 75 or so people packed into the Morrow Team Room in Stott Center, and the man responsible for organizing such announcements at PSU for the last 20 years.
“Upbeat,” said Scott Burns, basketball fan extraordinaire and faculty member in PSU's Geology Department.
“Celebratory,” commented Steve Brenner, retired School of Business professor and long-time photographer for Viking sports.
“A feel-good occasion,” added PSU Sports Information Director Mike Lund, who has seen his share of such occasions. “I've been involved in a lot of press conferences, and each has a different feel. With Tyler, it was a feel-good occasion. To anyone who knows college athletics and PSU, it was the arrival at his goal, the accumulation of years of hard work. Everyone was happy for him.”
Burns take was that “it was a great atmosphere. Everyone was very optimistic. They were excited for Tyler,” who he described as wearing “kind of a perma-smile” during the event.
And, Brenner saw it as “a more natural hire. More than anything I've seen, there seemed to be recognition of a fit.”
Most of the players also attended the press conference, which pretty much anointed their unanimous choice. “We know he'll continue the system. He's comfortable with us and we're comfortable with him. He'll be a great coach and I think we'll be able to pick up right where Coach Bone left off,” said forward Julius Thomas to a local television reporter following the announcement.
Saying he didn't necessarily want to be known as a “players' coach”, his choice was nonetheless popular with the players, who had lobbied the athletics' administration on his behalf. That was underscored by the simultaneous announcement that a pair of highly prized recruits for next year had no intention of abandoning the program despite the coaching change (after all, during his four years at PSU, Geving has been the recruiting coordinator and has been directly responsible for bringing many of the current players to the PSU campus).
The press conference, by the way, was attended by just about every sports news outlet in Portland (which the exception of some radio stations which picked up the news off a live feed provided by the athletics department).
“This announcement was different than anything in the past. One television reporter confided to me that he was excited about the announcement and that it was a ?big deal' for the city of Portland,” said Lund.
The Geving announcement probably drew the most media excitement and interest since Head Football Coach Jerry Glanville agreed to head the Viking football program 2 ½ years ago.
“When Coach Glanville was announced, there was an excitement because that was such an unusual situation for the PSU program. This was different,” Lund said. “This was a function of the program's success. Our men's basketball program has ?arrived' in this community. We've finally reached a level in this region where what we do with our basketball program is important. It used to be curious or interesting, but now it's important.”
Burns agreed that the excitement generated by the press conference is a “reflection of where the program is today. In the past, it's been about improving things, getting the program into the position it's in today. Now we're at a very high level and we want to continue at that level.”
Said Brenner: “Coach Geving seems to have this internal confidence that comes out in a way that boosters and players really like. The media seemed really excited, there was a lot of interest and the team was very, very clear in conversations with the administration that this was the continuation they wanted.”
Saying he didn't want to over blow the change in PSU's community position, Lund added that the basketball program has helped “open a lot of eyes in our community about the university as a whole. People say, ?wow, 27,000 students, biggest in the state.' Then, we beat Gonzaga and go to the NCAA national tournament two years running. A lot of people are seeing our university through this program at the moment.”
As for Geving, he was clearly moved by the moment, indicating that he chose to stay at PSU over a chance to join Bone's Washington State University basketball staff.
“I know I look like I'm 20 years old, but I've been at this for 15 years,” the youthful-looking 35-year-old from Burien, WA, said. In fact, following a number of assistant coaching positions, he'd been tabbed as head coach at Edmonds Community College in Washington “when Ken Bone called me at 7 a.m. one morning as I was about to get up and go to work. He asked me if I'd be interested in coming to Portland State.”
Brenner said that Geving clearly “appreciates the chance to be a Division I head coach.” Burns added that everyone seemed excited for Geving and Lund noted “it just seemed right. It's his time.”
Athletic Director Torre Chisholm said among his reasons for choosing Geving was his commitment the PSU program, not just as a quick stepping stone to something bigger (Burns noted that he was impressed with the process that was an effective and efficient search leading to a fast decision at the beginning letter of intent signing week).
While all that may be, Geving's experience was on display at the microphone when he said he's picked up valuable lessons from all the coaches with whom he's worked and that he sees the program continuing in many ways along its current path, but with the caveat that “I've also got to be me. I've also got to be Tyler Geving, not anyone else.” And, thanking people for the enthusiastic applause at his introduction, he also said he hoped “everyone will still feel this way after we lose our first game next fall.”
All in all, it surely was Tyler Geving's day. But, as Lund put it: “It was Tyler's time, but it was also a sign that the program he's taking over has come of age.”
