Straight from Steele: Travis Steele sheds light on program philosophy in opening presser

Last week, Miami University announced the hiring of Travis Steele as the newest head coach of Miami men’s basketball. After being introduced by Athletic Director David Sayler, Steele started with a dose of humility.

Miami Athletic Director David Sayler introduces Steele at Steele's opening press conference

“We’re ecstatic to have this opportunity, my family and I,” Steele said. “I’ve had a long affinity with Miami.”

Over the course of the press conference, Coach Steele highlighted three hallmarks of his program building philosophy:

Relationships

“Let’s call a spade a spade. Change can be uncomfortable. Uncertainty is uncomfortable … I want to make sure these players know that I’m here for them. I’m going to spend as much time as I possibly can with them”

Travis Steele and his family await his introduction as head coach

Development

“There’s no magic pixie dust for guys to get better. You gotta put the time in. My job is to give them the plan of development, which we’ll have crystal clear for our guys. That’s going to be the hallmark of our program. That’s what we can do better than any other program in the country, and what we can control on a day-to-day basis. The development of our players.”

Recruiting

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“We have a lot to sell. If we get a young man and his family here on campus, man, it’s hard to beat in my opinion. I’ve been in this area my entire life. I’ve coached at the junior college level, the high school level, the AAU level. I have a lot of relationships within this area, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Illinois … I think those relationships will really serve us well moving forward. We just have to get guys here, and I have to show them the vision I have for this program and how we’re going to get it back to where it should be.”

schmelj2@miamioh.edu

@jackschmelznger