STATESBORO - Georgia Southern Director of Athletics Jared Benko formally introduced new women's basketball coach Hana Haden to Eagle Nation this afternoon at an introductory press conference and welcome event in Hanner Fieldhouse.
Fans and media were present to welcome the ninth head coach in Georgia Southern women's basketball history to Statesboro. Haden talked about her passion for coaching that came very early into her basketball career and her excitement to continue the forward momentum of Eagle athletics. Benko detailed the hiring process and talked about how Haden fulfills the vision he has for the program. Below is an excerpt of the remarks from both Benko and Haden.
You can watch the full archive of the introductory press conference here.
Jared Benko
"We spoke to people all throughout college basketball, as well as college administrators and even AAU coaches. We talked to almost anybody and everybody in college basketball and Hana's name continued to resonate throughout the process. it came up on my radar early and quite frankly it came up often. She was most recently recognized as the Division II WBCA National Coach of the Year, that's a big deal, especially in year one, and it's a testament to the success that she had - and oh by the way, that trophy is the Pat Summitt Trophy, named for a pioneer in the sport and a true game changer."
"Hana has many outstanding qualities. She has a high basketball IQ. She has a great progressive style of play, they're a fun team to watch and they're going to be a hard team to scout. She has an infectious personality, she's very bright and engaging. She's a grinder and she's a tremendous leader with integrity and takes great pride in developing our young women."
Hana Haden
"My goal every season is to provide our student-athletes with a life changing experience. We want to instill habits that make them better people that will prepare them for life after sport. I enjoy seeing and helping them realize things in them that they may not see for themselves, and providing them with high character teammates that will develop into lifelong friends. I enjoy pushing them to pursue the best versions of themselves every single day in the classroom, on the court and in the community. And of course I do believe winning is a key part of a high quality experience."
"We will take pride in our preparation, in our schemes and player development. Culture is the separator. Our focus will be on the process. I feel the best way to take care of tomorrow is to take care of today. So our goals will be to get better each day, to win the next game and to be playing our best basketball in March."
"I went on to play at Western Carolina after junior college and some of my favorite memories are working basketball camps in the summer, where they let us coach. They didn't let me work with the little kids - they said 'Hanna, go work with the high school kids' because I was just a little too intense. Our job in the scrimmage segment - they just wanted to sub girls in and out and make sure everyone played. I did not take it like that. I was arguing calls, calling time outs. I look back on it now because the summer before our senior year, they gave us a whistle to use during camp. It's the same whistle I use for practice 10 years later. Somebody pointed out the other day that you should switch out your whistle after 10 years but I just like keeping it and looking at it as a reminder of where my dream started."
"I'm grateful, humbled and excited to be here at Georgia Southern and to get to work on taking this program to new heights. Hail Southern and GATA!"
