Kate Popovec-Goss spoke a few words, then stopped to fiddle with the microphone in front of her right before beginning a 13-minute speech regarding her new role as Boston College’s next women’s basketball coach.
“I always have to elevate the height of the mics across the building, just to put that out there for everyone,” she said, laughing.
Popovec-Goss was introduced as the next Boston College women’s basketball head coach on Wednesday afternoon, one day after new men’s basketball coach Luke Murray’s introductory press conference.
“Many people often ask why—I typically ask why not,” Popovec-Goss said. “Throughout the past three weeks, I kept returning to ‘Why not Boston College?’”
Three players sat in the second row, directly in front of Popovec-Goss as she spoke.
She said she spoke with several players from last year’s roster, urging them to reflect on whether BC remained the right fit. Popovec-Goss projected that about half of last year’s roster will return to the Heights.
“While success, to me, starts with the experience that we provide our young people, it also means reestablishing Boston College women’s basketball as an ACC contender and competing in NCAA tournaments,” Popovec-Gross said. “And you will often hear me say this: You win with people. And that’s exactly what we will do here at Boston College.”
Popovec-Goss spent the last four seasons at Bradley. She led her team to a WNIT appearance last month, but the team she inherited four years ago had gone 4–24 the prior season.
Bradley won four games again during Popovec-Goss’ first year there. The next year, they won six and then 14 the following year. This season, they finished 20–13, third in the Missouri Valley.
She more than quintupled her win total by establishing a specific culture—something she plans on reestablishing on the Heights.
“While ultimately the goal is to win, it is the habits and the standard that lead to victory, and that is where we will begin our work and focus our energy,” Popovec-Goss said. “Our culture will also be rooted in transparency … Transparency may not always feel great, but it leads to trust. And without trust, we will not win.
Her immediate goal is simple.
“To just flip the mentality of our players and flip the culture of the locker room,” Popovec-Goss said. “Start recruiting the right pieces for my style of play, but to also lay a foundation for what we are going to build.”
