Dr. Al Goldfarb, Western Illinois University President:
On behalf of the entire university, I would like to welcome Coach Molinari to the Western Illinois University family. I am very glad and excited to have him be a part of our program. We know that he will work very hard at graduating athletes and being successful in our basketball program.

Dr. Tim Van Alstine, Western Illinois University Director of Athletics:
He provides instant credibility in the region, in the state and also on a national basis. His educational background is exactly what we need. It mirrors our core value of educational excellence and we are very excited to have him on board. More so than anything Jim brings confidence to our program. He has confidence in the university, he has confidence in the administration and more importantly he has confidence in our student-athletes. The primary thing that separated him is that he knows that he can win here at Western Illinois University.

Western Illinois Head Basketball Coach Jim Molinari:
One of the reasons I am here is because of the people. I think the quality of life is based on the quality of relationships. People come here and stay a long time.

I'm a team player. The most exciting thing is that I am an Illinois person. I feel like I'm at home. This is where I belong; these are my roots. I have known Western and have had a great experience and feel for it. The thing I love about Western is how student-oriented it is.

I am student-athlete oriented. I can identify with that and be a part of that. I have a law degree and education has always been important to me. That's my first goal: to graduate student-athletes who will go out there and create options for themselves.

Secondly, I am a team player. Meeting with the coaches (in the department), they made me feel very comfortable. We want men's basketball to have the same type of program as all the other sports at Western, a success. I want to be a part of that and the student-athletes want to be a part of that. The basketball program is a part of a bigger continent.

I also want to play aggressive basketball. Whoever does the work has the power. Effort, discipline, and the ability to overcome obstacles is everything in basketball. I have great respect for the athletes here because I know the investment they put in on and off the court.

We're really going to recruit student-athletes that represent this university and Macomb well. It is a tremendous opportunity for someone to come here and get a degree and also have the opportunity to play high Division I basketball. We need to build a program that is well-respected in our league, in the state and nationally. Where people look at us on and off the court. I am very excited to be here.

(Dr. Van Alstine) touched on how this is a better job than it was five years ago. What attracted you to Western coming in?
I think knowing what type of school it is. Ninety-three percent of its students are from Illinois. I think a lot of job success is based on your background. My background and the opportunity for where my recruiting contacts are and doing it here is what attracted me.

I scouted a game with the Miami Heat and Western lost on a really tough call. I saw how Tim reacted and leadership is not just for guidance, but also protection. Battles fought alone are overwhelming, but if you fight them together, they are exciting. Those things, the geographic location and the opportunity to build are others that attracted me. I am a builder. This is another opportunity to take this foundation, these young men, and build into their lives something special.

What's it mean to you to get another chance to do that?
I always thought I would get another chance. My philosophy at Minnesota was land the plane without crashing. Whenever you take over an interim situation, the AD there, Joel Maturi, was tremendous to me. I also knew I was just there as the stop-gap. I knew there would be another opportunity some day to be a head coach. It's great to do it here and this time couldn't be better.

Do you feel like you are behind the eight ball a little as far as recruiting goes, with signing day around the corner?
You really need to go slow on this transition process. Quick decisions on staff and recruits, I don't feel behind the eight ball, but going forward to next year. We're going to battle together. I appreciate the young men coming. I usually take a yellow pad of paper and sit down with people individually to see where their at.

I want to thank Billie Taylor from Ball State because he's the one that really kept me in coaching. I went through re-building with him this year. He did the right things. Make sure people want to be here. You have to have character, skills and great energy and excitement to be there. I have never seen Western on tape this year. I met with the team and I want to form my own opinions. We'll figure out if we have to add to it to be successful.

Explain that feeling when you got the call.
I was excited. I thought this was the fit. Tim was open with me and everyone I met was open with me. I thought they saw a potential fit with me, too. I'm still excited. You have to battle the overwhelming feeling. The real excitement comes when you get in the middle of it all.

It felt right. I have called timeouts in the first four minutes of games when we're up 6-2 if it doesn't feel right. This just felt right. I feel a great responsibility because they've shown great confidence in me. I think in any relationship as long as you worry about your responsibilities and not your rights, everything will turn out well.

Did your familiarity with the conference lure you in at all?
I'm not familiar with some of the teams in the league, but I am more familiar with the area. College basketball is college basketball. It's a team game. You have to run your program with a sense of urgency. It's the biggest ball in the smallest court with the people closest to you. That's what my strength is. It's strength is intensity and urgency. No matter who we play, it's more about who we are, then who they are.

You said you've changed from the time you were at Northern to the time you were at Bradley. How are you different today?
I never wander from my philosophy. You don't know you have a philosophy until you've had success with it or until it's under attack. Time and experience has helped me wise. I think I have become more patient in some areas and more demanding in others. Overall I don't think I have changed in what I think is important. Like I said, if you recruit character, athletic ability, develop character, and make sure they know you're in it to help develop them to get a degree.

Would you like to see more of an in-state relationship with other teams down the road?
If that could be worked out, I think that's great. Western is self-contained. In usually you have more student involvement. We had the MolinArmy at Bradley and I worked hard with the Barnyard at Minnesota and the Dog Pound at Northern Illinois. I think you really have to get out to the students. I am going to encourage our young men that if they want students to be here, then they have to become a part of the students' lives. That's what this is all about. We have to create more interest and create more of a home court advantage. We have a great community and we need to get some more attractive opponents, but the schedule is pretty set for next year.

What is your take on the facilities at Western?
More important than what the physical facility looks like, is the spirit of cooperation, which all the coaches have. The availability of it and the atmosphere are also a part of it. At Northern we played in something like Western Hall, but probably not as nice as Western Hall, and had tremendous home court advantage. Then they built that new arena, which might help in recruiting but it doesn't help on game night.

So I think the facility is fine, but we do have to improve that. Kids are visible these days. We have great things going. We have nice locker rooms and offices and activities in the residence halls. I trust Tim and I trust that we will make improvements that need to be made.