Rod Thorn:
“ This press conference is to announce the signing of Lawrence. Lawrence has been signed to a multi-year contract. I’ve known Lawrence for about five years. I did not know him when we hired him five years ago, when I came here and over the course of the five years I have become a tremendous fan of Lawrence’s. I think Lawrence has grown in stature over the course of the five years. I think that there is nobody that knows more about the game than Lawrence does, nobody prepares better and no one has a passion for this game any more than Lawrence. He came in last year in a tough situation in the middle of the year, and performed admirably for us for the rest of the way. We have been trying to get him signed ever since. I feel very strongly that Lawrence is the coach that will get us back to where we need to be. I never have to worry about whether this team will be prepared, whether this team is going to know what to do. Like last night, we may not get it executed, but it was not a matter that we did not know what to do. To me that is what you need in a coach. Somebody who cares about it and is as passionate as Lawrence. This is a great day for us. He will be here for a long time and he will do great things here.”

Head Coach Lawrence Frank:
LF—“ First of all obviously when someone like myself gets the opportunity that I was able to receive last year and has the good fortune of having it extended, there are a lot of people to thank. First, I would like to thank Mr. Ratner, Rod and Ed. All three of those guys have entrusted in me with obviously a fabulous opportunity. None of this would be possible without our past and current players; those guys are the backbone to any team. They are the ones who put me in this position with their performance. Obviously, the coaches that I have worked with and for, I would like to thank them for the impact they have had on me. Not only head coaches, but also I have had the great privilege to work with some great assistant coaches who have influenced the way I think. I’ve got to thank my wife and kids if I want to go home. Being a local jersey product and being a 5’2” screener, which is not a real admirable trait for a basketball player, my parents and my two brothers for all the support they gave me. Like I said, there a lot of people who have helped me get in this position, we are very much looking forward to the challenge as we move forward. There is going to be nothing easy, but that is what life is all about. For example, last night we have to learn from every experience that we are in, but the big picture is that I am extremely happy for the opportunity the organization is giving to me.

Give us your thoughts on long term security, having it, and thinking would it ever come to this?
LF—“ I am fortunate to be put in this position, with my relationship with Rod. Every time I have ever had to deal with Rod, he has been above and beyond fair, so it really wasn’t a concern. I am more interested in the team than I am into personal contracts, so you knew it was going to get done and I am very grateful.

What are the challenges with a club that seems to be fighting for respectability?
LF—“There is no secret. We know what we have and we make no apologies for what we have. The way we played last night is not going to be the way to get the job done. We are very optimistic about the future and the future being today, and not looking beyond today. We know we have a long way to go, but these guys have competed extremely hard. Unfortunately we didn’t do what we thought we should do last night but we have to get better today.

Did you have any thoughts on playing this season out and not thinking about the contract until after the season?
LF—“ Number one the organization has shown a great deal of loyalty to me. Someone with my background, it’s been well documented, we don’t get many opportunities and I think the fact that they showed the trust that they wanted us and again I failed to mention earlier and I should have. We have a great staff from assistant coaches Brian Hill, John Kuester, Bill Cartwright, and Tom Barrise. They trusted us to be here and we look forward to the opportunity and the challenge.

When did you sign the papers and where were you?
LF—“ We signed them yesterday probably around one o’clock.”

You always wanted to be a head coach, Is this like the day your dream has come true?
LF—“ Everyday is a great day, it really is. I think we are all blessed to do what we love to do. This is a special day, but I am a little more concerned with what happened last night rather than today. Not to take away from how grateful I am, but I have been very fortunate. I think every day you wake and realize how lucky you are to have the position you have here.