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Ann Schatz interviews Shantay Legans
Steve Gibbons

Men's Basketball Kyle Garcia

Shantay Legans ready to make Pilot hoops a winner

PORTLAND, Ore. – When the search for a new head coach for the Portland Pilots men's basketball program began, Shantay Legans stood out immediately. Even through Zoom, Portland Vice President of Athletics Scott Leykam could tell that his personality was a perfect fit in Portland. He knew the coaching was pretty solid, too, considering Legans had just taken Eastern Washington to the NCAA Tournament, almost upsetting the Kansas Jayhawks in the first round. Leykam could tell he would be a top candidate.

"Even on Zoom, it jumped through the screen," Leykam said about Legans's personality. "After the first conversation as we brought other people in on campus, it was like 'Yeah, this is very much a guy who could work at UP and have a lot of success.'"

The connection was there. Legans believed in the vision that Leykam had in mind for what the program could become. Legans acknowledged that it wasn't going to be easy. He saw the Twitter messages of people wondering why he would come to the University of Portland. He read every one of them. And those messages only served to empower Legans and emboldened his decision to become the next head coach of the Portland Pilots.

"I can't wait, because I know exactly what we're going to do" Legans said. "You have to have a chip on your shoulder. It's always going to be tough. If you don't have a chip on your shoulder, that means you're ready to get beaten up."

On Friday, Legans joined Ann Schatz for a special "Lunch with Coach Legans" to talk about his journey to Portland, giving a glimpse into his plans for the future, and more.

Before coming to Portland, Legans spent 12 years as a coach at Eastern Washington and was head coach the last four seasons. During his time at EWU, Legans helped lead the Eagles to five of its seven all-time postseason appearances, including an NCAA Tournament appearance this season. He won two Big Sky Championships and earned Big Sky Coach of the Year honors. He left Eastern Washington with the best overall (.605) and conference (.726) winning percentage in program history.

Watch "Lunch with Coach Legans" on our YouTube Channel here. For more on 2021-22 University of Portland men's basketball season tickets, including information on early deposits, call the Pilot ticket office at (503) 943-8619, email taylord@up.edu, or click here. To make a donation to the University of Portland 6th Man Fund to directly benefit Pilot men's basketball, go to giving.up.edu or contact Andrew Keippela at (503) 943-8329 or keippean@up.edu.
 
LUNCH WITH LEGANS TIMESTAMPS
  • 1:38-4:08: Intro by Ann Schatz
  • 4:25-7:15: Scott Leykam on the process of bringing Shantay Legans to Portland
  • 7:47-8:20: Leykam on watching Legans in the NCAA Tournament
  • 9:15-10:00: Legans on leaving Eastern Washington
  • 10:15-11:22: Legans on why he chose UP
  • 11:35-12:15: Leykam on how Legans fit the culture at UP
  • 12:40-13:12: Leykam on how Legans stood out from the start
  • 13:45-14:15: Pooh Jeter welcomes Legans to The Bluff
  • 14:16-15:11: Coaches welcome Legans to Portland
  • 15:55-17:22: Legans on bringing the right players to Portland
  • 17:40-18:55: Legans on the importance of a modern offense
  • 19:40-23:03: University of North Dakota Athletic Director Bill Chaves joins the broadcast
  • 23:49-24:48: Legans on his plan for filling out the staff
  • 25:00-25:55: More coaches welcome Legans to the Bluff
  • 27:00-31:20: Donald Wilson '06 joins the broadcast
  • 31:38-32:34: Legans on recruiting the right players
  • 33:25-34:00: Legans on Alec Wintering '17 and the impact of other alums
  • 34:05-34:40: Wintering welcomes Legans to Portland
  • 35:11-35:45: Michael Meek welcomes Legans to Portland
  • 36:09-37:00: Legans on what he hopes to learn from Meek
  • 37:27-38:20: Legans on the impact of international recruiting
  • 38:42-40:45: Legans on recruiting locally and how important that is for the culture
  • 41:20-41:55: Mississippi State head coach Ben Howland joins the show
  • 42:00-42:20: Legans on his relationship with Howland
  • 42:20-46:45: Howland on the journey of Legans and how proud he is of coach
  • 47:15-48:55: More love from coaches
  • 49:28-50:15: Legans on his offensive and defensive philosophies
  • 50:38-51:50: Legans on his willingness to play anyone
  • 52:34-54:23: Legans on his team playing with a chip on their shoulder
  • 54:55-56:00: Legans on coaching with energy
  • 56:10-57:35: Legans on the difference between coaching now and in the past
  • 57:45-58:50: Legans on the importance of accountability
  • 59:13-1:00:52: Legans on how the lessons learned young helped him coach
  • 1:01:27-1:02:20: Former Pilots head coach Eric Reveno welcomes Legans to The Bluff
  • 1:03:10-1:05:45: Legans on the role the women in his life have played
  • 1:06:17-1:07:30: A final message from Shantay Legans
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