The Titans will welcome a brand new coaching staff as well as 13 new players in 2018-19. The second in the series "Getting To Know" features assistant coach Keith LeGree, a former two-sport standout athlete who played seven years in the Minnesota Twins minor leagues before moving to the coaching ranks on the hardwood.

Why Did You Decide To Follow Coach Davis Here?
"He is one of the best coaches in the game. I have been fortunate to be around some good coaches in my life, playing for Denny Krum at Louisville and playing and working for a guy like coach (Bob) Huggins at Cincinnati who is a Hall-Of-Famer and coach Davis is right there. He is one of the best offensive coaches around and he knows how to get the best out of his players. Working for him is great, he cares about everyone around him and it is a privilege to be on his staff and study under him."

What Did You Learn Under Coach Huggins During Your Time With Him?
"When I transferred to Cincinnati, I thought everything would be easier in that I was older, I had college basketball experience and so many years playing professional baseball. I had no idea walking into the gym how hard his practices were. He recruited me the hardest out of high school and he makes you work so hard and he is brutally honest and he just makes you better and prepares you for the real world. He takes you through adversity and helps you prepare for that because of the toughness that he brings." 

Do A lot Of The Guys Ask You About Playing For Coach Huggins?
"Yes they do. What these guys today don't understand is the hard work it takes to get to the next level. Everyone says they want to play professionally, but they don't realize the hard work it takes and coach Huggins was all about hard work and being with coach Davis all these years, same thing, it is about the work you put in."

What Did You Know About Detroit Mercy?
"I knew a lot about the program. They were a great team while I was in college and I remember them winning games in the NCAA Tournament and the players they had. Willie Green played a long time in the NBA and Ray McCallum was in the NBA so they have a long great history. I always felt this is a great basketball school, they have a lot of pride and a place that can be very successful."

How Did You Get Into Baseball?
"My mother and father both played baseball and softball and they played in the adult leagues growing up so I was at the field everyday watching them. The game really came easy to me since I was really playing or doing something with it every day. We had all the equipment since my dad would also coach softball, so I was in the yard, playing baseball and softball and I was able to excel in it."

Did You Love Baseball Or Basketball More?
"Both are great, but I have to say basketball. What is funny is that, I really didn't play organized basketball until the seventh grade because I was playing baseball, but I fell in love with it. My high school coach was my cousin so he would let me get in the gym and I would work out every day and my mother would rebound for me and I would just work hard every day. I fell in love with basketball and became a high school All-American."

What Made You Decide To Play Baseball?
"I was fortunate enough to get drafted in the third round by the Minnesota Twins and I only played two years of high school baseball. I played my freshman year and my senior year. I didn't play as a sophomore and junior because I decided to play basketball only. As a freshman, we had a good team, ranked ninth in the country and some of my teammates were guys like, Joey Hamilton, who also got drafted and pitched in the major leagues, Vic Correll, who is an umpire and whose dad played in the major leagues and a lot of guys who went on to play in colleges like Wake Forest. We were good and I was the starting shortstop and I got a lot of looks and recognition playing that year. When I was a senior, the Atlanta Braves actually came out to my school and were asking about me and I worked out for them and I played on the high school team again and ended up getting drafted in the third round by the Twins."

"I decided to sign a contract and get in the minor leagues because I was able to take care of my family and I ended up giving that signing bonus to my family. Helping the family out was really the biggest reason why I signed because even though I was drafted in the third round, I wasn't going to sign. I didn't want to play and have it affect my basketball career, but I did it for my family and the ability to help take care of them." 

What Was It Like Playing Professional Baseball?
I have to say that I loved it. I played for seven years and I was invited to major league camps twice. Tom Kelly I felt was really trying to give me a shot at the major leagues. While I was in college playing basketball, he would call me up and get me to come down and play and I was actually 2-for-2 in my first game in the big league camp with him there. Overall, I had the chance to play with some great guys like Torii Hunter, Corey Koskie, Matt Lawton, David Ortiz, Doug Mientkiewicz, LaTroy Hawkins, just so many good guys."

Who Was The Toughest Pitcher You Faced?
"The toughest was probably Armando Benítez who ended up pitching in the major league for a long time. He threw hard, but he was wild. Something people don't realize about the minor leagues especially the lower leagues is that you have a lot of guys that throw hard, they just don't have the control and I would say facing him was so tough because of that."

Do You Keep In Contact With Any Of Your Baseball Guys?
"A few of the guys I do. Tori Hunter, LaTroy Hawkins and Matt Lawton I am still in contact with. David Ortiz a few years ago came to play at Houston and I met up with him and went out to the game. I wouldn't say a lot of them, but as you travel around, I am able to run into some guys that I played with or were in the minor leagues with. Years ago, I ran into Kevin Malone, who was the general manager for the Montreal Expos and the Los Angeles Dodgers and he was with the Minnesota Twins organization and the guy who really believed in me and pushed me to get drafted."

Did Playing Both Sports Help Or Hurt You?
"I think it hurt me. You don't really see a lot of guys play baseball and basketball. For basketball, you really have to put in the time in the offseason and I was playing baseball during that time so it was always playing catch-up in a way during the basketball season. I would say that I was always at my best at the end of the year and in the postseason because it took me a little bit to get going after returning from school and summer baseball."

"The funny part about it was that, when I was in school, the students didn't really ask me a lot about baseball because I was just in the minor league, it wasn't a big deal to them. But going to baseball in the summer and talking about playing college basketball, the baseball players loved that and would ask me all the time about playing in the NCAA Tournament."

How Important Was It For You To Go Back To School And Graduate?
"Very important, especially for my mother. That was for her and she wanted me to go to a school that would help me get that degree even after I was done playing. Coach Huggins was very instrumental in that too and starting my career in coaching. After my baseball career came to an end and I came back to Cincinnati to finish up school, I went to a camp to pursue playing basketball overseas and was offered a spot and he told me honestly that, it would be better for me to start my career coaching. He said sure I could make some money overseas, but in the long run, it would be better if I started my career coaching and it was great advice. My first job was at Wabash Community College under head coach John Loyer, who was my position coach at Cincinnati and has been a NBA assistant coach and was the Pistons interim coach."