BERKELEY – In introducing himself as Cal's new men's basketball coach, Mark Fox made clear his deep respect for the great instructors in the sport's history.

It wasn't lost on him, therefore, that his press conference Monday took place on Pete Newell Court, named after the most legendary coach ever to pace the Cal sidelines.

"He was respected by everybody," Fox said after his press conference. "Most coaches have some fans, but everybody loved and respected Coach Newell. That's why it's such an honor."

After being introduced by Cal Director of Athletics Jim Knowlton, Fox explained his vision for the Bears program before an audience that included a mix of media, alumni, ticket holders, and Cal staff and coaches.

He made clear that academic excellence will be as important as on-court achievement, and that Cal players will learn how to be positive contributors within the community. He also spoke respectfully of former coach Wyking Jones and the values that Jones worked to instill into Cal's roster.

At the same time, Fox talked of the potential he sees for the current cast of players to reverse course from the 16-47 record posted over the past two seasons.

"I understand we've had a couple tough years," he said. "We're going to use the reflection of those years as a lesson of how to get better. And sometimes you don't win until you understand why you lose."

Fox, 50, brings a 286-176 head coaching record to Berkeley, having coached five seasons at Nevada and most recently nine at Georgia. He averaged more than 20 wins per season over those 14 years, with a combined four conference championships and five trips to the NCAA Tournament.

With his wife, Cindy, son Parker and daughter Olivia seated close by inside Haas Pavilion as he spoke, Fox talked of growing up in Kansas and admiring legendary college coaches Dean Smith and Eddie Sutton, both natives of his home state. Fox's father also was a basketball coach, and by the age of 10 or 11, Fox said he knew he wanted to do the same.

He got to know Newell and pick his brain on several occasions, including when Newell spoke at a clinic Fox hosted while at Nevada.

Knowlton, who made the announcement of Fox's hiring on Friday, said the coach offered a combination of attributes that made him stand out from a pool of candidates that initially numbered more than 40.

"He proved in his interview, and I put him through a couple hours' worth, that this place that we call Cal, where student-athletes are first and where academics is premium, fit who he was all about to a 'T'," Knowlton said.

During Fox's tenure at Georgia, the Bulldogs' Academic Progress Rate improved from 946 to 995 (with 1,000 being a perfect score). The graduation success rate improved from 36 percent to 100 percent.

Though he had spoken to most of Cal's players by phone, Fox was looking forward to addressing the team in person for the first time after Monday's press conference.

"We have to establish a defensive mentality that makes us hard to play against, and we have some work to do there," he said. "Offensively, we'd like to play as fast as we can play, but it's most important that we become as efficient as possible."  

Fox understands the work required for Cal to execute a turnaround, also realizing it won't happen overnight.

"When you climb a mountain you don't just stand at the bottom and look at the top. You just focus on the next step forward, and that's what we intend to do," he said. "We're going take a step forward. We want to get a little better every day, which will allow us to get better every week, every month and every year."