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Pokey Chatman is out and Van Chancellor is in, but through it all remains Bob Starkey. A solid Xs and Os guy and team motivator, Starkey coolly led the Tigers to their fourth-straight Final Four appearance amid rumors and stressful attention.

What was your first reaction to being named interim head coach after Chatman’s departure?

It was a crazy 24 hours, and it became obvious that she would have to step down immediately because of all the stress and pressure it was putting on the kids. Coach Bertman called me up to his office and told me I’d be taking over. The very first thing that came to mind was to take care of the kids. It was a traumatic couple of days there for them. We lightened practice a little bit and just made sure that we spent quality time with them and that mentally and emotionally

they were ready to move forward.

What was that first post-Chatman team meeting like?

The first thing we talked about was them being able to relax and enjoy the process [of the NCAA tournament]. The second thing we talked about was that “today matters.” You can’t worry about what happened yesterday, you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, but we’re going to have a great day today.

Did seeing reporters from CNN and The New York Times on the sidelines during practices affect you or the players at all?

Normally we have two or three reporters, all of a sudden there were a dozen. Walking out and seeing them lined up, of course it registers. But we run a very intense practice from one drill to the next, so from the time practice started to the time it finished, the media wasn’t a big distraction.

Any good Shaq stories from the Dale Brown days?

Shaquille was a great practical joker. On the road in the hotels they’d have the room service cards that you leave on your door and check off what you want for breakfast and what time you want it. For his last year-and-a-half, breakfast was delivered to my room, always the earliest time you could check off, there would be a knock on my door at 5 a.m. For the longest time I thought it was one of the other coaches, but after he left he fessed up. I made the mistake of telling that story to our team, and Tameka Johnson pulled the same trick during the NCAA tournament her senior year.