Monte Lee: 'I'm not bitter about anything. I'm blessed to be at the University of South Carolina' |
Former Clemson baseball coach
Monte Lee held his first media session earlier this week since crossing the rivalry lines again back to South Carolina as an assistant coach.
Lee said grudges aren't a part of his mentality in going head-to-head with the program that let him go this June after missing the NCAA Tournament for a second consecutive season. "I feel pretty good about how I treated the players, the relationships that I have there with the people. I hope that the people that work at Clemson feel the same way," Lee told reporters, "as far as how I treated the people, our working relationships, my relationships with the players, the fact that we had a ton of academic success there. And look, we had some good years, we had some bad years. But all in all, I did the very best that I could. And we know what business we're in. "Graham (Neff) made a decision at the end of this season. We didn't make it to the postseason. And he made a decision to make a change. I respect it because I know the business that I signed up for. So, at the end of the day, I have good relationships with everybody at Clemson, just like I have great relationships here at South Carolina. And it's simply my personality. I'm a big believer in treating people the way that I want to be treated, and showing respect to everybody, because that's just how I was raised. That's just who I am as a man. Life is too short to have grudges or be bitter. I'm not bitter about anything. "I'm blessed to be at the University of South Carolina, just like I was blessed to be the head coach at Clemson. I was blessed to be the head coach at the College of Charleston. I mean, good Lord, in my coaching career, I've coached at three great schools and had great experiences at all three of 'em. There's no bitterness on my part. There's no ill will on my part. I'm just excited about what I'm doing right here and now where my feet are." Lee says he will continue those relationships with his players back at Clemson. "As far as the awkwardness of the rivalry, the fact that I was the head coach at Clemson for seven years, look I'm not gonna shy away from the fact that the kids that are in that program," Lee said, "A lot of the kids in the program are kids that I recruited and that I coached, and look, I love those kids dearly, and I'm not gonna shy away from that. Nothing's going to change how I feel about the players I coach, whether it was as an assistant at South Carolina, as a head coach at the college of Charleston, a head coach at Clemson, and now an assistant coach at South Carolina. "You know, the jersey that we wear is never going to change how I feel about them as people. And I hope they feel the same way. Hopefully the fact that I'm at the rivalry school now doesn't change how they feel about me. Look, I know it's going to be different that weekend. You know, we're gonna do everything we can to beat them, and they're gonna do everything they can to beat us. And that's the beauty of competition. It's also the beauty of a rivalry that's unique to the state of South Carolina." He is joined at South Carolina by a trio of Clemson transfers with catcher Jonathan French, outfielder Dylan Brewer and pitcher Ricky Williams. "I contacted Jonathan and Dylan and just told 'em I was excited about being able to coach 'em again," he said. "Saw Ricky in person in our first team meeting, gave him a hug, told him I was excited about being with him again. So very, very positive conversations with all three guys. And, you know, it's a new beginning for me too, right? Just like those guys. They were looking for a new opportunity, and I have a new opportunity. So we're very similar in that regard. "It's great to have some people on the roster that I have relationships with, and our relationships are very, very positive."
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