Less than a month after Charli Turner Thorne’s retirement after 25 seasons, Arizona State women’s basketball has its new head coach.

On Sunday, the program announced that Natasha Adair would be guiding the program going forward. She spent the last five seasons as the Delaware head coach, going 95-58. After three subpar seasons to start her Delaware career, the Blue Hens went 24-5 last season and made it all the way to the WNIT semi-finals. This season, Delaware went 24-8 and qualified for its first NCAA Tournament since Elena Delle Donne led the team to the Sweet 16 in 2013. Adair also was the head coach of the College of Charleston for two seasons (35-31 record) and Georgetown for three seasons (37-54 record).

On Monday, Adair spoke to the media for the first time since being hired. She touched on a variety of topics including why she came to ASU, her coaching style and coming to the West from the East.

Adair discussed why she decided to accept the job with the Sun Devils.

“This is an amazing opportunity,” Adair explained. “And I’m excited. I’m honored. Just to have the distinction of leading this women’s basketball program. I wouldn’t be here (without) all the special people. The committee - you all have been outstanding ambassadors for the university. You all have told a story. Your longevity here speaks to the commitment and I knew right away once I left that this was the place that I needed to be. The alignment, the vision, President (Michael) Crow, just the innovation, Ray (Anderson), just the national brand.

"ASU is a place that everyone can call home. It’s a place that you invest in and also a place that invests in you.”

ASU Vice President of University Athletics Ray Anderson joined Adair for the press conference. He said he hired her because of her track record of not being “intimidated” by following in the footsteps of longtime head coaches. At Delaware, Adair took over for Tina Martin who had been there for 21 seasons. Anderson added that he thought Adair would be a good fit for the culture ASU has of not just focusing on athletics but also the athletes themselves.

ASU President Michael Crow was alongside Adair and Anderson at the press conference and he shared his thoughts on his university hiring the former Delaware head coach.

“We want to take the next step which is to be competitive every year,” Crow said. “And Natasha brings the drive, the spirit, the competitiveness, the edge if you will, which I think is important to the student-athlete experience. So we’re very, very excited.”

Adair talked about her coaching style and what fans will expect to see from her team.

“As I take on this program, as I lead these young women, please know that I will lead with love,” Adair stated. “I will encourage them. I will inspire them. I will encourage them to take risk, calculated risks so they know what they can accomplish. I will be there every step of the way encouraging them along their journey toward success. ASU fans and alumni - I can’t wait for you all to see our team on the floor. We’re going to dominate with defense. We’re going to be relentless rebounders. We’re going to push that ball in transition and we’re going to score. We are going to put points on the board.”

When a coach who has spent the majority of his or her career on the East Coast comes to the West Coast, questions are obviously raised about the ties the coach has to recruiting the region.

Adair explained that her recruiting footprint is widespread.

“I would call myself a global recruiter,” Adair said. “I have recruited players internationally. I have recruited players on the East Coast, Midwest and now the West. Where I currently was, we actually had two players from Gilbert. And so I’m very familiar with the talent across the board. I don’t see that as a challenge.”

Adair said she has had time to meet the team. She explained that the meeting was mostly learning things about the players, including their nicknames and fun facts about them. She said she let them know that she was there for them and they were going to “work.”

Adair spoke about her goals, saying she wanted to keep the “winning tradition” of ASU women’s basketball going but wanted to go even further than the program has ever gone.

“We want to contend for a national championship,” Adair stated. “We want to get to the Final Four. We want to win national championships here.”