Virginia basketball held an introductory press conference at John Paul Jones Arena on Monday to welcome new head coach Ryan Odom. Here are three takeaways from it.
Takeaway #1: Odom understands the history and legacy of the program
Odom’s connection to the UVa program goes back decades. His father, Dave Odom, was a Virginia assistant coach in the 1980s under head coach Terry Holland, and Ryan Odom was a ball boy for the team growing up. He spent most of his opening remarks talking about those experiences as a kid in University Hall. He told stories about dribbling a ball in between his legs while watching the team practice.
“This is the place where I fell in love with basketball,” Odom said. “This is the place where I was shaped in so many ways.”
Odom mentioned that when he met Virginia President Jim Ryan and Athletic Director Carla Williams during the interview process, he was asked “why Virginia?” He answered by putting two images of himself as a little kid dribbling a basketball in Virginia gear.
In addition to reminiscing about Virginia basketball forty years ago, Odom celebrated the dominance the Cavaliers enjoyed under former head coach Tony Bennett. Before he went into his opening remarks, he had this year’s players stand up and applauded them for working together and never quitting despite the hard hand they were dealt when Bennett retired less than weeks before the start of the season.
Odom mentioned the 2019 national championship and said he hopes to return Virginia to the national stage.
“And then when the victory happens, to get the good old song going, to put our arms around one another, and get ready for the next one,” he said.
Takeaway #2: Odom is like Bennett in some ways
Bennett was a very relationship-focused head coach. He liked to forge connections with his players and their families, and that relationship would be key in getting them to come to Charlottesville.
Odom spoke similarly, saying that forging connections with the athletes is a key part of the job description.
“My job is to love my players,” Odom said. “Whether he’s scoring 18 a game or never getting in the game.”
Under Bennett, that connection was a big reason why so many players stayed in the Virginia program for several years. When the Cavs won the national championship in 2019, several of the key players had been in the program for at least three years.
Odom said that retention was also a priority for him, despite it being harder with the transfer portal.
“They understand the culture,” he said. “That’s what I’m so excited about these guys right here, because I know they’ve been taught the right way. This culture here is strong.”
Like Bennett often did, Odom talked at length about his father. He said that his dad had heart surgery last year and almost died. Odom and his brother reached out to all the former coaches their dad had been alongside throughout his career and created a book. He said that his father still has the book in his office.
“That’s what coaching is all about,” Odom said. “It’s about relationships, it’s about being on a team — there’s nothing better than being on a team.”
Takeaway #3: Expect Virginia to operate differently, both on and off the court
While Bennett was very relationship-focused as a head coach, he didn’t have the greatest view of NIL and the transfer portal. He didn’t like having to recruit transactionally. During his retirement press conference, he said that college basketball wasn’t “in a healthy spot.”
Odom, who had success quickly building through the portal at Utah State and VCU, doesn’t have the same qualms that Bennett had.
“The goals are very simple: We want to be top 10 in the country,” Odom said. “In order to do that, you have to have the resources.”
A lot of those resources will be used right out of the gate. Seven Cavs — junior guards Isaac McKneely and Andrew Rohde, sophomore forwards Blake Buchanan and T.J. Power, sophomore guard Dai Dai Ames, redshirt freshman forward Anthony Robinson and freshman forward Jacob Cofie — have reportedly entered the transfer portal. Add on senior guard Taine Murray’s graduation, Virginia seems to be undergoing a near-complete roster turnover.
That might be for the best, though, as Odom will bring a new style of play to the Cavaliers. Virginia rose to power a decade ago on the strength of a steady, controlled pace and an elite defense. The Cavaliers very rarely ran transition offense. As a result, the Cavaliers would occasionally fall into offensive lulls and struggle to score for minutes on end, especially over the past few years.
Odom said to expect a system change in the fall.
“I love offense,” he said. “We certainly want to play fast in transition, and we want our guys to get out and run.”
But before he can install his style of play, Odom knows he needs to recruit the players. One that he hopes is capable of returning the Cavaliers back atop the ACC.
“We have to prepare to put together a championship roster, one that we’re all going to be proud of,” Odom said. “Then we have to get to work.”