CHARLOTTESVILLE — In Tony Bennett’s first season as Virginia’s basketball coach, 2009-10, ACC media projected the Cavaliers to finish 11th among the league’s dozen teams. And that’s precisely where they landed.
Four years earlier, in Dave Leitao’s debut season, UVA had been picked last, only to finish middle of the pack in seventh. In Pete Gillen’s inaugural year, 1998-99, the consensus had the Cavaliers placing last in the conference, another spot-on forecast.
No reasonable mind has such grim expectations for UVA this season under new head coach Ryan Odom, and engaging with him Wednesday during an offseason news conference, and interacting with his staff prior to a subsequent practice, the internal optimism was pervasive.
These coaches believe the Cavaliers are capable of ACC title contention.
This despite an awkward 2024-25 that began with Bennett’s startling October retirement and ended with the program’s first losing season in 15 years and the exit of Ron Sanchez, who so graciously served as interim head coach.
This despite the departure of 99.8% of last season’s scoring and 99.6% of the rebounding. Indeed, walk-on Desmond Roberts’ four points and three rebounds represent the only returning production.
The optimism centers on a recent development: UVA’s practices since coming back from summer break — Wednesday was No. 10 — were the first with the entire squad.
Wing Martin Carrere, who accompanied Odom from VCU, has recovered from a shoulder injury, while forward Thijs De Ridder (Belgium) and 7-foot center Johann Grunloh (Germany) have arrived from Europe.
Combine them with acclaimed freshman guard Chance Mallory from Charlottesville and a well-regarded, high-scoring transfer class of guards Malik Thomas (San Francisco), Sam Lewis (Toledo), Jacari White (North Dakota State) and Dallin Hall (Brigham Young), plus forward Devin Tillis (UC Irvine) and center Ugonna Odyenso (Kansas State) and you have beaucoup talent and experience.
David Teel: UVA pledge Thijs De Ridder has ‘all the tools to be an NBA player’
Now can Odom and his staff, almost all of whom have worked with him at VCU, Utah State and/or UMBC, mold them into a team?
“We have to, as a staff, be the best example for the players,” Odom said. “When they see us work together in a really positive way and cheer for one another and allow one another space to do things, I really think it sets a tone for guys in how they need to operate.”
In that vein, after a summer spent allowing the players to show their wares in free-spirited, offense-centered practices, Odom began fall workouts by having assistants Matt Henry and Darius Theus install and teach the program’s defensive principles. Henry has served under Odom since 2016, while Theus, a Norfolk native, was a defensive savant as a VCU player, helping the Rams reach the 2011 Final Four.
Odom trusts them — with good reason. Each of his two VCU teams ranked among the nation’s top 40 in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency metric, and last season the Rams rode that defense to Atlantic 10 regular-season and tournament championships.
Odom believes this roster has the depth and athleticism to defend equally well, and to exert full-court pressure whenever necessary.
“It’s a big part of what we do,” Odom said of the press. “It’s got to be what our identity is.”
Virginia recruited De Ridder and Grunloh based on video and recommendations of international contacts. But nothing beats seeing for yourself — in person.
Safe to say, Odom likes what he sees.
UVA lists Grunloh at 238 pounds, hardly overweight for a 7-footer, but Odom said Grunloh was out of shape when he enrolled this summer. He returned this fall in peak condition.
“He’s really taken a massive jump from the summer,” Odom said. “… He can block shots, he can make 3s, he can put the ball on the deck, he can defend his position. He’s proven how he can rebound.”
Odom appreciates De Ridder’s all-around skills and understands why many project him as a future NBA draft choice. But competing with, and against, older pros in Europe, De Ridder often played a secondary role.
The Cavaliers want and need De Ridder to be an alpha, to be assertive without being selfish.
“Thijs is kind of a bully in a lot of ways,” Odom said. “I love the way that he plays. He plays with passion and emotion.”
David Teel: Inside UVA basketball with Ryan Odom, his staff and team
Odom was a third-grader when his father, Dave, joined Terry Holland’s UVA staff in 1982. Then the ACC was an eight-team conference with a modest footprint from Maryland to Georgia. Today it’s 18 schools scattered from Boston to Miami to Dallas to the Bay Area of California.
But among those 18, only Duke, Louisville, Clemson and North Carolina reached the 2025 NCAA Tournament, an embarrassment for the sport’s most storied league. Moreover, eventual Final Four qualifier Duke was the lone ACC team to survive the tournament’s opening weekend.
New and younger coaches such as Odom, NC State’s Will Wade, Miami’s Jai Lucas and Florida State’s Luke Loucks bring a fresh perspective and acceptance of the new athlete-compensation model. Will that translate to the court?
“I think the ACC overall this recruiting season did very well,” Odom said. “… I think the ACC stepped up. They got the message, right, in terms of, we’ve all got to be a little bit better and more competitive.”
Virginia can be a centerpiece of that upgrade.
David Teel: david.teel@virginiamedia.com
