{"id":279296,"date":"2025-10-05T10:31:24","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T10:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/279296\/"},"modified":"2025-10-05T10:31:24","modified_gmt":"2025-10-05T10:31:24","slug":"ryan-odom-leads-virginia-basketballs-fresh-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/279296\/","title":{"rendered":"Ryan Odom Leads Virginia Basketball\u2019s Fresh Start"},"content":{"rendered":"

Few can ever forget him leading 16-seed UMBC to that wild upset win over the Cavaliers back in 2018, one year before Tony Bennett\u2019s squad marched to the national title. Equally shocking was Tony Bennett\u2019s decision to retire just before last season began, creating a lame-duck year in Charlottesville.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former Charlotte head coach Ron Sanchez took the reins for the Cavaliers and produced a forgettable 15-17 season. After that retirement decision, Virginia wasn\u2019t exactly expected to be a major factor last season, but tying for 9th place during a historically bad season for the ACC was still regrettable. Now this program is turning the page and throwing their trust at Odom to get things back on track.<\/p>\n

Nearly every player is gone from last season, leaving only a few remnants of Bennett\u2019s historic run with this program. Virginia won several ACC titles and has that notable national championship, meaning Odom has quite the stock to live up to. His father was a former Virginia assistant during their great days with Ralph Sampson, but the younger Odom certainly wants to create his own legacy.<\/p>\n

After three straight successful D1 head coaching stops, Odom is looking to create memories and fantastic moments in the ACC with the Cavaliers. He and his new staff have had a busy offseason building this team almost entirely from scratch, and we\u2019ll look closely at the important pieces on the new roster. We\u2019ll consider how everything fits together, look briefly ahead to the schedule, and start wondering just what the season one expectations are for this team.<\/p>\n

Projected Starters<\/strong>Guard \u2013 Dallin Hall (Senior)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The new point guard in town, Hall <\/a>arrives in Charlottesville after three years of work out at BYU, starting more than half the games he played with the Cougars. His best year came as a sophomore under Mark Pope, but Hall still put up 6.8 points and 4.2 assists per game last season, settling into a role off the bench. With Virginia he\u2019ll be counted on to run this offense and be an even more reliable defensive weapon.<\/p>\n

Guard \u2013 Malik Thomas (Senior)<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Thomas<\/a> arrived on the college scene it was four years ago at USC as a Top 100 prospect. After two slow years as a benchwarmer with the Trojans, he found success in his new home at San Francisco. Thomas is coming off a season averaging 19.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game while knocking down 39% of his 3-pointers. He was the WCC\u2019s leading scorer last season and will be expected to be a major shot maker for the Cavaliers.<\/p>\n

Guard \u2013 Jacari White (Senior)<\/strong><\/p>\n

With North Dakota State, White<\/a> earned a reputation as a hard worker and impactful presence, earning All-Defensive honors earlier in his career. He\u2019s coming off his best year yet, averaging 17.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game for the Bison to earn an All-Summit League nod. While undersized a bit, he\u2019s a strong wing with great potential and should get plenty of run in Virginia\u2019s offense.<\/p>\n

Forward \u2013 Devin Tillis (Senior)<\/strong><\/p>\n

We didn\u2019t see a lot of Tillis <\/a>early in his career at UNLV, but he really settled into an important role in UC Irvine\u2019s frontcourt. One of the more efficient scorers in the Big West, Tillis put up 13.7 points and 7.8 rebounds a game last year while helping take the Anteaters to the NIT finals. Now he steps into a major role in Virginia\u2019s frontcourt, beginning a new challenge as a veteran presence with postseason experience.<\/p>\n

Center \u2013 Ugonna Onyenso (Senior)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Onyenso <\/a>is a 6-11 big man from Nigeria who had time with Kentucky and Kansas State before finding his way to Charlottesville this offseason. He earned several starts as a sophomore with Kentucky before settling into a backup role with the other Wildcats, averaging 2.8 points and 2.4 rebounds last year. When on his game, he\u2019s a big presence who can finish around the rim and impact opposing offenses.<\/p>\n

Key Reserves<\/strong>Guard \u2013 Chance Mallory (Freshman)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mallory is a 5-9 point guard from right here in Charlottesville and the highest-rated freshman addition, considered a Top 60 recruit. While undersized, Mallory is still a reliable and explosive athlete, with great defensive ability and the potential to grow into a real leader for the Cavaliers. Let\u2019s not forget some pretty great shooting figures at the high school level.<\/p>\n

Guard \u2013 Sam Lewis (Junior)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sophomore season did prove to be a breakout campaign for Lewis<\/a>, who had outstanding numbers in his second year with Toledo. He averaged 16.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game as a starter in the Rockets\u2019 backcourt, earning Second Team All-MAC honors. Lewis was one of that league\u2019s top scorers, making 44% of his 3-pointers, and will hope to become a reliable shooter and offensive presence for the Cavaliers.<\/p>\n

Guard \u2013 Elijah Gertrude (Sophomore)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although an injury did keep him out for the entirety of last season, Gertrude <\/a>is the one notable holdover for Virginia on this roster. A former Top 60 recruit, Gertrude is a crafty guard who put up 3.4 points and 1.2 rebounds in a backup role as a freshman two seasons ago. When fully healthy, he can certainly factor into this offense and is a fast, athletic presence who can play both guard positions.<\/p>\n

Center \u2013 Johann Grunloh (Freshman)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Grunloh is a 7-0 center from Germany with significant professional experience over in Europe and the size to be a gamewrecker for the Cavaliers. He\u2019s the kind of presence you can plug in the back end of a defense and he\u2019ll be a reliable rebounder and shot blocker, while possessing solid touch around the basket as well. Don\u2019t be shocked if he earns that starting job at the 5 sometimes this season.<\/p>\n

Forward \u2013 Silas Barksdale (Freshman)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another Top 100 freshman in this class, Barksdale is a 6-8 center out of Newport News who could find his way into the rotation sooner rather than later. Barksdale is a talented and versatile forward who can both dominate around the rim and also step into the mid-range, though his long-range game is still coming together. Expect this impressive rebounder to factor in more in the paint early on.<\/p>\n

Forward \u2013 Thijs de Ridder (Freshman)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another notable international prospect, de Ridder is a 6-8 power forward from Belgium who also has extensive experience overseas. He\u2019ll have the potential to earn a major role with the Cavaliers, as he\u2019s a reliable and physical presence inside who can also step back and hit 3-pointers and impact the offense.<\/p>\n

Schedule Outlook<\/strong><\/p>\n

After some eyeballs will be fixed on exhibitions against Vanderbilt and Villanova, Odom will make his Cavaliers debut at home against Rider. It\u2019s the first of four straight winnable games at home, part of a soft landing for Virginia this season. Later in the month, the Cavaliers are off to the Greenbrier Tip-Off in West Virginia, getting matchups against Northwestern and Butler.<\/p>\n

The big notable matchup on the nonconference schedule comes on December 3rd, as they\u2019ll head to Austin for a tough game with Texas as part of the ACC\/SEC Challenge. A notable matchup with Dayton in Charlotte comes a few days later. Attention will certainly be on December 20\u2019s game against former league rival Maryland, while ACC play starts at rival Virginia Tech on New Year\u2019s Eve.<\/p>\n

Virginia gets two cracks at their in-state rivals and will also see NC State a pair of times, but the uneven scheduling in the ACC means they won\u2019t face Clemson in the regular season. They unfortunately also get their only looks at Duke and Louisville on the road, with that game against the Blue Devils in late February. There\u2019s the Nashville Hoops Showdown matchup against Ohio State tucked in there on Valentine\u2019s Day a few weeks before the regular season ends against the rival Hokies.<\/p>\n

Season Outlook<\/strong><\/p>\n

NIL and the transfer portal have really changed the game of college basketball but it\u2019s had another consequence as well. It\u2019s made it much easier for incoming head coaches to build competitive teams quicker, especially in power conferences like the ACC. Odom had basically nothing left when he came to town six months ago but thanks to a flurry of moves should have a better team than Virginia fielded last year.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s something that has both positive and negatives, another result of this type of roster construction is the seniority and experience. The Cavaliers should get great production from both Hall and White leading this backcourt but they\u2019ll only be in town for his upcoming season. Thomas projects potentially as one of the best new scorers in the ACC while this team will heavily be leaning on Hall to direct a fluid offensive attack.<\/p>\n

Beyond that, the Cavaliers have taken fliers on a few international prospects that while new to the college game certainly aren\u2019t amateurs at this point. We listed both Grunloh and de Ridder as key reserves but it wouldn\u2019t be a surprise to see them become starters as the season progresses. Grunloh is a major talent under the hoop while de Ridder is such a versatile athlete; it\u2019s all about they transition to the college game.<\/p>\n

None of these transfer additions really jumped off the page and that\u2019s not exactly a bad thing for the Cavaliers. Odom has built some sensational teams in recent years at UMBC, Utah State, and VCU and it\u2019s not like he had millions in his pocket. Someone like Lewis could really become a key role player after elite shooting at Toledo, while another young piece like Gertrude or Mallory has a great shot for notable minutes as well.<\/p>\n

With all of these things in mind, it\u2019s still hard to place reasonable expectations on this Cavaliers squad. While Virginia has the talent and experience to have more of a say in the ACC, they certainly won\u2019t be on that top level alongside Duke, Louisville, or North Carolina. Still, if everything comes together for Odom and his team can stay healthy, there\u2019s no reason why this team can\u2019t finish in the top third of the ACC and lay a foundation for future success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Few can ever forget him leading 16-seed UMBC to that wild upset win over the Cavaliers back in…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":279297,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[1339,1317,1337,1338,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-279296","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-basketball","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-ncaa","10":"tag-ncaa-basketball","11":"tag-ncaabasketball","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115321102933182705","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279296"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279296\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/279297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}