Ryan Odom highlights his Virginia roots in his coaching debut

Ryan Odom grew up surrounded by Virginia basketball and now, he’s been given the job of bringing the Cavaliers back to the top of college basketball.

“This is the place that I fell in love with basketball,” Odom said on Monday during his introduction as coach. “This is the place where I was shaped in so many ways.”

Odom spent much of his childhood in Charlottesville while his father, Dave, worked as an assistant coach for Virginia’s Terry Holland from 1982 to 1989. Odom even worked as a ball boy for the team.

During a homecoming event filled with fans, the pep band, and cheerleaders, Virginia officially named Odom as the permanent replacement for Tony Bennett, who led the team to its only national championship in 2019.

That win came the year after one of the biggest upsets in NCAA history, when Odom’s Maryland-Baltimore County team shocked Virginia by defeating them in the first round of the 2018 NCAA tournament, making history as the first 16-seed to beat a 1-seed.

“I feel very prepared to take on what everyone knows is a daunting task, following Coach Bennett, following a legend,” Odom said. “I’ll be honest. I’m at peace with that. I’m not afraid of it. I wouldn’t be standing here if I was afraid of it.”

Ron Sanchez, who served as Virginia’s interim coach after Bennett unexpectedly retired three weeks before the season, had a record of 15-17 and was not kept on.

While Odom’s connection to Charlottesville certainly helped him become a candidate, Virginia’s athletic director, Carla Williams, made it clear that he was chosen not just because of that or his time coaching at VCU in Richmond, which is only an hour away.

Williams said Odom’s solid record as a head coach — with a 221-127 career record over 11 years — along with his character and ability to adapt, made him the right person for the job.

“We trust him with this program,” Williams said. “Which is saying a lot because so many have put so much into this program. We trust Ryan with it.”

Odom led VCU to a 28-7 record this season, winning the Atlantic 10 championship and taking his third team to the NCAA tournament. He had previously led UMBC and Utah State into the tournament as well.

VCU’s season ended with a first-round loss to BYU last Thursday.

With the NCAA transfer portal opening on Monday, Virginia wasted no time finalizing an agreement with Odom, announcing his hiring on Saturday.

Williams mentioned that Odom’s contract is still being worked out, but she did not share any details

Odom said that most of his staff at VCU would be joining him at Virginia, including assistants Matt Henry and Bryce Crawford. He also mentioned that longtime Virginia strength and conditioning coach Mike Curtis would stay with the program.

Longwood coach Griff Aldrich, a close friend of Odom’s, stepped down from his role with the Lancers on Sunday and will join Virginia as the associate head coach.

As Odom walked out onto the court at John Paul Jones Arena, through a tunnel of blue and orange balloons and to the sounds of AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck,” he smiled as the crowd cheered. This new beginning seemed to overshadow the painful memory of Virginia’s loss that many fans still associate with Odom.

Odom’s UMBC team, which played with confidence, shocked Bennett’s more methodical Virginia team in a 74-54 upset during March Madness.

Williams and Wally Walker, who was part of the search committee that selected Odom, said the upset didn’t come up much during Odom’s interviews.

“It hasn’t left any of our memories,” Walker said. “That was a hell of a coaching job.” Odom, wisely, did not bring it up in his introductory speech. Instead, he focused on his strong connection to the Virginia program.

Jim Larrañaga, who retired this past season after 41 years as a college head coach, was an assistant coach for Virginia under Holland. He shared an office with Dave Odom.

“He was always around the gym,” Larrañaga said, remembering how his son Jay became childhood friends with Odom.

Larrañaga said his memories of the young Odom — who would ride his bike to University Hall after elementary school to attend practices — were not as clear as his recent experiences with Odom as a coach.

In fact, a 77-70 loss to Odom’s VCU team was one of the 12 games Larrañaga coached this season for Miami before retiring.

“One of my last losses was against VCU,” Larrañaga said. “They beat us. You could tell they had a good team and they’d be very competitive in the A-10.”

Odom, who served as interim coach at Charlotte for 19 games in 2015 and spent a year at Division II Lenoir-Rhyne in 2015-16, has won over 20 games in six of his nine full seasons as a Division I coach.

It will be challenging for him to change the fact that most people know him as the coach who upset Virginia in a historic way.

However, as Bennett showed, winning a national championship with the Cavaliers can significantly change how a coach is remembered.