We should have followed the same blueprint Duke used for their coaching transition, sans the Royal Wedding/farewell tour that K did. CTB could have sucked it up for one more year, with significantly less work responsibilities, and we could have had a similar interim head coach experience. I would have preferred he name J-Willy which would be a similar handoff to what Duke did. But either way, it would let recruits/players know that Jason or Ron was the guy they would be playing for, and they had a plan for current players, fans, administrators. Yes- it would have pissed off Ron or Jason if they werenāt āpickedā but I feel that is better than pissing off those same current players, recruits, fans, administrators as a whole.
Does anyone feel 100% committed to their job 100% of the time? Be honest, and I know itās a little different than coaching a college basketball team, but it is analogous. I think itās very normal to have dips and surges when it comes to job satisfaction, motivation, fulfillment, anger, joy, etc. I wish he had fought through āitā because I fear itās going to be a brutal and wasted year.
We have gotten taller, but also more unathletic. Not sure which one is worse for this year. Someone said it on LRA that we are at an Ivy League level of athleticism, at least with the guys who are playing. Miss Elijah for sure. May need to get ARob involved and we need to unleash Dai Dai as a downhill threat. Cofie and Saunders look good though.
Horrible call by me early in this thread to look at Todd Golden as a candidate. That didnāt age well at all.
It would be smart to get Dai Dai and TJ going early in this next game for confidence reasons. Run some plays for TJ early and encourage Dai Dai to play fast and create off of misses/long rebounds. Both are skilled guys in their own way. Itās a mistake to kill Dai Daiās instincts to go fast, and itās a mistake to not get TJ some shots early in the first half. Hope we see it.
It shouldnāt and wonāt matter at all but the only thing that gives me pause with Odom is that his team is very senior laden and he wouldnāt have much talent to bring with him if heās ultimately the next hire.
Again, not something that matters as this is a long term hire but something a recruiting degenerate like me looks at.
That said, I think VCU is going to have a big year and heās going to be the most obvious candidate that gets discussed during the season
While that has been true since the early signing date was implemented, I have a suspicion that the recruiting dynamic is about to change. With the elimination of the NLI, we could see more and more recruits push their commitments back until the spring. Just as it was 40+ years ago. November to March recruiting may become a bit more intense.
I have never once in my life felt 100% committed to my job. I have seen a few 100%-ers in my life and I generally think itās an extremely unhealthy way to be. Iām talking ignoring the fire alarm level of commitment. And like a - āthis could be legitā fire alarm.
If you have that level of commitment to something to the exclusion of other things, thatās a terrible way to live your life.
Well maāam after I redshirt year 1 here I plan on making as much money as I can year two coming off the bench here and then transfer UP to a better firm and laughing at your firm by my 5th year. Hired?
Maybe, yes. Maybe, no. If the board, admin, and whoever else running the search just wants Tony Bennett V2.0, theyāll go with the safe pick and hire Ron. UVA could have a lackluster year, and they could still opt for a proven system and a coach that can implement that system.
And what exactly are we going to learn about Ron this season? Roster, scheme ā¦ itās all got Tonyās fingerprints on it. So at the end of the year, how exactly do you grade Ron and parse between what Tony was responsible for and what Ron was? Thatās why, IMO, they should move on from Ron regardless because itās really really hard for Ron to stand out and prove anything, good or bad.
My forte was (and remains) leaning into the ādescribe a problem you faced ā¦ā part and kinda half-assing the āā¦ and how you solved itā part.
Iād just offer - Ron playing Cofie 28 minutes despite several defensive mental lapses (and it being clearly a good decision) is one way heās individuating right now (and playing him with Buchanan).
Playing Rohde and Ames as backups for each other (for better or worse) is another.
Sticking with this offense and being the first to run it will be another.
Iām sure there will be more - but there are signs of decisions that are his own distinct style.
This is going to sound stupid, but the transition from Bennett to Sanchez is like when a new actor gets cast as James Bond or Batman.
There are big broad strokes that are going to be similar because they have to be, but there ways that the new guy is going to be different. And weāve got to give the new guy some time to show us how heās different.
Updated to say that one season/movie could be long enough. Maybe Ron Sanchez is the George Lazenby/Val Kilmer of UVA hoops. Weāre gonna find out.
With the caveat that I havenāt rewatched, but my sense was that he did kind of pull a Tony coming down the stretch and tighten up too much with the lineups. Went for safe and sound, but it ended up working.
Campbell adjusted and pressured our ball handlers a lot more in the second half. Rohde was exhausted playing PG for 33 mins. It forced some turnovers and kept us from being able to get into our offense as cleanly and made some possessions stall keeping them far from the hoop.
Those were the main issues, IMO, along with the expected defensive breakdowns and asking Blake to chase a stretch CB 5 for 29 mins.
Iām not one who thinks Rohde canāt play PG at all - but scaling back his minutes and trusting Ames more is a true change of pace (both are so different which can be an advantage if done well) and will keep both fresh.
Thatās where Iād start along with more Sharma throughout.
I havenāt read your cuts yet, so just a preliminary thought: my worry with Rohde at the point guard is that āstruggling to bring the ball up and exerting too much energyā vs Campbell, becomes an absolute poop show vs even better and more athletic teams will face
I want Ron to work out. I really do, but he has to make NCAAās at the very least. Donāt think thatās too much to ask if he is worth his salt as a coach, but yes our PG play better f**king improve for that to happen.