I like coaches that are grounded in foundational principles, but that arenāt glued to anything youād call a system. Having an identify is importantā¦itās just best to be flexible in the details of how to get there. I havenāt studied most of these coaches that come up, and probably wonāt unless we hear one is a serious candidateā¦but a lot of the mid major coaches worry me because theyāre too systemy, and often with systems that probably donāt translate to a higher level.
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Serious question. Would you have considered Nate Oates a āsystem guyā at Buffalo?
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More like a Bobby Hurley followerā¦ haha
To me, heās the perfect exampleā¦Very much grounded in his philosophy, his teams have an identity. But I donāt see a system coach, at all. At least at Alabama, theyāve gone about it in different ways, fitting the personnel. But I canāt say I was familiar enough with him at Buffalo to have an opinion.
The Furman coach comes to mind. Heās come from lower levels, so has his staff. Their offense is little gimmicky, very much a mid major style. Heās found a formula, implements it well, and been very successful. He deserves credit for it. But I think heād have to reinvent himself to an extent if/when he moves up.
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But Furman knows when and how to implement the full court press
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And a 1-3-1
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I worry about how guys whose offense rely on player archetypes that arenāt always so good at the power conference level, like slow shooting bigs, undersized wing-4s, etc.
The biggest adjustment with that specific new-age Princeton style of team is finding bigs who are both good enough passers to make their offense go and athletic enough to anchor a defense. Not impossible, but thatās what they would have to solve.
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Todays hoops slate is packed with evaluation opportunities. Hopeful that the UVA Shadow doner circles are watching
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UVA 2025-26 HC Tommy Lloyd
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Iām worried about hiring someone from a mid major and them turning into another Mike Young.
Not to say that Young has gotten the fairest shot at VT with their NIL troubles, but for the most part each year itās a great, kinda gimmicky offense coupled with a complete misunderstanding of how to recruit and build personnel at a high major level.
Hard to tell which guys do and donāt fit that mold though.
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Isnāt that the inherent risk of any mid major guy? Im sure there are Longhorn fans who say Shaka busted out for them.
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Yeah at the end of the day you can make as educated a pick as possible but there is some level of randomness to it. Am just weary of going with someone who is used to playing with a certain type of player and never strays away from that, even if thereās a larger pool of talent at their disposal.
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I agree with you. Whoever it is needs to be able to adapt to the new waters their swimming in
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Tommy just signed an extension before the new AD came in at UA for a ton on $. Plus the University is committing to a big $NIL to bring in players for basketball (and football). I think heās here in Tucson for awhile.
His teams donāt defend much, at least thatās my observation from watching games, no stats to back it up or anything.
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Yes the Virginia swimmers have adapted well to the new waters at the world championships this week!!!
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Is the buyout prohibitively large? Because every coach outside of a lower tier mid major is going to have one of some sort. I think I looked at it recently and it drops to a reasonable (for rich people) level. Rhoades is my #1 current HC candidate I think, considering all criteria including the likelihood of being able to pull him away from his current school.
That being said give me Luke Murray tomorrow.
For those wondering what he said to Theus:
āI didnāt tell them to do that.ā
Referring to the Eli steal and almost dunk by Des.
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that then, yeah. The unwritten rule is you donāt shoot once the shot clock is off. Nobody really cares if walkons violate it though haha
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Dumb stupid idiotic āruleā and others donāt abide by it against us
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I think that list is very good to whoever created it. Quite extensive list. And I appreciate the time you took to develop that/write it out. Iād be very curious to hear who exactly is involved in the selection process of the new coach? Tony got his pick with Sanchez. So does Carla get to pick now?
Personally, Iād hope that UVA leans on some of the brighter minds in UVA basketball history. Wally Walker, Barry Parkhill, and others. We need a transformational coach. We should not settle for mediocrity. And I donāt think we will.
Iāll share a couple of my thoughts on some of the guys on the list that was posted.
Luke Murrayāheās definitely a name that Iām pretty surprised hasnāt been floated for more head coaching positions across the country, but surely itās going to be popping up more soon? I love UConnās scheme and their players and play sets. If he could somehow bring that same scheme to Virginia Iād love it.
But I know with that scheme, youāre going to have to sacrifice some things on defense, because of the constant motion on the offensive side of the ball. It is a thing of beauty to watch. And letās be honest here, if the guy can put up with Danny Hurley, heās got to be mentally tough. Heās certainly an intriguing option. Itās always tough to tell if an assistant has the stuff to be a head coach. But I know that Murray is a critical ingredient to their success. Heās also very young, which is fantastic. We need a younger coach who wants to stay here for a long time, ideally. Iām kind of curious as to why I havenāt heard Murray or Kimani Anthonyās names pop up in head coaching searches in recent years? Maybe because they arenāt interested? Or UConn/Hurley just making sure they are well paid and heās keeping his staff together. Regardless, Murray and Kimani Anthony are very intriguing options to look into/research/etc. That scheme is amazing basketball and itās really beautiful to watch. If we were somehow able to run a scheme like that in JPJ I might weep tears of joy in my seats. Not even kidding. Anyways, not sure of the likelihood of Murray leaving Hurley, but a very, very intriguing option.
TJ Otzelberger would be incredible. That buyout is likely too steep. I was very intrigued in him until I saw that buyout. It looks like he and Tony Bennett are pretty close because of their Wisconsin ties. He really excites me a lot. But the likelihood of that happening appear to be very slim. If the buyout werenāt there, heād be very interesting. And I guess if a big time donor were somehow able to pony up that kind of buyout money itād be interesting, but just seems too risky to pay that kind of a buyout and then see if things workout here.
Ritchie McKayāIāve got a lot of love for Ritchie McKay. I really do. And I think looking at these past few years, people are starting to appreciate people like Ritchie McKay more. Because they kept Tony in check in a lot of ways and helped him to make better decisions with lineups, etc. There had to be somebody keeping him in check. I love Ritchie McKay for a lot of reasons because he was even more important for us than people realize. But, I donāt want him as our new coach. I wish him all the success in the world at Liberty though. Ritchie did so much for us, more than a lot of fans will ever appreciate. He was such a critical aspect to our run and dominance.
Jason Williford. Donāt want him as a head coach for a number of reasons. For one, I donāt think heās head coach material. And thatās perfectly fine. There are plenty of coaches that arenāt. Williford has done some exceptional things as an assistant here over the years with our big guys. And he was very important to our success. But I have a lot of questions about his motivation these past few years. I donāt have any sort of inside info or anything, itās just the growth of our bigs seems to have grown stagnant.
So, Iām not sure if heās just swimming through the motions or what, but it sure feels that way with the product out on the floor. I also didnāt appreciate his response after the VT blowout in Blacksburg. Laughing it off. And itās not the end of the world, but, as a competitor, I expect a better response.
It was the biggest ACC loss in Tonyās tenure here. I didnāt find it very funny. Nor did our fan base. Nor should they. And losses are inevitably going to happen. I just think if there was something truly special about Williford it would have materialized in some way or fashion with this yearās team. Right now, weāre looking pretty mediocre. And thatās putting it nicely. So, Williford is an easy no for me.
I think we need to go outside of the Bennett coaching tree and bring in someone with fresh, innovative ideas. Bucky McMillan is a really exciting name that would be completely different from TB in a lot of ways. A lot of teams across the country are going to be after him. His price tag will probably jump. Not quite sure how much the University is willing to spend. He could get expensive. And would he want to move here?
Ryan Odomāno way. Absolutely not. I definitely donāt want that guy. Too much PTSD from UMBC. And itās great his dad coached at UVA. But no. No way. I think a lot of our fans would not want him simply because of the UMBC PTSD. And quite frankly. Can you blame them? I donāt. Easy, no on Odom.
And there are plenty of high-quality candidates on that list that would do a great job here. I hope we truly leave no stone unturned in the process.
And maybe thereās no way it could ever happen, but what about just reaching out to Kyle Guy and talking to him about some of the best coached teams in the leagues/games that he played in overseas? I mean, those guys play in some of the most hostile environments on planet Earth. It looks absolutely incredible.
Cameron Indoor would be nothing to them. Places like Serbia especially. But Guy just played in Europe for a number of years and I hope we at least kick the tires with him about great coaches in Europe that we could consider. Maybe even somebody in the FIBA ranks. It doesnāt seem like a common move, but, could work out beautifully. They could pull in guys like the Bosnian sharpshooter coming on Jan. 4.
And Iām willing to bet there would be immigration hurdles and maybe have to pay to relocate the family and things of that nature. But, itād totally be worth it. And surely the University would have enough connections to streamline that process, if it were an actual possibility. Ideally, Iād love to get somebody in their 40s that wants to be here at minimum for 10 years. Honestly 15-20 would be ideal.
Anyways those are just ideas I wanted to toss out there. It couldnāt hurt. I havenāt studied enough European coaches to know off the top of my head, but like I said, Guy has to know some good ones. Would be the perfect person to ask right now. Just a thought. Need to leave no stone unturned.
Iām not exactly sure if we have a GM for UVA basketball yet but hopefully thatās something they at least consider soon. With all of the salaries/salary cap management and stuff. You really need someone focusing solely on the cap and scouting players all the time. Donāt need anybody taking classes or anything on top of it.
And hiring somebody in terms of self scouting/scouting tendency department seems like something that should be high on the list. Somebody like Cuts would be great at that. Not real sure whatās holding them back from utilizing him.
Somebody like a Cuts, or even Jordan Sperber of Mississippi State, would be a great addition to the staff. Heās loyal to Jans. Not real sure how much they pay him, but Sperber is really, really good at what he does. Heās one of the best. Whatever money he commands, heās worth it. His YouTube videos speak for themselves. And Miss State is 9-1 right now.
And Iāve mentioned him before but Damin Altizer as head of player development would be a perfect fit. Heāll have to click with whoever the new coach is. But Altizer is one of the best in the business at what he does. I love him. Heās one of the brightest basketball minds and heās right in our backyard. Weāve already used him over the years, but we need to at least ask him if he wants to take more of a full-time assistant role with UVA at some point. Heās incredible at what he does. Former Wahoo.
I mean, thereās nobody Iād rather have. I hope we at least consider trying to get him on the staff. But that could be tricky with a new coach. Regardless of who the hire is, I know heāll be helping us. Maybe he doesnāt want to work in college basketball full-time. Or maybe heād need a big bump in salary due to the way his business is structured.
Whatever the money is, that guy is worth it. Iāve seen enough. And heās been such a big part of our success over the years. There is nobody Iād rather have help lead us into the fire. Altizer is exceptional at what he does. Thereās a reason guys like Ty Jerome and all the others worked with him so much over the years. The man has a gift. And maybe he would need a special role to where he didnāt have to hit the road and recruit all the time. Whatever sort of a special case/situation the University needed to develop for him. Itād be worth crafting that up for him. Heās the very best. And Iāll always love him for what heās done for some of our best players over the years. More than anything, heās the best at what he does.
Anyways, sorry for the long post. But I just wanted to toss those ideas in there. It canāt hurt.
Wade
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