This will be the official in-season thread for all discussion of potential men’s basketball head coach candidates. The hope is that we’ll keep the topic in this thread for the most part, since not everyone is a fan of it.
Have at it!
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Ron Sanchez
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You have no idea what you’ve just done to me.
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If Tony Bennett had stepped down last Spring, I think the only guys who changed jobs that I would’ve had a positive feeling about were Dusty May, Kyle Smith, maybe Pat Kelsey and maybe Mark Byington.
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This should be a drinking game. Anytime someone thinks they’re adding a new candidate who has already been mentioned drink.
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I just drank
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I don’t envy Sanchez. I’m thinking he needs at least S16 to keep the job.
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I think we had all better hope that the “Interim” description is removed from Coach Sanchez’s title, and that he is the next head coach. If he remains, it would likely mean that the 2025 season was a moderate success. So far, the attrition hasn’t been that damaging WRT 2026. If Virginia enjoys some moderate success this year, and the staff can keep the roster reasonably intact, the future looks promising. If Sanchez is removed, I suspect that the program implodes as the roster evaporates before our eyes. Furthermore, I imagine the type of coach capable of a quick rebuild would not find UVa an attractive option, and that the slow rebuild dependent on player development is unlikely in today’s college environment. As I said, I think we better all hope that Coach Sanchez succeeds.
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Dawn Staley
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“You can’t stop the speculation, you can only hope to contain it”
~ HGN
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Mike Morrell, UNC Asheville
Mitch Henderson, Princeton
Speedy Claxton, Hofstra
DFresh, LRA (Mark Jerome as the assistant HC)
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I’ve been dranking since Tony’s retirement
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First calls, make them say no:
Mike Krzyzewski
Roy Williams
Jim Boeheim
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Yes we have!
I respect your opinions 73, but I don’t really understand the concerns. TB was certainly the most successful coach the program has had, but he is not the only successful coach. In relatively recent history Terry Holland and Jeff Jones had really good times in Charlottesville. Ron Sanchez seems to be more of a continuation of TBs coaching philosophy, but it is not the only way to run a successful program at UVa. Personally I think a continuation of stall offense is going to limit the potential of the program in this new era. It’s probably an unpopular opinion, but I think in the age of analytics favoring a barrage of three point shots, the pack line defense has shown itself to be very susceptible to hot shooting teams and has left us vulnerable in March tournaments. I think there is a lot of room to improve and adapt to the current environment. If Coach Sanchez can show some ability to make some necessary changes I am all for removing the interim label. But if it’s just more of the same in a less dynamic package I don’t know why we as a fanbase should fear change. I think there are some quality players on this team, so I think Coach Sanchez has a fair shot (and success honestly looks like making the tournament to me, not a S16). But if this is not working we should not keep him on just to keep the team from jumping ship. In today’s environment any new coach is going to bring a bunch of his players or transfers in anyway.
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Sweet 16, huh? LOL!
Our revered Hall of Fame coach who just stepped down managed to get three teams in 15 years to the Sweet 16. And what was our last Sweet 16 team before that? Off the top of my head I’m guessing 1995.
So that’s three Sweet 16s for UVa in the last 30 years, but you expect that’s the bar Ron has to clear to get the job …
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Yep. I don’t think it’s a fair expectation but he’s going to have to knock it out of the park to get the job. Conducting a national search for this job is Carla’s Super Bowl.
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Don’t think they’re saying that’s a reasonable goal. They’re saying that the AD is going to want to make her own hire after a full search and very likely doesn’t want to hire Sanchez. So Sanchez has to achieve something crazy this year to basically force her to hire him.
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Carla Williams won’t have the autonomy to make her own hire. That’s a fallacy.
Ron will certainly have to earn it, but his chances of getting the gig are being wildly underestimated.
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