I went to several games when Holland was the coach. My mama loved him. He was a kind gentle man who was easy to talk to. Pretty funny too. Im looking for some pictures i have that have Mama and Coach Holland both in it. Thanks for the memories Coach. Rest in peace
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John Feinsteinās article about Coach Holland today in the WP is the first time Iāve seen a quote from Coach K admitting that his āthey played Sampson 40 minutesā claim from the 1983 game was wrong.
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100% they do something for him tomorrow, right?
Outside blowing out Clemson
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He was truly a good man. The 1976 ACC Tournament remains one of my greatest memories of UVA sports.
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I didnāt realize Coach Holland was only like 47 when he stopped coaching. Amazing coachā¦itās natural heāll always be connected to Ralph, but the program had quite a bit of success during those years even without #50.
Iām sure there will be something done/said at the game tonightā¦wonder if Anne will be there.
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So good. I still cant believe Coach is gone. One of those people you just always thought would be around
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Damn, Seth. Think I got something in my eye.
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My Aunt lived in Fayetteville NC and actually dated Terry Holland before he was married. She said he was the most kind man she had ever met ā¦
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People forget that Terry Holland took a lot of grief ā especially on Grounds ā during the Sampson era. (It was my era, too). Ralph was dominant player back when big men could carry a team, and the expectation was that weād win at least one national championship, probably more. So despite Virginiaās remarkable success during that time, many people saw the team as underachievers, and some even called for Holland to be replaced.
I was literally an amateur armchair child at the time, and wondered myself whether Holland was a good strategist. (Iāve since been corrected by people who know more.) But even when doubting his ability, I was thrilled to have him represent the school because he embodied everything that the University of Virginia strove to stand for. I thought that was more important than just wins and losses.
I still do. I was so glad to hear Tony pay tribute to him. There are so many similarities there.
RIP, Coach Holland. And thanks for being such a memorable part of my four years at UVa.
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Yeah, the story was āHow could you have Ralph for four years and get to only one Final Four?ā (And it wasnāt just Ralph, either, those were dominant teams.) Othellās injury derailed our best chance. The randomness of March has always made it a bad measuring stick for a coach.
Terry deserves credit for building up the program to the point that recruiting Ralph was even possible. And after Ralph left, we dropped back down into the doldrums for a couple years, and he brought us right back again before handing Jeff a program in great shape.
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It is so hard to even get to a Final Four, for sure
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Iām glad message boards and social media werenāt around in 1988, because Iāve always thought Terry would have caught some undeserved heat from the fans going into that 1988-89 season.
1985 was a tough season where we didnāt make the NCAAT after the Final 4 the year before. 1986 & 1987 we were upset in the 1st round. 1988 was a bad season where we finished with a losing record.
Obviously 1989 turned out very well with the Elite 8, but going into that season Iām sure there would have been a vocal section of the fan base questioning if we should move on, if there had been a forum to do so publicly.
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Enter Bryant Stith 1988!
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