Unless there are viable options out there more exciting than a Ryan Odom type then Iād prefer to give Sanchez and staff the opportunity to continue the Bennett legacy rather than start over from scratch with an entirely new identity. If Sanchez isnāt great then we can make a new hire in a few years. Ideally would like to see Tony stay involved with the AD in some capacity for this plan as well.
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Lock
Clinging onto legacies is how you end up like Nebraska in football. I want the best coach available, I donāt think we should be precious about continuing the pack line or anything.
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RONCHEZ!!!
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I believe he wanted to hang it up at the end of last season. Remember when all of the scuttle was going around about him retiring? The return of Sanchez!! I believe that Ron S, UVA and Tony Bennett knew this was coming and planned according so the program did not tank overnight. Image Sanchez taking over with a blown-out roster this season. He would have a very short tenure and no chance for success.
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Iād prefer to see if Sanchez can jumpstart us back into national relevancy by having a good upcoming season and then retaining the roster and staff. If he fails then we hire the best coach available in the next 3ish years.
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PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE donāt go the Boland route.
- Make menās tennis (basketball) relevant and win natties.
- Quit.
- Take the Baylor job a few years later.
- Resign over āallegations that he sent inappropriate messages to a student who had hoped to join Baylorās womenās team.ā
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That would be my preference too, Iām very impatient. Weāll know pretty quickly if heās the guy I think. Tough non-con to leave your successor, Tonyā¦ If Sanchez doesnāt keep it together this year though, all the players will hit the portal and we might as well bring in someone new.
Also I would be relatively excited about Odom!
Regarding candidates to replace Tony, letās all remember that we never heard the name Tony Bennett as a candidate until the day he was announced as Leitaoās replacement. Athletic Departments do their best to hide the identity of their top candidates. I know a former member of the BOV who got a list of candidates to replace Jeff Jones from Terry Holland the day before Gillen was named Coach. Gillen was not one the names Holland mentioned to the BOV member.
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Letting Carla select the new coach is how you end up like Louisville 2023-4 in basketball.
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Iād be perfectly happy with Ryan Odom. But hypothetically, letās say Sanchez gets us to bubble team status this season. Maybe we make it, maybe not, but we donāt win a tournament game either way. However he also retains the roster and coaching staff. Iād still bring Sanchez back in that scenario and see if he could cash in on the roster and coaching continuity. Seems like thatās probably a minority opinion?
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Sorry if I missed it amongst the hundreds of posts but is there any live media coverage of this 11 a.m. event? Radio? TV?
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Carla interviewing new coaches: āDo you hate guard play? I hate guard play. Do you promise to not recruit any guards? Only non-ballhandling wings and bigs? And if you do recruit a guard, at least make sure heās totally erratic.ā
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Wasnāt Tony the reigning national coach of the year at this point prior to his hire?
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I think he had an NIT team that year. I believe it was the year before that.
Yeah but it would have been before the NIT season if weāre talking about a hire at the end of this year.
First Iāve seen this. Stay for the Mark Few reaction in the last second, Lol! Mark Few was all of us!
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One things to keep in mind is that while Sanchez will be in an auditioning role this season and under a lot of pressure to deliver, if he does deliver and he has the support of the players, who represent what everyone believes could be a special team in 25-26, it will be Ron who has all the leverage next spring.
In that scenario, Ron likely ends up with other quality head coaching options and our roster is almost certain to be gutted if he doesnāt get the gig, with players going with him or leaving based on their unhappiness with him not getting the job.
Anyway, big picture, if Ron has a good year and the kids are behind him, thereās zero doubt in my mind that heāll be the guy.
Now those are big āifsā for sure, but the idea that we need to have a national search regardless is pretty naive. Itās not that simple.
How long does Carla stay in role?
Has she been a successful leader?
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