Jerry Lindquist: Ryan Odom hire at UVA brings back memories of his dad's tenure

Monday marked the return of the memory man, the 80-something-year-old, OLD timer who lives pretty much in the past, when life was good and not complicated by college athletes making extraordinary amounts of money … all free agents, with no salary cap … in other words, more pro than the pros. 

The occasion was Ryan Odom’s formal introduction as men’s basketball coach at the University of Virginia, which included  cheerleaders and a band that greeted his arrival to John Paul Jones Arena, the state-of-the-art home of Hoos' hoops, with a sudden pounding of drums that startled his father, standing nearby.

No complaints, mind you. Dave Odom, 82, was just happy to be there. A year ago he suffered a heart attack. “Almost bought it,” he said.

The memory man knew Dave before there was Ryan, but it wasn’t until he joined Terry Holland’s staff at U.Va. that he came to appreciate Dave Odom as one of the all-time good guys. Never mind his knack for getting the best out of players, in some cases prodding them to greatness (Wake Forest All-American Tim Duncan, for example).

(We’ll leave the tennis matches for another time. The ones in which Odom and Jim Larranaga, another Holland assistant, became a weekly mark for a tandem of writers led by Kevin Record. But, be advised, it was the kind of fun no longer part of the sports landscape. And, a pity it is.) 

Anyhow, if you came to Ryan Odom’s coming-out party expecting to learn something more than how happy he was to be there, blah-blah-blah, you left disappointed. In other words, a typical first appearance ... other than reminiscing about an early childhood in Charlottesville, occasionally at the knee (literally) of Ralph Sampson.

“I’m so excited. He knows his business, that’s for sure,” said a friend whose son went to grade school with Ryan, now 50. “And he talks too much … like his dad. He always talked too long.”

It is, of course, part of the Odoms’ charm … except Ryan remains on guard. So, when he was asked if any of the holdover players from a team that finished 15-17 were planning to leave, Odom said, “We’ll see. We haven’t really started our meetings yet.”

There have been rumors you will bring one, possibly two, players with you from VCU. Both have entered the portal, after all. “Again … we’ll see,” he said.

One thing that's for sure, Longwood coach Griff Aldrich will come aboard as associate head coach, He and Ryan Odom are long-time good friends.

Native Richmonder Jason Williford, a former Cavalier star who had been an assistant coach at his alma mater for 16 years, is said to be a potential candidate to replace Odom at VCU.

Odom told the assembled that he met with Tony Bennett, who gained iconic status by becoming the school’s winningest coach – including its only national championship – only to quit without warning a few weeks before the 2024-25 campaign, saying he no longer felt he was the right man for the job made suddenly so difficult by NIL.

“Honestly, he said, ‘Just enjoy this place … I’m excited for you … because this place has meant so much to me and my family,” Odom said. “He’s so confident in this place and its people.”

Surely, you discussed why he played so … ahh, cautiously while you intend to install an up-style, more modern approach?

“Yeah, we want to get up and down the floor, but want to play balanced basketball, too. He said, ‘Be yourself.’ He played winning basketball is what he played to me. Watching him coach [and] manage a game was something special.”

Nevertheless, the game got to Bennett, like it did to Larranaga who, we’re told, thought about walking away when holdovers from his Final Four team asked for more money or they would go somewhere (anywhere?) that would.

“It’s part of the challenge now … that you have to be OK with,” Odom said. “Connecting a team … being part of a player’s life … is so important. You are not going to have 100% retention.  It is what it is in this day and age. 

“The key is … you can’t have a revolving door. So, our goal is to help our kids grow and, when you win, a lot of times good things happen.”

Watching Odom’s father, sitting in the front row, reacting to what Ryan said during the mid-afternoon hour-plus he was on stage … the memory man was reminded of what could have been, when Dave Odom came that close to being coach of the Hoos.

Prior to his last season (1989-90) as coach, Terry Holland tried to get athletic director Jim Copeland to commit to Odom as his successor. It was was one of two times Holland, bound for Davidson as athletic director at his alma mater, attempted to hand-pick a replacement.

Holland also pushed Rick Barnes, then at Providence College, and currently in charge of Tennessee’s bid for a national championship. 

Both times Copeland said “no” although, as it turned out, Barnes would accept an offer to come to Charlottesville only to change his mind in a bizarre turn of events that he later denied.

“That was a difficult time … especially for Terry,” Odom recalled Monday. “I still to this day don’t know what [Copeland’s] reluctance was. He wasn’t against me. I think ... it was more he wanted to let Terry know he was still the AD … and he probably would have been OK with it had he had time to go through the process.

“But he didn’t have time because Wake Forest was waiting for me the next day. It went quick. It wasn’t long, drawn out like a lot of them. My first year there I made $25,000 … and happy to get it.”

Jeff Jones eventually succeeded Holland, who returned five years later as AD to replace Copeland, who left for SMU. Jones was among the familiar faces to welcome Ryan Odom, who once worked for JJ at American University. Copeland and Holland both have passed away.

This article has been corrected to reflect that Griff Aldrich previously coached at Longwood University.

For more on the Odoms, father and son, and their somewhat unique relationship when it comes to basketball, check Jerry Lindquist’s blog