Checking in on UVa's basketball search---
Not a ton of new information to report, really. Things are quiet, and we anticipate that being the case. Don't expect a ton of flight tracking and so on in the days to come, unless something changes. UVa's administration seemingly did most or all of the leg work ahead of the end of the season, and at this point, the hay might be in the barn. We've heard that some candidates have been told that they won't be getting the job, or aren't the expected choice, which usually means, at this stage, that UVa has made a decision or at a minimum, is down to a couple of folks and they know one of them will accept.
The only name with significant buzz the last couple days is VCU's Ryan Odom, who was basically at the top of yesterday's hot board. VCU opens A-10 Tournament play tomorrow, and with either make the NCAA Tournament or will be squarely on the bubble on Selection Sunday should they fail to win their conference. UVa won't announce anything until the candidate's season is done, as is customary in these situations. Some folks (not people we've spoken to, but just folks on social media) seem to think this one might be all but wrapped up, but we haven't heard that yet. The signs seem to point to Odom, especially since NC State seems to be going in a different direction in their search, targeting Will Wade (McNeese State) and Justin Gainey (Assistant at Tennessee). Villanova is the only other obvious hurdle; the Wildcats play tonight, and if they lose head coach Kyle Neptune could be out and soon; Odom could be a candidate there, but that remains to be seen, and he may well be off the market to UVa at this point. We'll see.
Grand Canyon head coach Bryce Drew, who was the top mid-major option outside of the favorites on the hot board, is a name that has been thrown around a bit. Drew was successful at Valparaiso before an unsuccessful three-year run at Vanderbilt, and now has turned Grand Canyon into a perennial NCAA Tournament contender in the last few years. Grand Canyon won a first round game last year, and played Alabama close in the second round. It seems like UVa did their homework on Drew in case they missed out on a guy or two at the top of the board, and until we hear that Odom is out of the mix, we probably don't need to entertain this one too much. The same goes for Richard Pitino at this point, who seems to be out of the race, or at least not UVa's top choice.
Not a ton of new information to report, really. Things are quiet, and we anticipate that being the case. Don't expect a ton of flight tracking and so on in the days to come, unless something changes. UVa's administration seemingly did most or all of the leg work ahead of the end of the season, and at this point, the hay might be in the barn. We've heard that some candidates have been told that they won't be getting the job, or aren't the expected choice, which usually means, at this stage, that UVa has made a decision or at a minimum, is down to a couple of folks and they know one of them will accept.
The only name with significant buzz the last couple days is VCU's Ryan Odom, who was basically at the top of yesterday's hot board. VCU opens A-10 Tournament play tomorrow, and with either make the NCAA Tournament or will be squarely on the bubble on Selection Sunday should they fail to win their conference. UVa won't announce anything until the candidate's season is done, as is customary in these situations. Some folks (not people we've spoken to, but just folks on social media) seem to think this one might be all but wrapped up, but we haven't heard that yet. The signs seem to point to Odom, especially since NC State seems to be going in a different direction in their search, targeting Will Wade (McNeese State) and Justin Gainey (Assistant at Tennessee). Villanova is the only other obvious hurdle; the Wildcats play tonight, and if they lose head coach Kyle Neptune could be out and soon; Odom could be a candidate there, but that remains to be seen, and he may well be off the market to UVa at this point. We'll see.
Grand Canyon head coach Bryce Drew, who was the top mid-major option outside of the favorites on the hot board, is a name that has been thrown around a bit. Drew was successful at Valparaiso before an unsuccessful three-year run at Vanderbilt, and now has turned Grand Canyon into a perennial NCAA Tournament contender in the last few years. Grand Canyon won a first round game last year, and played Alabama close in the second round. It seems like UVa did their homework on Drew in case they missed out on a guy or two at the top of the board, and until we hear that Odom is out of the mix, we probably don't need to entertain this one too much. The same goes for Richard Pitino at this point, who seems to be out of the race, or at least not UVa's top choice.
