Everything That Ryan Odom Said In His Monday Media Availability

Virginia head basketball coach Ryan Odom spoke to the media ahead of the matchup on Tuesday against Wake Forest. The Cavaliers suffered a tough loss to the Duke Blue Devils who are the No.1 team in the country on Saturday. Coach Odom talked about how the team can turn the page. Here is all he had to say.

On the adjustments with a quick turnaround…

“There are always tactical adjustments. Uh, certainly we're always trying to refine our game and make sure that our guys feel good about their games. Coming off a tough loss like that, you know, my biggest job as their coach was to make sure that they don't lose their confidence. Also, remind them you know why they've put themselves in such a good position because they are good. Why have we been good and just reminding them you know all the reasons why?”

On learning from previous coaching stops…

“Yeah, I mean, everywhere I've coached, quite honestly, it's not just UNMBC. Utah State, we had multiple, you know, times over the course of two years. Even VCU, uh, Lenoir Rhyne, you know, as well. So, you know, it's all part of basketball and competitive sports. You're going to run up against some teams that are playing extremely well. We know Duke's excellent, and there's no shame in losing in Cameron Indoor Stadium. We wanted to play better, and we didn't, and they played exceptionally well. And so, you know, for us, uh, you know, it's about turning the page, learning from it, and moving on to the next thing. The next thing for us is to get prepared for a really good Wake Forest team.”

On if the shot selection is what he wanted…

“We missed some open ones early in the game. There's no question about it. You know, the first 15 minutes of the game. Uh, but we also took a couple of rush ones. Uh, against a stout defense like that, you have to take it when it's there.

If you wait, it'll get harder later on, and that happened to us a couple of times, but you know, you go back and look at it. We missed some shots that we've normally been making. And, uh, they were making their shots. I mean, they were seven for 11 with five minutes to go in the half, and we were two for 14 or something like that.

That's not a recipe for success. And in those moments, our defense, you know, when we haven't shot it as well over the course of the season, our defense has been there to keep us in it. In this particular game, it wasn't. We've got to make sure that that doesn't happen again.”

On how to keep the confidence high after a deflating loss…

“Yeah, I mean, you turn the page. You make sure that these guys understand that they've done a great job so far this season. We're 25-4 now, you know, at the top of the conference and uh have a chance to finish really strong uh and have two really important games, you know, prior to heading into the conference tournament and then obviously the NCAA tournament after that. This is a good basketball team that we have here at UVA, and we want to make sure that we finish strong.”

On Wake Forest basketball….

“Wake Forest is an excellent team. They're really, really good on offense. They spread you out. They don't play a traditional center which can pose problems, you know, for any team that they're playing against, because they really spread you out and can drive it and can shoot it. Juke Harris is one of the best scorers in our conference. Myles Colvin is coming off an excellent game as well. It's going to be a tough matchup. There's no question about it. We're looking forward to getting back on the court.”

On the senior class for UVA…

“Yeah, just great character. A group that came in with a desire to get to know Virginia and do their best for this school and for the program. They're certainly a foundational team for our staff, being in our first year. So we're really thankful, you know, for these guys and and uh them making the choice to come be a part of this and I'm really, really pleased. We couldn't be more pleased with the way it's turned out.”

On what makes Juke Harris tough to guard…

“He can shoot from behind the arc, you know, deep, and he also is strong getting to the basket. You know, he's a physical driver. He's just a tough matchup, you know, all around.”

On what needs to happen defensively to come out with a win..

“Yeah, we've got to get back. We've got to get our defense set. We've got to crash the glass offensively better than we have in recent games. Um, and try to clean up some of our misses. Defensively, you have to contest, and it's got to be five against the ball, and we've got to make sure that we're coming up with 50/50 balls and doing all the things that you have to do to win tight games. That'll help us, you know, the better our defense is and the better we play on that side of the ball, that will help our offense as well in terms of getting us out, you know, in transition and going.