Everything From Head Basketball Coach Ryan Odom In His Media Availability

Virginia won’t be back on the hardwood until Saturday when they host No.22 North Carolina at home. After a stellar week on the road for the Hoos they return home as the No.14 ranked team. Head coach Ryan Odom talked to the media ahead of the big time matchup on Saturday.

On Virginia basketball poise after 13 lead changes against SMU….

“Yeah, it was a huge win for us on the road. You know, it's tough to get wins on the road, especially in conference. We have a ton of respect for SMU. We knew it was going to be a physical game and a hard fought game. Our guys kind of stayed together throughout the game. We had some runs and had to make some big plays down the stretch. Get the key stop at the end, that was huge for us to escape with a win. But just really proud of the guy's effort overall in the entirety of the game.”

On Malik Thomas development and evolution…

“I always go back to the defense with Malik. I think that's one of his biggest areas of improvement. He's shooting the ball much better. His catching shoots are on the uptick right now. When he has some room and rhythm there, he's confident in his shot. He's also shooting the turn a little bit better, which is good for us and for him. But, again, it goes back to our defense has taken a jump because his individual defense has taken a jump.”

On if the preparation changes with Virginia not playing until Saturday…

“A little bit, yeah. We'll have Wednesday off this coming week leading up. We had a day off yesterday. Much needed when you travel like that and you're in prep mode and these games are physical and mentally draining. It's good to have a bye week. For us, we're going to utilize it to the best of our abilities and try to improve this week without wearing them down. I want to make sure that they have fresh minds and fresh legs.”

On preaching improvement and growth despite the success…

“I think success is never final, you know. I think these guys have big goals and, you goals and want to have an overall successful season. You can't stop. You have to keep going. The teams that continue to grow and improve during the season will have a better chance to advance once the tournament begins.”

On the North Carolina and Virginia game and the environment…

“I think it's going to be a tremendous environment. We're so excited for Coach Bennett and his family, the impact that he's made, certainly on the players that he coached and the staff that worked so hard to put Virginia basketball in such a great position nationally to win a national championship. The impact that he and Laurel and his family have had on the students at Virginia, the community here, the impact that they continue to have on the community here is just really special. I know we're all thankful to be a part of it, and we're excited to be able to celebrate with them on Saturday.”

On how to gameplan to stop North Carolina….

“We're just going to have to do our best. No different than we do in any other game. They provide, you know, a stiff challenge. (Caleb)Wilson's tremendous. You know, one of the best freshmen in the country. And certainly, you know, we'll be playing in the NBA. You know, in space, he's really tough to deal with. He can make hard shots. I think their offense is excellent. You know, their defense has been really good this season. The balance of the two has been there for them. So their metrics are still there. You know, so I'm confident in their team and certainly their coaching and, you know, looking forward to getting on the court with them.”

On communication with Coach Tony Bennett and their relationship….

“I mean, he texted me after the Louisville game, you know, the other day. And certainly I always want his advice. He knows this place and this program and the ACC better than me. I know he's been very supportive, you know, of the team so far. While keeping his distance, he doesn't want to overstep. I appreciate that. He wants me to, you know me to have space to do it. At the same time, I've got thick skin. I love his advice on occasion, and he's been really good with that.”

On the advice Coach Bennett has told him…

“I think one actually was stay healthy, you know, which is actually a good – it's really good advice, you know. I think part of being healthy is making sure that your guys do have fresh minds and fresh legs, you know, as you go into games. Because as coaches, you try to fix everything, you know, as best you can. When you see little things pop up, you want to fix it right away so it doesn't hurt you. Sometimes the mental side and just their overall feel of where their body is at, you know, is really important. So, you know, that's a good bit of advice there.”

On the sold out crowd at Virginia basketball this weekend…

“I think just focus on the game plan and just the present. You know, enjoying the moment, but not allowing the moment to get too big. You know, this is just the next game on our schedule, and there certainly will be, you know a lot of eyes on this one, but you know that's why all these guys came here you know they wanted to play in big games. We certainly just played two in a row you know on the road all of our conference games are huge you know when you're jockeying for position you know in the league and you're only playing teams one time you know for the most part. You want to put your best foot forward in each game. This group has been really good at focusing on the task at hand and what's right in front of them.”

On the back to back games and the atmosphere on the road…

“I think everybody loves to play on the road. There's no question about it. I mean, you love to play in front of your own fans as well. But there's something about going on the road and coming out victorious that makes it special. It builds toughness. You know, it gives you confidence, going forward that, you know, you can win in different environments when maybe the odds are stacked against you a little bit. So each experience that we have together hopefully will strengthen this group. So we'll lean on that heavily.”

On what jumps out about North Carolina…

“Whenever you're playing Carolina, you have to worry about their speed in transition. I mean, they've always had one of the best, you know, transition offenses in the history of college basketball. Much like Louisville in our preparation for that game, if you don't do a really good job there, it's probably not going to get much further. So we've got to make sure that we're doing a great job of getting our defense set on every possession and trying to force as many hard shots as we can and then being as efficient as we can offensively and passing the ball and moving it and doing the things that we do.”

On the memories and impressions of the North Carolina-Virginia rivalry….

“Great games, you know, all throughout the series. You know, my personal memories are, you know, I can remember in University Hall, I was a ball boy, you know, throwing the ball back to, ball back to Michael Jordan, Kenny Smith, Jeff Lebo. One of my craziest memories was, I think it was right, the three-point line had just been added several years before. I think Carolina had stolen the ball, and Jeff Lebo was ahead. And we had one player back on defense near the rim, and he stopped and he shot a three, you know, on the break. Which back then you would never really do that. I remember as a kid going, man, that's pretty cool. I'd love to do that. But some great history, obviously great coaches, you know, both programs certainly this will be another opportunity for Virginia and Carolina to get together.”

On important the rebounding battle will be….

“Yeah, it'll be huge. It's always huge for us. You know, if we can, you know, defend at a high level and corral rebounds, it helps a lot of things. You know, it helps our offense, you know, in transition. It certainly helps our defense, you know, in terms of keeping others from scoring. So fouling limits the fouls because a lot of times offensive rebounds end up in fouls. And so it's an important part of the game. There's no doubt about it.

Full press conference

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