Everything From Head Basketball Coach Ryan Odom In His Monday Media Availability

Virginia will be back in action tomorrow night against Florida State on the road. Their head coach talked to the media on Monday. Here is all he had to say in his availability.

On his team settling down and took control over the game…

“Just the grittiness that our guys played with. We certainly weren't perfect in either game, but I thought the guys just played the game as it came, and you know, did their best to try to go on little mini runs and try to get out of some situations that were a little bit tough. It is really competitive. ACC play is going to be competitive, and I thought our guys did a nice job.”

On the mindset to have the defense play more efficiently against Syracuse….

“I think trying to get them further away from the basket, I think, was the biggest thing. Not allowing them to get so close and have clean looks near the rim. I thought the point of screen defense was much better in the second half. Um, you know, the bigs did a nice job. The protection in the gaps was really good. It just allowed us to get better contests.”

On what works during tight games….

“A lot of times we just say something simple as, you know, it's not meant to be easy. You know, life's not life. You know, life's meant to be hard and challenging, and the teams and the people, the individuals that persevere and figure things out and don't make excuses, you know, usually have the success that they want. I think our guys are committed to one another. They're committed to figuring it out when they get in those situations, and thankfully, we've been able to do that more than not.”

On where the team has improved most from the initial ACC game until now….

“I think the defense has gotten better. I think clearly that's the biggest area where we've improved. The rebounding, you know, in particular, the defensive rebounding has really picked up. I think that's four or five in a row where it's, you know, you're in the 25% range or below. Uh, which is a big improvement for us. The offensive rebounding has continued to be an important part of our game. We haven't shot it as well as we're capable of shooting it. Hopefully, that's a good sign. We'll, you know, continue to work as long as we keep taking the right shots, you know, we're confident that they'll go down.”

On if shots and percentage have dipped some and if he wants it back at the level it was before….

“Yeah, there's no question. We always want to make shots. The key is just continuing to practice each day and making sure that we're ready. Taking the right shots is key.”

On Ugonna Onyenso…..

“It's huge. I mean, it's a big reason why our two-point field goal percentage defense is one of the better ones in the country. And you know he's a big part of that. the length that he has, the timing that he has in and around the rim. I would include you know Johann in that as well. We have two guys that are, you know, excellent, you know, in that regard.”

On Sam Lewis….

“I think he's improving his ball handling and his passing. I think that's an area that he wants to see growth in. I think, you know, his playing in pick and roll down the line is going to be, you know, an area of strength for him as he continues to work at it and has more opportunities there. But clearly, his ability in transition, you know, to finish plays and then, you know, his shooting on the offensive side of the ball are really important for this team. His competitiveness and his defense you know, really began to take off.”

On the Florida State Seminoles…..

“I told the team they're playing as well as anybody in the ACC right now going into this game, you know, three straight ACC wins on the road, at home. They shoot the ball really well from the outside. High volume threes, but they also are really good at finding twos. They're extremely fast in transition, and so we'll have to get our defense set, you know in this particular game or any game. Down at Florida State is always a tough place to play. So we know we're going to have to play our best to win.”

On why he decided to take a trip to Nashville and play in a different environment this weekend….

“We just felt like it was an important game once the ACC gave us those two games back. We felt it was important to challenge ourselves, and you know, because you never know where you're going to be at that point in the season. You want to make sure you have quality wins, you know, or opportunities, I guess, is a better way to put it. You know, quality opportunities to put yourself in a good position for an NCAA tournament birth. This game certainly will be an important one.”

On how a neutral site game prepares a team for a tourney-like atmosphere…

“I think it does. You see different styles, you know, and I think playing a team that you know is one of the premier programs in the country will be beneficial for us. The Big 10's an awesome league, and you know, Ohio State's having a good year, so it's going to be, you know, a big challenge. We haven't really watched them a ton at this point, but you know we're all in these big conferences now, and so when you're playing teams only once in a year, that's really what you're doing anyway. You know, when you get ready for the NCAA tournaments, gone are the days of eight teams in a conference where you play everybody twice. So we're all in a way prepping, you know, for that NCA tournament, you know, postseason opportunity anyway.”

On the preparation change from a team in conference compared to a team out of conference….

“Honestly, not really. I mean, it's just you put your best foot forward in every game that you play, and you try to figure out what's going to give your team the best chance to, you know, be successful in that particular game. What can you take away from that team? How can you exploit some of their weaknesses, and then you just go play.”

On biggest teaching points from Syracuse game….

“I think you know the first half defensively, we weren't at our best. They were shooting 58%, I think, from two overall, and that's not going to cut it, you know, over the course of the rest of the season. I think just getting quality contests, better at the point of the screen, getting our defense set, you know, in terms of transition defense, there were several plays where we made some mistakes, and that's been the last couple of games, we've had a few of those. To hold two straight teams to the numbers that they were at, I think it was a pretty positive sign.

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