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

Virginia has a big ACC battle coming up on Tuesday when they travel to face Louisville. Head coach Ryan Odom talked to the media on Monday ahead of the road matchup at the Yum Center. Here is everything he had to say.

Opening Statement….

“Yeah, I think the guys are just making improvements. The press has been effective in terms of taking the clock. The guys have just been more intentional with getting teams deeper into the their shot clock. Contests have been better and then the rebounding, you know, has improved. So when you put those different aspects together, you have a better chance to get a stop on a given possession. Less breakdowns I would say as well. you know, cleaner switches. Um, you know, when we need to switch. Then the multiple efforts have come into play as well. You know, you you're you're almost edged, you're beat a little bit, and then all of a sudden, our guys are are making the effort to get back into play.”

On Malik Thomas step forward defensively….

“Yeah, it's huge. I mean everybody wants you know Malik and and others to do well and certainly you know in that particular game (California) you know there were definitely strides made no doubt about it. He was playing at a much higher level much more intensity and ust less mistakes and even in the the Stanford game same thing and so we're excited for where he's at right now.”

On adjusting as more teams get film on Virginia….

“Yeah, you're always trying to improve and sometimes, you know, it's through your own film and your own evaluation, but it's also, like you said, what other teams do to you and and certainly we need to continue to get better on the offensive end. The way that wefinished the game the other day wasn't great. You're going to miss shots from time to time, but you know, trying to search for cleaner looks um you know, especially later in the game. The execution, you know, we're going to be in tight games and we have to be able to execute on both sides of the ball at key times.”

On how the bench is improving this season…

“They've done well. You know, I think we have a pretty deep bench. You know, even though Elijah and Martin didn’t get in the last game, they both had their moments. You know, there's no question about it. In the Cal game, Martin stepped in and and had some key minutes there for us at the end of the half and then even in the second half, I thought he did well and and Elijah certainly in the American game and some in Virginia Tech, you know, as well, made made some strides there. So, we're confident in these guys and and obviously, you know, Jacari (White), you know, he'll be back soon, so that'll be that'll be a good thing as well.”

On going against Lousiville….

“I think we've played similarly. I think they're faster than us, you know, in transition. They get it up quicker. Uh you know, they put it on you really fast. They're the fastest in the country, really in terms of getting to the three right away. And so, you know, they can beat you right there. If you're not on it, you know, right away, uh, it can be a long night. And so, it's going to be a big challenge, uh, for us. One of the keys is getting quality shots, on the offensive end, so that we can get into our press and begin to try to slow that as best we can.”

On the Stanford game and the adjustment to get cleaner looks….

“I think the guys just settled in a little bit. The defense picked up certainly in that second half. We were getting stops and so that run started with defense. Uh, and then we were able to get out, you know, and go in transition. The ball started moving. We started getting some clearer advantages. Uh, and then we're at our best when when we're playing basketball that way.”

On Sam Lewis back-to-back threes and unselfishness of the team…

“I think that's what they've been trained to do, and they all buy into it. They understand that the next guy if I have a solid shot and he has a great shot, well, we know which one we want, we want the great one. I think just the buyin has been there, you know, overall from our team. We're not going to be perfect at that, you know, like there's some going to be some times where we're going to shoot a challenged one and there might be a guy over there that's just the discernment that they're they're continuing to try to master, you know, every day that they come in and watch film, you know, from games or practice settings. It's just a constant battle to to to try to try to get better at it.”

On the defending against matchup of Mikel Brown, London Johnson, or Ryan Conwell, that could be a mix and match on Tuesday….

“It is a little bit complex you know to try to figure out. I think the best way to to attack it is just to plan as if they're playing and have the guys prepared, you know, if they're not as well. Ultimately it comes down to how we're playing and are we playing at our best level because we know it's going to take a really good effort, you know, to to beat Louisville on the road.”

On preparing to face a tough crowd on the road, and if there is a change in mentality….

“These guys have been in it, you know, before Texas was sold out. Really good crowd. You know, NC State was excellent in a big game. And, you know, I've heard great things about the Yum Center. I've heard it's one of the loudest in the country. As a player and a coach, you always want to play in those types of environments. It's our job to go in there and play well and compete hard and and do our best, but, uh, there's not really anything that we do, you know, outside in terms of bringing crowd noise into, you know, into practice or anything like that. You know, we just focus on the process and doing what we do.”

On how to make people uncomfortable when they have the ball…

“Yeah, I think you just have to get out on their shooters without fouling um and and get out and make sure that you're able to still be in gaps. You have to do both because they're really good at driving to the basket and finishing, you know, at the rim. They have multiple finishers, and so you can't just sell out to guarding the three because they'll kill you at two. So it's one of those games where you have to do both and you have to just make sure that the contest is is of high quality and then you finish with a rebound and while realizing that they're relentless, you know, in in the way that they offensive rebound and so it's going to be a big challenge even if we do force misses to come up with with the ball.”

On five different players hitting double figures against California and how that helps the team…

“I think it's been one of the strengths of this team, you know, the depth and not being able to key on one guy and say if we take this guy away, then you can beat Virginia. I think that's, you know, going to be important for us going forward. I think playing at different paces, you know, is in different numbers. you know, maybe it's a high number, being able to win at a high number, being able to win in a lower scoring game. That shows the mark of a quality team, you know, that you can respond to different situations. We're trying to, you know, begin to to to be that team that can win in a multitude of ways.”

On coaching in the ACC conference….

“It's been good so far. You know, obviously we've had, you know, a couple on the road, a couple at home, and now we're hitting a heavy road stretch here, which is not easy. We don't have an easy start, you know, relative to the rest of the conference, which is the way that it fell. And so, we've got to stand up here early and play well. It's a little bit different because there are so many teams in the conference and you know you're not playing everybody twice. You know you have one chance at each of these teams, and so you have to put everything into it and be ready, and certainly we know we have a big challenge coming up with Louisville here.”

On the early difficulties and having it early in conference play…

“I mean, you would rather have it more balanced. There's no question about it, you know, where you're at home a little bit more, to try to get your rhythm, but you know, that's just you play the schedule you're given. You can't worry about it. And the reasons that they put it this way or set it up this way. And so we have to just respond and can't complain about, you know, home road, whatever it is or who you're playing. It's just uh we have to handle our business.”

More Virginia Basketball News:

•The Good, Bad and Ugly of Virginia Basketball’s Victory Over Stanford

•Key Takeaways From Virginia 70-55 Win Over Stanford

•The Plus/Minus: Defense Carries Virginia Basketball Past Stanford

•Everything Ryan Odom Said After No. 23 Virginia Defeated Stanford Today