Why Is Ryan Odom Not Garnering More Attention for National Coach of the Year?

The Virginia Cavaliers have been navigating a dominant season so far, particularly after securing a blowout victory over the NC State Wolfpack. Now, the Hoos are gearing up for their matchup against the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday in Durham, N.C.

Throughout their campaign, the Cavaliers have been on several winning streaks, but their current nine-game winning streak is the longest they've had. Now, Virginia is 25-3 overall and 13-2 in conference play. The Hoos are in serious contention for the ACC title this year, which was rather unexpected.

However, they've beaten the odds and continue thriving on the court. While the players tend to get the most attention, head coach Ryan Odom is certainly deserving of receiving more recognition.

Why Isn’t Odom Getting More Attention?

Virginia Cavaliers Chance Mallory and Ryan Odom speaking — Virginia Cavaliers guard Chance Mallory and head coach Ryan Odom | Emily Faith Morgan-Imagn Images

Head coach Ryan Odom is experiencing his first year with UVA after spending his previous two seasons at VCU. He became the 13th head coach in program history, and despite his illustrious background, few people expected the Cavaliers to be as successful as they have been this year.

Odom has played a significant role in forming chemistry on his team and getting his players on the same page. It should also be noted that much of Virginia's roster was new this season, so building relationships with each other was imperative; the growth they've made is apparent.

"I think the character that was the first thing, the character of this group, is really strong," head coach Ryan Odom stated earlier this season, in reference to getting his players on the same page. "Their desire to win and not win for an individual but to win for their teammates and to win for the university, I think that's the key, if you can capture that in a bottle and continue to cultivate it over the course of the season, obviously you have to have success to draw from and certainly you have to be able to learn from your failures as well. But this group has come in every day with a positive attitude, regardless of the circumstances; they've come in with a belief that they belong, and expect to win."

All things considered, Odom has done a fine job at guiding his program to the position they're in now—ACC contention. But at the same time, this is only his first year, and there's likely some level of concern that the Cavaliers will lose momentum.

A victory from the Virginia-Duke matchup would likely boost Odom's chances of being named National Coach of the Year, but he will need to turn many more heads for this to happen.