Video/Transcript: Ron Sanchez Weekly ACC Zoom Press Conference

Watch the video below and follow along with the transcript underneath the video to see what Virginia men's basketball interim head coach Ron Sanchez had to say in the weekly ACC Men's Basketball Coaches Zoom call on Monday (February 10).

Q. You're in a stretch where you guys have won three or four? Is there anything you feel like you guys have improved on significantly to help you have some more success and win some more games?

RON SANCHEZ: I think the two areas in particular. One is us taking care of basketball. I think that Andrew Rohde has done a really good job of helping us not waste possessions. I think he's had 18 assists and zero turnovers the last two games. I think that's a big area of improvement from us as I reflect back in the start of the season in the summer. And then we've done a much better job on the glass than we have in the past. We kind of won the rebounding battle of the last two games, and I think those two things in particular, we call eliminating losing. Those those areas have improved for us. And you never arrive. You're always fighting that. It's not something that's sexy, especially preaching that to young players, so something that we're going to have to continue to address. And you know, just hopefully the slippage isn't big as we move forward.

Q. Do you feel like you have more options, depth wise, than you did earlier in the year? I'm thinking, you know, some of some of the maturation of Anthony Robinson, and maybe some more scoring from Dai Dai. Do you feel like you have more options to choose from as the game goes along?

RON SANCHEZ: I mean, we're playing the same guys. We go back to November, yeah. guys are playing a few more minutes, and obviously they've got some experience. And you know, you never really know what you're going to get from your first year guys, you know, in Robinson, etc. So you always have that hope, because he is our big physical presence, but, him playing well definitely has helped us play a little fresher at times, and then maybe that's also part of the reason why we're rebounding better and taking care of the ball, because you are playing a few more guys.

Q. Talking to Elijah Gertrude recently, I know he's kind of started to ramp up where he is in his recovery process. Where do y'all kind of see him right now? And then also, what's it been like watching him after kind of going through the accident last year and everything that he has off the court.

RON SANCHEZ: First of all, I have just a soft spot for Elijah and what he's been through. I didn't recruit him out of the high school. I wasn't here, but I watched a lot of footage of him before I came and I was so impressed by his athleticism. And I knew it was something that is so important in this league. I was kind of hopeful that he would recover well and he showed flashes last season. We pulled him off of his redshirt and I thought je would be a big part of what we're doing this year. So him having that second injury really just kind of hurt me. I hurt for him because I know it's hard to sit out when you love the game. And when something is taken away from you, it makes you appreciate it even more. As a coach, having him taken away from the team has allowed me to appreciate him more, having that absence. Him having the game taken away from him, I think has made him appreciate the game more. So I think we both kind of have this void to where a lot of what we're seeing, you know, the good in this and I think that's the goal. So for me personally, trying to coach him through this is in the absence of it, really learn how to really appreciate it and not take it for granted. And I'm learning the same thing. So things that I share with him are the things that I'm telling myself, but it's nice to see him on the floor. We try to incorporate him. He can't do anything live. So he's kind of passing in practice and getting involved. And we sit down and have one on ones and chat and talk, and he's always smiling. He's got a great spirit about him. He's got a very strong faith, and he's walking through that. And I think he's just a positive kid. We just got to keep loving on him because this is the second time that he's been through something this hard.

Q. I know he's [Elijah Gertrude] worked a lot in the gym with some of the assistants, like Kyle [Guy], Chase [Coleman] - what kind of player do you see him being once he does finally get back on the court?

RON SANCHEZ: I'm hoping that he can recover back to what he was. I mean, such an injury, and it was a serious one, so I really don't know. I'm hoping that he could just be that athlete, who can create a shot for himself, a guy who doesn't need an offense, kind of what Dai Dai is doing right now. You see the value in a guy that can break out and make some plays. People always say you gotta recruit guys that fit your system. Well, I think you just want to recruit good players and then kind of fit him into what you're trying to do, but also give him enough freedom to be who they are. And I think he's a talent.

Q. After the game Saturday, Coach [Damon] Stoudemire, unprompted, gave a very strong endorsement of your candidacy for the job there at Virginia. And I'm wondering, what, if any, conversations have you had with Carla about the search and how it's unfolding and will unfold?

RON SANCHEZ: 100% of my time right now is really invested into where we are right now as a team, what the future holds. I can't control those things are out of my control. We haven't had conversations about what's going on across the street, and that's not for me. Right now, what is for me is trying to make the best of this season, embracing this journey that has been hard and challenging, but at the same time, seeing the good and bad, because I'm growing tremendously in so many different ways because of the challenges that have been placed before me. And with the absence of security and what's going to happen, you tend to, really sharpen up and in the absence of a leader that left. For me, it's how do I just see that with this opportunity, I have a tremendous, tremendous chance to just grow. Trying to take a team through this journey like this is not something that many coaches have been through. This is going to benefit me drastically in my career. Whether I'm here, whether I'm elsewhere, it doesn't matter. So for me, it's literally, how do I grow? How do I journey? You know, how do I take any obstacle that comes before me and and grow through it? So I don't, sorry David, I wish I could tell you more. Away from you asking me this question, I don't even think about that.

Q. How do you think you have grown?

RON SANCHEZ: Where do you want me to start? This isn't part of the coaching script. You never say, well, in my career path, one day I want to take over as an interim coach when a coach retires. So this is something that is just unforeseen, but where there is a gift for me personally, or a gift that I can pass along to someone else, a friend in the future. This is something that has really allowed me to grow as a coach, especially in a way of leading someone through adversity. I'm a firm believer that you will not be the best version of yourself until you are completely and utterly uncomfortable. So discomfort truly is a gift, if you can look at it that way. So we've been uncomfortable as a group. I've been uncomfortable as a coach, so I'm growing just to answer your question that way.

Q. IMac [Isaac McKneely] has added some dimensions to a scoring recently, off the dribble, those post fades, things we didn't really see in his first couple years. How do you think he's managed to add those this year? And then how does that open up your offense?

RON SANCHEZ: Well, it was part of the offensive plan for him to find different ways to score. And we always say, IMac, you can't be a one trick pony. People are going to take that away. So you got to have different ways to impact the game offensively. Him playing off of ball screens and dribble handoffs and post ups and just trying to make him more versatile. Not only for us as a team now, but also, we have a responsibility to look at these guys as when you leave us, how have we prepared you to be the best athlete you can later on. So this is part of us investing into him and making him the best basketball player that we can.

Q. Coach the team playing its best basketball this season, from my view, the last couple of games especially. Post play, you know, Elijah [Saunders] has been out for the last few games. You've been getting great post play it feels like to me from Jacob [Cofie], from Blake [Buchanan], from Anthony [Robinson]. Now that you have Elijah back in the mix, how do you work him back in and also still get the contributions you're getting from the young guys?

RON SANCHEZ: That's a great question. Incorporating a guy who's been out back in is one of the biggest challenges. So for us, and it's about people, and the one thing is, Elijah wants his team to be successful. That's the one thing I will tell you, unbelievably unselfish. He wants to see the group succeed. So for us is, we have a little rhythm going. Instead of kind of throwing a wrench in there that impacts that rhythm and fluidity that we have. It's more like how does Elijah catch up to the group, as opposed to the group trying to get him in. And we got him some maintenance on on Saturday, which is great. He wasn't in the minutes restriction or anything like that. But we also didn't want to overdo it; he'd been out a couple weeks. And wanted to make sure that he felt really good the next day because this is also long term; we want him to be in. But what Elijah brings to the group is different than the others. You know, he's not Blake, he's not Anthony, he's not Jacob, but those guys aren't him either. So he does bring an element that can change what we do for the better. And once he finds the rhythm of that, I think you're going to see him really impact what we're doing in a very positive way.

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