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 (March 3).

Q. The team has had such trouble playing defense of late. Saturday against Clemson, you know, they were getting so much in the paint. Is there any thought to, because the the young team is having trouble playing the pack line, maybe trying some other things? You tried zone for a couple possessions against Virginia Tech, I think it was a few weeks ago. Any thought to maybe mixing things up to see if we can get some different results out of that?

RON SANCHEZ: Yeah, we have, I think we've tried different things, probably the last month and a half, trying to speed up their learning curve. Our thing is, I know that we're just trying to win as many games as we can right now. However, you know the learning curve is going to be the learning curve no matter what you do. You know, some really good coaches in this league. It's not much that you can do that they haven't seen or not gonna be prepared for. You know, you run a 2-3 zone, most of us know what we're gonna do against that. In the end, it comes down to you just being fundamentally sound and trying to do the best that you can with what you have. So, at this point, man, we're gonna keep sticking to what we do. And again, try to go down a little deeper instead of just trying to get wider. You know, is a bad zone better than a poor man? I mean, that's the decision we have to make. And in the end, honestly, I'm really focusing on, we want to win games, but I'm also going to continue to focus on the development of these guys, you know, just make sure that they that they continue to improve, and there have been improvements. I mean, I'm big into numbers, and, we've done some different things, you know. And some of the things that you see are the results of some of those decisions, and some of those decisions have resulted to some success. If you go from in our game at Miami to Pitt to at Virginia Tech. So they haven't been perfect, but, we have done a few different things, and we've had some success in some and haven't had success in others. But in the end, it's all about kind of what you're trying to accomplish.

Q. Earlier on the call, Leonard [Hamilton] was saying this year has tested him because he feels like he has to teach his team every day with how many new players they have. You guys obviously have kind of a similar situation. How has that tested you as a coach and challenge you as a coach when you're incorporating so many new players together as you kind of look back on what's going on this season with you guys?

RON SANCHEZ: I believe that it's not, I don't think it's just Leonard. I mean, I think I heard Jim Larrañaga say that back in December. You're teaching everything when you do have a newer group, but you know, it's also something that people don't really understand about coaching. As much as we're teaching basketball, we're also changing behaviors. Players come in with their habits of, you know, I want to be a scorer, well, you know, got to convince and change the behavior from being a scorer to being, you know, a guy that also shares the ball. They're trying to change the mindset of understanding that you have to be so continuous on defense to get a defensive stop and how valuable it is. It's not just one effort. It's sometimes the fourth, the fifth and the sixth effort that gets you there, you know? So some of those things are just behavior. It's not just systematic, and it's not a stance, and as you know, when you do have the inexperience of young guys, there's a lot of things that you're trying to instill in them, for them to function well within your basketball community.

Q. How would you say that the progress, just big picture, has gone for you guys? It seems like maybe the guards have figured out some things. Rohde and McKneely have been been in the program. How would you say it's gone big picture for you guys?

RON SANCHEZ: Well, man, I did my background in education. I wanted to be a school teacher. So I will tell you this, man, everybody learns differently. Sometimes success is at 61% and you're at 60, so you have to bring them along at a pace that they can follow. And then you also have to understand that the growth for every one on your team is different. You can't group them all together. You hope that they all progress at the same rate. But again, that's just not it's not realistic, you know? So certain guys learn faster. Certain guys learn slower. Certain guys are just more visual. Certain guys need more experience, you know? So I think I said in my last press conference, I said, that wisdom is experiential. You have to go through some things in order for you to grow and learn. And it's time. You can't speed up time. You either gotta have the most talent or you have to have time. That's the only way that you can get at success quickly.

Q. You expressed your appreciation the other day for Taine [Murray] and his experience there at UVA. He's among just eight players in the league that have been with their program for at least four seasons. Is he essentially the last of a dying breed?

RON SANCHEZ: I believe it's gonna be very rare for individuals to stick around when they don't get what they want immediately. It is the culture that we've created. It's not their fault. We've created an exit for them in the hard, you know? The Jay Huff's and Mamadi Diakite's and, you know, Jack Salt's, the redshirts that you know, the Devon Hall's, guys that kind of went through that hard phase. I do, I believe that that's going to be very uncommon, but I do believe that the guys that do decide to go through that are going to be great basketball players at whatever institutions they decide to commit to.

Q. And every year that you have worked in this conference, Leonard Hamilton has been there. What's it been like competing against him? And what have been your impressions of him as a coach, but maybe more important as a man?

RON SANCHEZ: Well, Leonard and I have a really good relationship. I think he's a phenomenal human being. What he's, what he's represented, you know, I'm here as a coach, not, you could take my title use it however you want, whether it's interim head coach or head coach or associate head coach, you know, I stand on the shoulders of men like Leonard Hamilton. Individuals that were ground breakers and gave young coaches like me inspiration to say, Well, I can do something that this person has done. If you want to know why I say that, then you have to know, Leonard's history and his background and all the things that he's had to overcome in order to to be where he is. So I am fortunate to be here because of individuals like Coach Leonard Hamilton.

Q. Ron, back to your your background as an educator, specifically with Blake [Buchanan] and with Jacob, we saw some good flashes of play from both this season at times, maybe it seems like, just from their numbers, maybe they've each hit a wall in the last little bit of time. Looking ahead to next season, I know you still have a couple games ago this season, what would your recommendations be to those young men to work on improving their game in the offseason?

RON SANCHEZ: Yeah, I wouldn't say that there's a wall. I think Blake is managing it pretty well, maybe Jacob a little, but I think he's on the other side of it. I do think that the last couple of weeks, we've had the top tier of the conference on our schedule, with Duke, Carolina, Clemson, Wake Forest, you know? So we've had some of those top teams and maybe they haven't been as productive because those teams have very good and experienced players, even the ones that are younger are very talented. So those guys do have to catch up. My recommendation to those two. I think for Blake one, I think Blake just needs to continue to get stronger, you know, just physically. His physical development. He's not a post grad, like he's a true second year guy. So, you know, I think Blake's development this year is going to have to be spending a lot of quality time working on his physical development, so then he can wrestle in the lane with certain guys, and be able to rebound better because he can hold his spot and then go sky for the ball, as opposed to getting pushed around and become a better interior one on one defender. Jacob just, honestly, Jacob just needs more experience. He's a strong, physical, skilled kid with a plethora of things that he can do offensively, but Jacob just has to understand that he needs the fifth, sixth effort in order for him to own a matchup defensively in one possession and he has to do that every possession that he's on the floor.

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