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One of the themes we’ve stressed over the last few years is the need for better coaching in the ACC. It hasn’t been a problem for Duke, obviously, but at UNC, NC State, Syracuse, Boston College, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, and Louisville until Pat Kelsey took over, it’s often been a disappointment.
In general, ACC coaching has improved. We can’t say for sure about all the new guys, but there’s a case for optimism at UNC, NC State, Boston College, Syracuse, and Georgia Tech.
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For the most part, Virginia has held its own lately. 2024-25 was a mess, but Tony Bennett, after a brilliant run, had stepped down shortly before the season and left a tough situation for interim coach Ron Sanchez. Virginia took a major dip, and hired VCU’s Ryan Odom to fix things.
And objectively, he had a brilliant first season in Charlottesville last season, finishing 30-6. He’s been at UMBC, Utah State, and VCU, and only had one losing season, and that was the first year of COVID. And as we always say, everyone should get a pass on that, and UMBC finished 16-17, which is hardly a firing offense coming two years after the historic win over #1 Virginia in the NCAA tournament, the first time a #16 seed had ever won in the tourney.
This article asks if Virginia has finally closed the gap on Duke, and while we’ll have to see, the Cavaliers do look promising on paper.
First, Odom had tremendous retention, which is not easy these days. And Odom also says in this article, which is behind a paywall, that his four returning starters have really improved.
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We’re assuming he means Thijs de Ridder and Johann Grunloh, but beyond that, we guess that means Sam Lewis and Chance Mallory. Dallin Hall, Malik Thomas, and Ugonna “get your shot blocked” Onyenso are all gone.
Still, Virginia is going to have a much older, much more mature team than Duke, and de Ridder and Grunloh are both very promising. Mallory is a smallish guard, but he knows what he’s doing (it’ll be fun to watch if Duke sics Dame Sarr…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/acc-virginia-ready-match-duke-124800168.html
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Publish date : 2026-07-03 12:48:00
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