Former UVA Basketball star and Tony Bennett/Ron Sanchez assistant Kyle Guy has landed at Nevada, so, good news for Guy, who wasn’t out of work for that long, as it turns out.
Guy returned to Virginia as a coach last summer after retiring from his playing career, a surprise move for a guy who, at 26 at the time, seemed to still have some years left in his game.
The new UVA coach, Ryan Odom, decided not to retain Guy – though there are claims being advanced that Odom offered Guy and another Bennett era alum, Isaiah Wilkins, “opportunities” that each turned down.
ICYMI
- Odom’s first flub as the UVA Basketball coach: Not retaining Kyle Guy
- UVA Basketball: Somebody doesn’t like me being critical of Ryan Odom
It’s entirely possible that Guy decided against staying on at his alma mater and in favor of packing up his family for Nevada to work for Steve Alford, who is 112-73 in six seasons at Nevada, and 699-371 overall, with other stops at places including Southwest Missouri State, Iowa, New Mexico and UCLA.
To try to figure out the truth on this, I’ll be working to try to track down what Guy will be making at his new job.
I know, from a public-records request, that UVA Athletics was paying him $100,000 a year for his job on the Bennett/Sanchez staff.
Alford’s contract has Nevada paying him $1.3 million a year, a fraction of the $3.25 million that UVA will pay Odom for his first season, in 2025-2026.
What I know from searching the Google machine is that Alford’s two full-time assistants are getting in the range of $120,000 to $130,000 a year.
Notably, the coaching page on the Nevada Basketball website only listed two full-time assistants and a third full-time guy as the associate head coach, former Georgia Tech standout Craig Neal, for the 2024-2025 season.
Knowing this, I should also check with Nevada as to Guy’s status – whether he will be a full-time assistant or a member of the support staff under Alford.
It’s probably notable here what the press release from Nevada Basketball highlighted from Guy’s work on the Bennett/Sanchez staff: that “he provided individualized training, contributed to scouting and video breakdowns, and helped develop a data-driven platform for evaluating high school and transfer portal talent.”
This sounds like they hired him for the support staff, which would probably involve a pay cut for Guy, from what he was making at UVA, but, we’ll see.
He has a job, at least.
“I’m beyond excited for a fresh start working with another Hall of Fame coach. Let’s get to work, Wolfpack family!” Guy said in a quote provided for the Nevada press release. “I appreciate Coach Alford and the staff for this incredible opportunity. I can’t wait to contribute and help take this program to new heights.”
And then, here’s Alford from the release:
“We’re thrilled to bring someone of Kyle’s caliber and championship experience to Nevada,” Alford said. “His ability to connect with players, his basketball IQ, and his experience at every level of the game will be invaluable to our program.”
I’ve also got a public-records request in with the University of Virginia for records of communications between Odom, Athletics Director Carla Williams and Deputy AD Wally Walker concerning Guy’s status.
I expect they’ll claim some exemption under the Freedom of Information Act to block me from seeing anything there, but, stay tuned, could be fun.
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Chris Graham
