Ron Sanchez, talking with the media after Virginia’s 60-57 win over Florida State on Tuesday night, sounded like a guy who knows he isn’t going to be back next year with the UVA Basketball program.
“Being a head coach is, this is an honor, man, to be selected, you know, and trusted to lead a group, you know for this assignment this season,” said Sanchez, who took over after his boss, Tony Bennett, stepped down on the eve of the season, back in October.
Class act, this guy.
It’s been a tough season, to say the least. Virginia was a preseason pick to be an NCAA Tournament contender, but it would take a run to the ACC Tournament title next week in Charlotte for the ‘Hoos to go dancing.
Credit where credit is due, though – after a 2-7 start in ACC play, Sanchez, his staff and the kids righted the ship; Tuesday’s win over FSU gives UVA six wins in its last 10, to get to 15-15 overall, 8-11 in the conference, and a win away from earning a single bye in next week’s conference tournament.
“Starting, you know, from that Miami game, you know, we were in trouble, we were in a bad position in the standings, didn’t know if we’re going to make the conference tournament, you know,” Sanchez said.
Lest we forget the depths, right?
“To go from that to winning at Tech, winning at Pitt, winning at Wake, kind of finding a way for us to put ourselves in a good position, the group has shown grit, and that’s the one thing, they didn’t fracture down the stretch,” Sanchez said.
“They could have, you know,” Sanchez said. “This is what growth looks like, if you really want to know, you know. This is what trust looks like. This is, you know, what learning from your previous experiences looks like. So, you know, I’m proud of the guys for battling through.”
The win over the ‘Noles (16-13, 7-12 ACC) was a microcosm of the UVA season.
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The Cavaliers played great in spurts, around having to overcome rough play – four separate scoreless stretches of three-plus minutes.
It’s a testament to the team’s grit that, around the ugly stretches, against a backdrop of ugly numbers – FSU had 16 offensive rebounds, forced 14 UVA turnovers, a 29-19 combined advantage in second-chance points and points off turnovers, a 30-18 advantage in points in the paint – somehow this one ended up being a win for the good guys.
Virginia got two big tying buckets in the final minutes – a transition three from Elijah Saunders with 2:54 to go that knotted the score at 53, and then, after an Alier Maluk layup put Florida State back on top, Isaac McKneely, who had a rare off-night, nine points on 3-of-11 shooting, got it back square with a testosterone-fueled drive to the bucket and finish with 2:06 to go.
The UVA D got a stop and a rebound, then a shot-clock buzzer-beating three from Andrew Rohde, who barely had time to catch and shoot on an almost-too-late dish from Blake Buchanan, that put Virginia ahead by three with 59 ticks left.
“I’m not really thinking a whole lot in that situation,” said Rohde, who finished with 17, and was 4-of-8 from three on the night.
Seriously, I don’t know how he got that shot off.
“I see Blake driving to the middle, kind of tried to move without the ball,” Rohde said. “We work on some of those shots before the games and things like that, just those deep corner threes. And, yeah, I kind of just try to put as much arc on it as I could.”
A Jamir Watkins breakaway got FSU back to within a point with 11 seconds left, but Dai Dai Ames, who had a team-high 18 on the night, closed things out with a pair of free throws with 6.1 seconds remaining.
The win gets Virginia to square on the season, with the regular-season finale at Syracuse on Saturday giving the ‘Hoos a shot at the nine seed in the ACC Tournament, which would mean, a bye into the second round.
The season didn’t start with anybody thinking that we’d be going to upstate New York trying to get into the 8-9 game in Charlotte, but it hasn’t been that long since we were wondering if we’d even be going to Charlotte.
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It’s about 99.999 percent a certainty that Sanchez will be a one-and-done UVA head coach, but it isn’t because he’s not a stand-up human being and leader of men.
At least the way things worked out, he had this chance to be the head coach at a program that, not that long ago, was cutting down the nets on a Monday night in April.
He’ll get a couple more games, at the minimum, to be the big whistle.
I like that he was able to go out a winner in his last one in front of the home fans.
“I’m really appreciative of our fans. They have been so faithful and unbelievably supportive throughout this entire season. Really appreciate the energy in the building,” Sanchez said after the game, beginning the thank-yous.
“Thank you for the band, you know, the energy that they bring,” Sanchez said, and yes, I swear, he actually said this, actually thanked the band. “You know, I tell people all the time, like, between the timeouts is when the band shows out, and you know, the band is fantastic here, do a great job, and you know, they bring tremendous energy.
“Just really thankful for all the folks that allowed the season to go smoothly. Every staff member here at JPJ that has been here early, you know, and stayed late, you know, just really, just unbelievable, grateful for all that contributed to this season,” Sanchez said.
Just wish that things had worked out better for the guy.
There are worse things. He got his shot. Most of us don’t.
“Not one day of practice, not one venue, not one game that I personally take for granted. I’m very fortunate to have this opportunity,” Sanchez said. “You know, coaching against individuals like Leonard Hamilton is an honor for me and others, you know, in our league. So, again, humbled and thankful for the experience.”
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Chris Graham
