Among the things that we learned from UVA Basketball coach Ryan Odom in his mid-summer press conference on Tuesday: two key guys played through the end of the 2025-2026 season with injuries.
Guard Sam Lewis had surgery after the season – we don’t know for what, but Odom described it as “not a minor, but a surgery that we waited ‘til the end of the season to have.”
The other: Johann Grunloh, who, per Odom, “played the last four, five games with a broken wrist.”
“Credit to him for even, doing that, but that was, that was unfortunate for us. Yeah, he kept popping, and it was like, Oh my gosh, he’s wide open, he can’t shoot it,” Odom said.
I tracked the injury back to the NC State game in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals. Grunloh subbed out at the 8:17 mark of the second half after a hard fall and didn’t return, and he was listed on the injury report for the Miami game the next day as a “game-time decision.”
Played 11 minutes, didn’t shoot the ball, had three rebounds and a blocked shot.
Had four points, a board and a blocked shot in 17 minutes against Duke, then eight points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots in 19 minutes in the NCAA Tournament opener with Wright State.
Against Tennessee, Grunloh had a fast-break dunk for his two points on the night in 21 minutes, with five rebounds and two blocked shots.
To Odom’s point about the pick-and-pops: Grunloh did not attempt a three after the injury; he was 35 percent (21-of-60) on the season from three, so, a guy that defenses had to account for on high screens.
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Chris Graham
