UVA Basketball: Ryan Odom is not getting the job done as a general manager

For all the wailing and gnashing of teeth over the lack of activity from UVA Basketball coach Ryan Odom on the portal, I think we’re missing where we should be most disappointed.

I assumed dating back to January that Odom’s success with guys from the portal from last spring who hailed from the likes of North Dakota State, San Francisco and Toledo would open up access to productive guys from P4 programs.

Like, oh, I dunno, for example, Wisconsin guard John Blackwell (19.1 ppg, 47.7% 2FG, 38.9% 3FG), who landed at Duke.

Or Utah guard Terrence Brown (19.9 ppg, 48.5% 2FG, 32.7% 3FG), who is headed to UNC, which also got a commit from Virginia Tech guard Neoklis Avdalas (12.1 ppg, 4.6 assists/g, 44.9% 2FG, 31.4% 3FG) and Matt Able from NC State (8.8 ppg, 49.1% 2FG, 35.5% 3FG).

Or Louisville, which picked up Kansas power forward Flory Bidunga (13.3 ppg, 9.0 rebounds/g, 64.4% 2FG), Oregon guard Jackson Shelstad (15.6 ppg, 4.9 assists/g, 51.6% 2FG, 31.4% 3FG) and Arkansas guard Karter Knox (8.1 ppg, 54.3% 2FG, 37.7% 3FG).

I would have thought that Odom winning 30 games in his inaugural season, going 15-3 in the ACC, getting to the ACC Tournament title game, a #3 seed in the Big Dance, would get us out of the shallow end of the talent pool.

Not only is that proving to not be the case – Odom, at this writing, has just one incoming transfer recruit, guard Jurian Dixon (15.9 ppg, 45.9% 2FG, 38.5% 3FG) – but the one commit to date is another pickup from a mid-major (UC-Irvine).

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ICYMI

• UVA Basketball: Odom lands first transfer commitment for 2026 class

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No offense to Jurian Dixon or UC-Irvine, or to the kids from mid-majors who got Odom to 30 wins this past season, but it was plainly obvious that Odom’s first team was out-talented in its two losses to Duke, the NCAA Tournament loss to Tennessee, the come-from-ahead loss in January at home to UNC.

Credit due, Odom got the absolute most out of his roster of mid-majors and Euro imports to get to 30.

For Virginia to get to a second weekend, he’s going to need more than good coaching and kids playing their arses off.

He should have been able to parlay winning 30 games into getting access to the level of talent that we’re seeing headed to the likes of Duke, UNC and Louisville.

Instead, he’s still working the shallow end of the pool, and not even doing well to meet the needs there right now.

Ryan Odom the coach did a masterful job in his first season on the job.

Ryan Odom the GM, not so much.