UVA hasn’t hired a GM; Curtis Staples wants the job

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Virginia’s basketball program made it clear the day Ryan Odom was hired as the new head coach that it was serious about returning to the upper echelon of the ACC.

Hiring Odom, with an entirely new style of play, was one indication. Bringing on Odom’s previous staff in addition to Griff Aldridge as associate head coach was another. Immediately following Odom’s introductory press conference, AD Carla Williams told reporters that UVA basketball had made “a significant, significant” upgrade in its NIL war chest.

To me, “significant, significant” means something. Williams wanted it to be known that Virginia would be a player when it comes to acquiring talent.

Another sign that day about UVA being serious about rebuilding the program was confirmation from Williams, Odom and Aldridge that the Cavaliers intended on hiring a general manager, which is yet to happen to the public’s knowledge, although Williams pointed out that both football and women’s basketball had added the role of GM without the title or any announcement from the department, a disturbing development to say the least.

Putting some clarification on the GM position for Virginia basketball, there may be some misconception.

According to our sources, the UVA GM job will not be structured like the professional model or even some college models, where the GM is ranked above the coach, but vice versa. The GM will be there to work with the coach but not there to tell the coach what to do.

In the pros, when there’s a problem in the franchise in the middle of the night, the GM gets the call. In college, the coach gets the call. That’s the way Virginia’s position is going to work.

There has been a lot of interest in the UVA GM job, even from a former NBA GM. While most of these inquiries have come behind the scenes, some have been more public, such as Hall of Famer Ralph Sampson and former UVA 3-point kingpin Curtis Staples.

Staples has politicked for the job, which shows his seriousness about the position. Certainly, he is qualified for such a move. Staples confirmed to us that he has not been in Charlottesville and has not interviewed for the job, as was previously reported.

He would love an interview with his alma mater.

Staples has more than 15 years of experience as a top-level prep basketball coach, and during that span has developed an extensive network from college and AAU coaches to NBA staffs. Talk about well-connected. Staples’ work ethic is unmatched.

Not only is he well-versed in the basketball world, but has attended law school the last couple of years to bulk up that portion of his resume.

During his coaching career, including state titles and other hardware, he has helped more than 120 student-athletes earn scholarships at all levels of college basketball. Mention Staples’ name to a college recruiter and it’s a good bet his number is on that coach’s phone list.

There’s no doubt Staples would be an asset to Odom’s staff in terms of handling the GM roles and taking some of the pressure off the coaching staff with the expanded recruiting seasons due to the transfer portal and the NIL evaluations.

We asked Tony Elliott recently how he went about figuring out how much to offer a potential incoming player from the football portal, and Elliott said he usually doesn’t get too involved in that part of the process, but passes on those responsibilities over to their acting GM, who has a better handle on those duties. Who is doing that for Virginia basketball right now? Odom? Aldridge? Someone else? By committee?

Staples could be an asset. His reputation stretches far and wide.

“Bringing Curtis Staples back to his alma mater as general manager would be a strategic move for UVA,” said Tarik Turner, a basketball analyst for Fox Sports (and a Charlottesville native and former collegiate player). “It would send a strong message throughout the basketball community about the seriousness with which Coach Odom and UVA are approaching the upcoming season.”