Scattershooting: Carlisle visits UVA practice & much more

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Scattershooting late on a Friday night, while Sir Elton sang Saturday night’s alright for fighting …

Let’s start off the weekend with a feel-good. Virginia basketball coach Ryan Odom started off his week by reconnecting his new basketball team to Cavaliers from the past. Odom invited some names from Wahoos past to talk to his team in an attempt to ingrain some Virginia basketball culture last Monday.

Ricky Stokes, who was a point guard for Terry Holland in the early to mid-80s, appeared on “The Jerry & Jerry Show,” live last Tuesday morning (podcast available at JerryRatcliffe.com, with some great stories down memory lane) and noted how cool it was to have Wahoos from past generations at JPJ to take in the workout and shared a photo of Ryan and his dad, Dave Odom, a longtime Holland assistant at UVA, having a moment at the practice.

Virginia posted a couple of videos of the session and we spotted Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle, fresh off the seven-game NBA Championship series, addressing the team, along with Stokes, Dave Odom, Ralph Sampson, John Crotty, Wally Walker, Jimmy Miller and Ann Holland. There may have been others, but that’s all we could spot in the video.

Carlisle, who played guard at Virginia for Holland, talked about his experience at UVA after having transferred from Maine in the early ‘80s.

“We’re really blessed,” Carlisle told the present-day Cavaliers, referring to the group of visitors. “What I want to say to you guys is that this place changed my life. Changed my life and 40 years later, I’ve been so blessed. I’ve had a 41-year career in the NBA.

“This place is special. Treat it that way and lean into the educational aspect of this. This is one of the greatest educational institutions in the entire world. You’re wearing this uniform now, so you stand for something. Stand for playing hard, playing together, doing your schoolwork and winning. We expect that from you guys. You know, our predecessors, it was always important to us to carry the torch they handed us and in today’s world of fleeting stuff, you guys should try to lean into this and be here for the duration. I promise you, it’ll change your life the way it changed mine.”

Pretty good advice coming from someone as accomplished as Carlisle, who has remained strongly connected to UVA, sending his daughter to school here as well.

Update on De Ridder

Wahoo fans are holding their collective breath about the outcome of Belgium big man Thijs de Ridder, who flew to America more than a week ago and removed his name from the NBA Draft process. De Ridder, who I’m told by Twitter follower Rex Saunders, De Ridder pronounces his first name with a silent ‘H,’ and silent ‘J,’ as is Ti – i – es, wants to play for Virginia.

The 22-year-old visited UVA last week and our spies tell us there’s no obstacles on Virginia’s end in having the power forward enrolling. Can you imagine the Cavaliers’ frontcourt with de Ridder and German forward Johann Grunloh, along with 7-foot center Ugonna Onyenso from Kentucky/Kansas State?

Here’s what our spies told us Friday about de Ridder’s status:

“His NCAA eligibility is still awaiting clearance, but that should be done within the next couple of weeks.”

If that is the case, and that’s from strong sources, then expect de Ridder to be in Charlottesville sometime in July to join Virginia’s team. What a boost that will be for Odom.

Hoos Odom recruiting?

Virginia has made a boatload of offers over recent weeks. Here’s a list:

2026 OFFERS

C Latrell Allmond
G Jayden Hodge

PF Cody Peck
C William Stevens
SF Cameron Holmes
PG Deron Rippey Jr.
PF Cameron Williams
SF Fred Smith Jr.
SG Christian Gibson
PF Trey Thompson
SF Bo Ogden
SF Cole Cloer
SF Luca Foster
SG Junior County
SF Billy White III
C Davion Adkins
SG Lucas Morillo
C Arafan Diane
G Bryson Howard
G Dylan Mingo
G Jayden Hodge

2027 OFFERS
SF Baba Oladotun
CG LJ Smith
PG Nasir Anderson
C Obinna Ekezie Jr.
PG Cayden Daughtry

2028 OFFERS
Isaiah Carter

A Look at Chris Pollard’s Contract

Thanks to a FOIA by Augusta Free Press, details of new UVA baseball coach Chris Pollard have been revealed.

It’s a seven-year deal worth $1.2 million in his first year with 3-percent raises annually, certainly a better paycheck than his reported $800,000 at Duke. Certainly, the more he wins, the more his UVA salary will rise down the road.

Brian O’Connor was getting $1.4 million after 22 years on the job here, but was rewarded with a $2.9-million deal by Mississippi State, making him the second-highest paid college baseball coach in America, behind the guy at Tennessee.

Virginia also gave Pollard $750,000 to pay his coaching staff, $181,000 for support staff and $650,000 for an annual operating budget, along with the use of a new car. That’s not to mention performance bonuses such as $50,000 for reaching the College World Series and $100,000 for winning it.

UVA’s annual baseball budget ($6 million in 2023-24) is believed to be second in the ACC only to Clemson (6.5 million).

Pollard’s Style

We asked Pollard about his style of play, what Virginia fans can expect. Here’s what he said:

“We want to be a club that’s known for our toughness,” Pollard noted. “We want to be a gritty club. Year to year, how much we steal, how much we bunt, I think all that depends on your personnel, but ultimately we want to be known for our resilience and our toughness.

“Oh, and I want pitchers who throw strikes.”

Hootie’s Golden Nuggets

• In case you missed it, Missouri has hired former Virginia pitching coach Drew Dickinson for the same position.
• Former UVA assistant basketball coach Brad Soderberg has been hired as an assistant at Millikin University (about 2,000 student enrollment) in Decatur, Ill. Millikin is a Division-III school.
• Pairings have been announced for the 2025 Greenbrier Tip-Off at Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs just over the Virginia/West Virginia border. UVA will take on Northwestern on Friday, Nov. 21, and Butler on Sunday the 23rd.
• Former Virginia quarterback Bryce Perkins, who set career yardage records in only two seasons under Bronco Mendenhall in 2018-2019, was named the 2025 UFL Most Valuable Player. He was also named the league’s Offensive Player of the Year. Perkins led the Michigan Panthers to the UFL Championship Game, losing to D.C. Perkins finished fourth in the league in passing yards (1,342 in 7 games … he missed three regular-season games due to an injury), tied for second in TD passes (9), second in completion percentage (.690) and second in efficiency rating (69.0). He also tied for first in rushing TDs by QBs (5). He also threw only two interceptions and had 269 yards rushing on 47 carries along with 5 more TDs.
• Former UVA pitcher Andrew Abbott is having a MLB All-Star season thus far. The third-year Cincinnati Reds hurler is 7-1 with an ERA of 1.79 with 72 strikeouts. He’s coming off a strong performance against Cleveland, allowing only three hits, one walk and five strikeouts.
• Virginia’s high school recruiting for 2026 isn’t getting much attention from the national recruiting services. On3’s industry team recruiting rankings has UVA’s current 9-man class ranked as No. 16 in the 17-team ACC. The only team worse? Virginia Tech.
• According to a report out of Denver, the Nuggets will sign former Virginia guard Reece Beekman to an Exhibit 10 contract. Beekman, 23, signed a two-way deal with the Golden State Warriors last summer after going undrafted. He played briefly with the Warriors and was sent to the Brooklyn Nets last December. He played in 34 games and averaged about 14 minutes per game, 2.7 points, 1.8 assists per game.
• Did you see what the new Florida State QB said to rile early-season (Aug. 30) opponent Alabama? Thomas Castellanos, who played the previous two seasons at Boston College, transferred to FSU. Asked about facing Alabama, Castellanos said this: “They don’t have Nick Saban to save them. I just don’t see them stopping me.” Think Bama might be plastering all over its bulletin boards?
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