Odom throws out first pitch; said GM role on hold

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Ryan Odom said this week that Virginia has put on hold the hiring of a general manager for the Cavaliers basketball program until he and his staff complete filling the team’s roster.

UVA presently has a 10-man roster and has been described as a heavy favorite to sign former San Francisco/USC shooting guard Malik Thomas and 6-foot-8 Belgian stretch forward Thijs De Ridder. The NCAA now allows a cap of 15 players, scholarship and walk-ons, although they can distribute scholarships as full or partial awards.

Both Odom and Virginia AD Carla Williams said in March that the school was interested in creating a GM role for the basketball program.

“The GM position is something that’s going to be really important for us going forward,” Odom told the ACC Network during Virginia’s baseball win over Towson this week. Odom was there to throw out the honorary first pitch (more on that later in the story). “Certainly, we wanted to get through this iteration of the transfer portal and reconstructing this roster before we turned our attention to [hiring a GM]. Certainly, Carla will be involved in that as well, and we’re going to be moving on that once we finish the roster.”

UVA sources have hinted that the new GM will not resemble that of a professional team’s position where the coach answers to the GM, but rather work with the program and the head coach.

Odom couldn’t talk specifically about the players he has recruited, but rather generally about the challenges of rebuilding a team after all but one player, Elijah Gertrude, entered the transfer portal following the season.

“It’s similar to when we first went to VCU,” Odom said. “At VCU, we had lost five starters and a couple of guys off the bench that played minutes and two seniors that had played minutes, so it was a reconstruction there as well. I think this is the same, but we’re off to a great start.

“Certainly, we lost some great kids that will go on and do great things, and we’ll wish all those guys well that were here last year that competed so hard for Coach (Ron) Sanchez and the rest of the crew. But we’ve got a new group coming in that we’re all going to be proud of and we’re looking forward to getting to work with them.”

Odom said it has been comfortable working with a staff that he knows so well, and that’s helped not only with the transition from VCU to UVA, but also helped in putting the roster together.

“They can answer things for me quickly before I actually utter a word,” said the new head coach in relation to how well he and his staff know one another. “It has been really rewarding to spend this time with them. We have hard workers, diligent people, guys that are really committed to being there for our players and the program in general.

“I think we all understand the responsibility ahead to lead this program and we’re all going to be a part of it, and it’s going to take a lot of work and a lot of good fortune and a lot of support from our fans. We’re excited to connect with the city of Charlottesville and our students.”

Odom was honored to throw out the first pitch, something he’s done before at a VCU game and also at a Baltimore Orioles game when he was head coach at UMBC.

Odom, still game at 50, went all the way back to the pitcher’s mound to throw the ceremonial pitch to his special catcher, UVA Hall of Fame baseball coach Brian O’Connor.