By Jerry Ratcliffe
Ryan Odom got exactly what he wanted out of Virginia’s trip to Vanderbilt in the first of two preseason exhibition games for the Cavaliers.
Coaches use these exhibitions, formerly referred to as scrimmages, to learn more about their teams against quality competition. Vandy, an NCAA Tournament team last season, and expected to be improved this year, gave Odom a better look at his UVA team and any possible warts.
The host Commodores won both halves of the unique exhibition, which was split into four, 12-minute quarters (NBA format) rather than the normal college basketball, two 20-minute halves. Vanderbilt won the first half, 44-41, then used a late, fourth-quarter burst to take a 51-46 win in the second half.
“Overall, I thought this was obviously great for both teams to be able to play a real game with fans, and in a competitive way,” Odom said. “I was really impressed with Vanderbilt and their speed and transition, their offensive efficiency.
“There were a couple of spurts in both halves that ended up dictating the outcome of both halves, but overall I thought there were some good things for us that we can go back and really take from this game. There are things that we’ll need to work on, which is going to be really important for both teams going forward. So a good trip overall.”
Virginia started the same lineup to begin both halves: Dallin Hall, Malik Thomas, Sam Lewis, Thijs De Ridder and Johann Grunloh, but Odom played his entire team, including home-grown freshman guard Chance Mallory, who played alongside Hall for extended periods in the backcourt.
Six Cavaliers finished in double figures: Thomas 18, De Ridder 15, Grunloh 13, Jacari White 12, Ugonna Onyenso (12) and Mallory (10).
Virginia’s three big men combined for 40 points.
Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington was impressed with the Cavaliers’ bigs.
“They’re tough to guard,” the former JMU coach said. “Ryan has a great system. Their spacing is really good. Both teams are going to look and say we missed shots, we missed free throws and that’s a part of it. That’s the first game, but [Virginia’s] going to be really good.
“And those freshmen bigs (De Ridder and Grunloh) are going to take huge jumps, and they’re already good, but they will take huge jumps.”
Byington also liked Odom’s guards.
“I think those guards are tough. I think Jacari White is a really hard matchup. He’s quicker in person than I imagined. So they’re going to do well and build, but the way they space you out and make reads and kind of make cuts, it’s difficult to guard them. So that’s a good test for us.”
The first half was played tightly, with Vanderbilt opening up a 36-32 lead with 3:30 to play, as Oklahoma transfer Duke Miles hit two free throws and a 3-pointer. Wahoo fans will remember Miles, who committed to UVA and then backed out and ended up with the Commodores.
The Cavaliers responded though, going on a 7-0 run, with De Ridder converting a 3-point play, followed by a layup and then a dunk from Thomas for a 39-36 lead. White made it 41-39 with a layup before Miles hit a 3-pointer and Tanner scored to give Vanderbilt the 44-41 first half win.
The scoreboard was reset at 0-0 for the second half. Virginia led 24-22 after the third quarter, sparked by an 11-0 run midway through the stanza, highlighted by a 3-pointer from 7-footer Onyenso. Malloy added a 3-pointer for a 20-16 lead with just over two minutes to go in the quarter.
Both teams leapfrogged one another the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter before Vandy controlled the final minutes. Virginia managed to score only two field goals during that span.
Miles and Tyler Harris scored 20 points each to lead Vanderbilt.
“Tonight was the first game,” Byington said. “You can’t overreact in a good way or a bad way. We’re not winning the national championship because of this and we’re not going to suck because of this. It’s a great learning experience and I know Ryan will say the same thing. This is what it’s for. You play, and you figure out what you do right and what you don’t do right. As coaches, you kind of huddle up and try to cover some weakness and try to fix it.”
Odom said he and his staff came into the game worried about Vandy’s bigs being able to stretch and shoot the ball, which became a reality.
“But the biggest issue for us in this game was that we didn’t do a good job of keeping them out of the lane and we’ve got to do a much better job in our next outing, keeping not only the guards, but the wings out of the paint,” Odom said.
Virginia hosts Villanova in a second exhibition next week.
“We fouled too much at the rim and Vanderbilt did a great job of putting pressure on us, right at the basket.”
Odom wasn’t pleased with his team’s attempts at pressing Vandy either. It’s difficult to press a team with good guards, which the Commodores possess. In fact, Byington called Miles a “lottery pick point guard.”
“Their guards are quick, very quick,” Odom said. “And their bigs did a nice job running interference to give them a burst into offense. I do believe [the press] is something that we want our identity to be, but it takes time to get there. The VCU team was not there right at the beginning last year. There was stuff we needed to work on. It’s no different here.”
