By Jerry Ratcliffe
Virginia’s five seniors came to Charlottesville from all over the country, a blind leap of faith in a brand new coach, brand new program, brand new league. None of them had any connection to the state or the ACC.
Bringing a new roster together would be Ryan Odom’s biggest challenge, building chemistry, making them competitive in an ever-improving league. Back in August, no one would have predicted this outcome: a 27-4 record, 15-3 in the ACC, second place in the league heading into this week’s conference tournament.
In Virginia’s entire basketball history, only nine teams reached the 27 wins threshold. The previous eight were built the old-fashioned way, mostly with high school recruits who were groomed over time, blooming with fourth-year seniors.
This time, Odom defied the odds by assembling a team almost completely filled with players from the transfer portal and made it work.
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