Summer is Bonding Time for Cavaliers

By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Elijah Gertrude, Carter Lang and Desmond Roberts were teammates at the University of Virginia last season, and Chance Mallory was a senior at nearby St. Anne’s-Belfield School. And so each of them saw some familiar faces when the 2025-26 Cavaliers convened for the first time at John Paul Jones Arena last month.

For the rest of the team, however, introductions were generally required. Several of the newcomers had played with or against each other before starting college, but such pre-existing relationships were rare on head coach Ryan Odom’s first squad at Virginia.

In addition to the three holdovers, UVA’s roster includes seven transfers— Dallin Hall (BYU), Sam Lewis (Toledo), Ugonna Onyenso (Kansas State), Malik Thomas (San Francisco), Devin Tillis (UC Irvine), Jacari White (North Dakota State) and Martin Carrere (VCU)—as well as freshmen Silas Barksdale, Johann Grünloh and Mallory.

Grünloh, who’s from Germany, arrived in Charlottesville this week and practiced with his team for the first time Tuesday. Another international import, Thijs de Ridder from Belgium, is expected to join the program later this summer. He’s awaiting clearance from the NCAA.

“At this point, thankfully we’re in a good place, and we’re hoping that it gets across the finish line,” Odom said when asked about de Ridder during a media availability Tuesday at JPJ.

De Ridder, a 6-foot-8 forward, is projected as a future NBA draft pick, as is the 7-foot Grünloh. UVA’s frontcourt figures to look different in the fall than it does this summer, “because they’re not all out there practicing with us,” Odom said. “We’re not going to have the benefit of having an entire summer with the entire roster. That’s OK. These guys are experienced players and have played at a high level. We’ll be able to pick things up really quickly as we begin to implement things when the guys get back [in August].”

With so many newcomers, building a culture and forming bonds can be challenging, Odom acknowledged, especially during a time of year when the coaching staff is often out of town recruiting. His players, though, are enjoying the process.

“I feel like that’s what summer’s for, before the season starts,” said Onyenso,  a 7-foot center. “So I feel like this is a really good time to bond with your teammates and everybody.”

Virginia’s players train throughout the week with head strength and conditioning coach Mike Curtis, and those workouts are creating bonds among them, Odom said. “And then with us in the gym, one of the best ways to get connected is just to get in there and do it together. You work out both individually and as a team, and then you try to structure it and have things off the court where they can get together, whether it’s meals or paintball or bowling, whatever kind of activities that you can do to really try to connect the group in a deeper way.”

Odom said he believes that “all in all, the guys have been really accepting of one another.”

Thomas agreed. “Everybody has an amazing personality. It’s just been a great process.”

Lang, a 6-foot-9 forward who redshirted last season after transferring from Vanderbilt to UVA, said he believes “the most important thing for bonding is just spending time outside of the gym together. We’ve bowled together, gone golfing and played video games, just little stuff like that. Obviously, you bond on the court and learn each other’s personalities and playing styles, but off the court I think has more value.”

The Wahoos’ top bowlers include White and Gertrude. White, a 6-foot-3 guard, is not nearly as accomplished on the golf course, said Hall, who played a round with him recently, but he approaches the game with his trademark enthusiasm.

“He’s kind of the life of the team,” Hall, a 6-foot-4 guard, said on a recent Wahoo Central Podcast. “He’s a jokester. He’s always dancing, and he brings good energy every day to the gym.”

Mallory, Roberts and Lang grew up in Charlottesville, and they’ve been valuable resources for teammates who are new to the area.

“I’ve been showing them around,” said Lang, whose sister, Caroline, is a freshman on the UVA volleyball team.

Lewis, who’s from Chicago, said he’s liked “getting to know the community and letting the community get to know us. That’s been key. It’s been fun trying a lot of food places and just bonding with the guys in different places around the city.”

As a schoolboy, Lewis said, he played against Gertrude in AAU ball, but “that’s the only guy I recognized when I first got here, so everybody’s been new pretty much.”

Through various activities—some organized by the coaching staff, others by the players themselves—the Hoos are “learning each other,” said Lewis, a 6-foot-6 swingman who lives with White. “And just chilling. You don’t have to really do stuff. Just being in each other’s rooms, getting to know each other, picking up on each other’s vibes, that translates on the court.”

Thomas said: “I would say that it’s been great connecting with all the guys, because if you look at us play during practice you would think that we’ve all been playing with each other for a couple years.”

Tillis began his college career at UNLV before transferring to UC Irvine, and in each case he joined a team with a sizable core of returning players. “Obviously, going into a set team, it’s a little easier because you know what you’re getting into a little bit,” he said on a recent Wahoo Central Podcast.

“But I think it’s good that we’re all kind of new [at UVA} and we get to learn each other. It’s easier to accept everybody into the team as one, because we’re all brand-new.”

The Cavaliers have been practicing three times a week. Odom said his approach in the summer “is to try to give [players] a lot and see what they can digest. And then when you get back in August, you really hone in on the details of things.

“And so we’re not gonna become the best team in terms of transition defense over the summer. We’re not gonna become a well-oiled machine on offense over the summer. But what you give them an opportunity to do is make mistakes without fear and really play their game and show what they can do over the summer. And then you begin to figure out, OK, this guy, he can do more than even I thought he could do.”

Like most of his staff, Odom came to UVA from VCU after the 2024-25 season. They’ve assembled a roster full of players with engaging personalities, none more so than Tillis, Thomas and Hall.

“Malik’s a natural leader,” Hall said.

Thomas, a 6-foot-5 guard, embraces that role. “The best thing you can always bring is your voice,” he said. “So I take pride into that and being the leader of this team and just leading by example first and foremost and just helping people that are coming from high school or coming from a different institution. It’s just been great just being a leader of this team and just being the voice and always being consistent with that.”

Like Tillis, Thomas grew up in the Los Angeles area, and they played together in the Compton Magic AAU program. Their West Coast roots give them “something to fall back on,” Thomas said. “But it’s been great. Devin’s a high-character, great player. And we won a lot of games as teammates in AAU, so we intend to continue to keep that pattern going.”

Thomas said the Hoos “know that it’s going to take some time gelling together, but we’ve been doing a great job of just sticking with the process, because at the end of the day it’s the journey that makes this thing fun. This is a new era of college basketball, so we’re not the only program to have a brand-new team coming together.”

The newcomers might have been unsure what to expect when they arrived on Grounds last month, but the positive energy at JPJ is palpable.

“Shout out to the coaching staff and Ryan Odom for putting together an amazing group of guys,” Thomas said. “First and foremost, besides anything we did in the past with basketball, it’s just been great to see us connect with each other.”

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