Hoos Starting From Good Place

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

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — At this time last year, Thijs De Ridder was in Europe, waiting to hear if the NCAA would clear him to play basketball at the University of Virginia.

Twelve months later, the 6-foot-9 forward from Belgium is one of the cornerstones of head coach Ryan Odom’s program at UVA. The 2026-27 Cavaliers held their first summer practice Wednesday morning at John Paul Jones Arena, and De Ridder could not have looked more comfortable in a leadership role, assisting the team’s newcomers however he could.

“It’s different, because I’m here from the start of the summer,” said De Ridder, a first-team All-ACC selection in 2025-26. “Last year at this moment  I was still figuring out if I was eligible or not. So I'm happy to be here.”

From a team that finished 30-6 last season, its first under Odom, Virginia lost Malik Thomas, Jacari White, Ugonna Onyenso, Dallin Hall and Devin Tillis, each of whom had arrived on Grounds with only one season of eligibility remaining.

All of the players who were able to return, however, chose to do so, and that group includes De Ridder, Sam Lewis, Chance Mallory, Johann Grünloh, Elijah Gertrude, Martin Carrere, Carter Lang, Silas Barksdale, Desmond Roberts and Owen Odom.

“It’s nice to have familiar faces,” Ryan Odom said.

“I think it's huge,” De Ridder said. “We’ve got to take advantage of it, for sure. If we can keep that connection going this year, I think we’ll be great.”

Returning such a strong nucleus, Odom said, allows the Wahoos “to be a little bit further ahead just in terms of our systems and how we operate. For instance: How do we warm up? How do we get ready for a practice? Tiny things. Huddling up. What do you say when you're in the huddle? All the culture things that we have.

“These older guys, they know it. They've been here and they've been through some things together, some positive and ultimately, at the end of the season, some disappointing experiences, which should drive us all summer. So now it's just about getting everybody connected and on the same page and onboarding these new guys and giving them a chance to be themselves over the summer.”

Virginia has added five scholarship players since the end of last season: transfers Christian Harmon (Arkansas State), Jurian Dixon (UC Irvine), Kalu Anya (Saint Louis) and Jan Vide (Loyola Marymount) and freshman Favour Ibe, a 7-foot-1 center from Lanham, Md.

“Of course I'm going to miss the guys from last year,” De Ridder said, “but these guys are really great. They fit in the group really well. So we're trying to build up now, and I'm excited for the summer.”

His advice for the newcomers?

“Enjoy Charlottesville,” De Ridder said. “Enjoy the fans. They're amazing. Just let it flow. There's no pressure right now, so if you make a mistake, just make a mistake. No worry. The old guys got you. The coaches got you, so just enjoy.”

Harmon (6-foot-6), Dixon (6-foot-4) and Vide (6-foot-6) are perimeter players. The 6-foot-8 Anya, who redshirted last season, is a forward who led Saint Louis in rebounding in 2024-25.

The transfers, Odom said, add “stability to the team, depth to the team, a desire to win, a willingness to sacrifice, an excitement to be here at Virginia.”

Odom’s first team at UVA included only three players who’d been in the program in 2024-25, and the only holdovers among staffers were athletic trainer Ethan Saliba and strength and conditioning coach Mike Curtis. There’s significantly more shared knowledge in the program this time around, but Odom said the team-bonding process doesn’t change, “because you're always going to have new people around. Sometimes it's new staff members, and there’s always new players.

“There's a responsibility for each team that we have over the years to really dive into Virginia and what it means to play basketball at Virginia and go to this great university, but then also be a part of this year's team. This year, this team has big goals and dreams, and they have to work hard to try to achieve those.”

Among Odom’s assistant coaches, only Adrian Autry is new to the program. Autry, whose nickname is Red, came to UVA in April after spending 15 seasons at his alma mater, Syracuse, the final three as head coach. He filled the opening created when Griff Aldrich left Virginia after last season to become head coach at Pepperdine.

Odom and Autry were colleagues on Seth Greenberg’s staff at Virginia Tech (2008-10).

“It’s awesome to work with Red again,” Odom said. “He obviously has high-level head-coaching experience, high-level assistant-coaching experience, high-level playing experience, and so the expertise that he's going to be able to give these guys will be tremendous.”

 

 

 

 

 

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At the end of practice Wednesday morning, the Hoos gathered in a circle near midcourt, as is their custom.

“Very good first day,” Odom told his team. “We're going to make some mistakes. That's OK. Summers are about developing cohesion and connectivity with one another. Don’t beat yourself up if you miss a shot or make a mistake. Come in here ready to learn.”

Later, he elaborated on his approach to summer workouts.

“The only way to test yourself to improve and to get better is to get outside of your comfort zone and try to do things that you haven't done before,” Odom said, “and so we do that with all of our guys. We try to really refine their games and add something to their games over the course of the summer.

“When you're new coming in, the worst thing you can do is shrink back and not show what you can do. And ultimately, it's our job as the coaches to say, ‘Hey, maybe we don't need that just yet. Maybe we're not quite ready for that. We know you're ready for this. So let's hammer home this one while continuing to work on whatever that was that we're not going to utilize right now.’ ”

In their first season under Odom, the second-seeded Hoos advanced to the ACC championship game in Charlotte, N.C., where they fell 74-70 to top-seeded Duke. Virginia entered the NCAA tournament as the Midwest Region’s No. 3 seed and defeated Wright State 82-73 in the first round.

Two nights later, a 79-72 loss to No. 6 seed Tennessee ended a memorable season for UVA.

“A lot of times, games come down to did you make the open shot when you needed it, did you finish the play, did you get the stop, did you finish the possession with a rebound?” Odom said. “Certainly in the Duke game, we didn't come up with enough defensive rebounds. Several 50/50 balls were turned into baskets for them, and when you're in a tight game, that's [costly].”

Similarly pivotal plays swung UVA’s finale in Tennessee’s direction, Odom said. The Cavaliers’ goal this summer is to build habits that will allow them to prevail in such situations in 2026-27.

“For us, it's about the individuals right now while still connecting this team,” Odom said.

The NBA draft will be held next Tuesday and Wednesday. The 7-foot Onyenso, who led the ACC with 105 blocked shots last season, is projected to be picked in the second round. That’s heady stuff for a player who, at Kansas State in 2024-25, averaged 11 minutes per game and totaled 66 points, 58 rebounds and 21 blocked shots.

Odom and assistant coach Darius Theus plan to join Onyenso at the draft next week at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

“Everybody's so excited,” Odom said. “Ugo came in in a situation where he was trying to find himself, and Virginia did a lot for him, and he appreciates Virginia for that. He's very thankful for his time with us.”

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