wahoo2023

A majority of VTs class is underclassman, with ratings based on their HS ratings. Basically rated highly because of potential. Conversely, Elliott and uva targeted players with actual experience, multi year starters at legit P5 places (Missouri, Pitt, Michigan, etc). So who has the better class? Depends on which perspective you want - VT has a class with more potential, UVA has a class with more production.

Right now uva hasn’t targeted a backup C and PG. Odom has kept everything tight to the chest so far, but there has been some euro rumblings again, as well as some chatter uva is hoping that the waiver comes through. If it does, UVA could look at adding Dallin Hall (starting PG) and Ugonna Oyenso, basically the starting C back into the fold, on top of Mallory, Lewis, de Ridder and Grunloh. I heard about the possibility of something going through and the staff was aware in March, so it seems things being slow is a feature, not a bug for a number of teams at this point.

But the rep on Franklin is known. The baggage from Vandy/Penn St. is real, and I’m not talking about how he was fired. The reality is, he had every advantage at Penn state and countless numbers of high level players/draft picks. He consistently beat teams that they were more talented then. But against other B10 teams in the similar talent range or slightly better, he did not win those games. That’s telling. The reality is a good coach maximizes talent and I don’t think Franklin has done that. To me, the best coaches do more with less. Look at Bennett at uva, etc. To me, Franklin will get the third or fourth best talent in acc behind Clem/Miami/FSU. Will that beat most of the acc? Yeah. Will it make tech an 8+ win program? Yeah. I get the optimism about tech getting him and this that and the other and turning a blind eye to reality. But you signed James Franklin, don’t be shocked when get James Franklin results, the good and the bad.

Considering it is hippa violations to release any information, considering no story is known. Was Edrines identity known at the time of the report? How soon was Edrine identified as a suspect? How soon did evidence collection match Edrine (which is typical in charge and arrest cases versus warrant cases during evidence collection)? Even in your logic, AT MOST ACPD would likely only confirm a student and/or student athlete was the target in an investigation. Not to mention affected parties (Edrine) would then possibly flee leading to no justice if notified. Moreover, perpetrators are not notified as it can possibly lead to further violence against the victim. Same logic applies to the football program. Law enforcement and the courts are not going to put victims in the path for further violence and pain given the report being filed. So no, given the way this has happened and known facts, it is highly improbably any uva employee in the football program was aware of the identity, assuming they knew someone in the program was the target of an investigation.

It is a rape investigation and due to the protection of the individual details are not shared, defendants aren’t contacted etc. lol Elliott’s control of the program because a player committed a heinous crime. The guy has issues, you really think he is walking into any football office going “hey there might be a charge against me.” Do not start pointing fingers at a program that immediately removed Wallace Unamaba when evidence of domestic violence was shared esp when James Franklin’s Penn state days certainly had some stories about locker room behavior.

Of investigation, it is unlikely UVA knew until charges were filed which was yesterday (day of arrest). The big issue is the 5 month timeline, while that is common in sexual assault cases due to investigation/testing/etc, is what was known. Also no details are out, no stories or rumors, and given the charges, it is entirely possible it took dna identification to fully identify the alleged perp. UVA has scrubbed him entirely, taken off all websites and not enrolled as a student. Elliott doesn’t seem the type to cover this, and given the swift response, this seems more a set in stone versus grey area/innocent versus guilty. You are correct that IF anyone knew, uva would can them. All employees around students are reporting employees, required by law with any knowledge to report. So this means all athletics employees would be classified as reporting I believe as well. Direct breach of this would easily lead to a firing for cause. Good riddance.

Dunn was a first round pick because he was an instant ++ defender/athlete. If he developed a 30% 3pt shot, you have a top level 3&D wing on a rookie scale. As a late first rounder, it’s a no brainer. Plus any development beyond that, jackpot. To me he’s going to be a long term 3 and D guy that maybe by season 6 or 7 he adds secondary offense. The difference with Neo is what he is supposed to be. He’s supposed to be a big guard, which has definitely been an adjustment to the college game but as an nba team is that worth a first rounder? Is a guard, can he shoot and defend well enough if he only is a wing? What’s his role? I think that’s a bigger issue for Neo as it stands. What is the actual projection.

But I find fault with just assuming these redshirts and players who have never played will be able to step in and play and be legit. Sure great ratings and players with obvious potential. But how many 247 .95 four stars never panned out……. Nevertheless, it’s a legit class on that alone. Does it work? Who knows as you say. UVAs approach already has proof of concept. All but two players who could be retained were retained. In my opinion, tech in two years is scary (assuming retention occurs). But uva next season is in better position to win.

To start, the defense is going to be legit. The secondary was strong in what was returning and now 4 legit P4 starters are joining (1 S from Michigan, 1 CB from Rutgers, 1 CB from Wisconsin and Ellis from yall). The D Line has been refirmed (two starters from UAB and all-AAC from ECU at DT, adding to the bevy of edge rushers) and the LB room is going to be strong (Maddox returned, multiple guys who showed well at end of year last year with larger roles). Offensively, Pribula has the same rep as Morris, it’s obvious there is talent, but how will it translate. Think the offense will look different but getting an 8-4 SEC QB from a top 20 team? Yeah that’ll work. Taylor was replaced by another 1000 yard rusher from MTSU. Add Peyton Lewis to Xavier Brown and Xay Davis and truthfully the running back room as a whole may be better than last year. At TE Twitty returns and gets added to John Rogers and a transfer from UNC (blocker), WR Edrine was retained along with Kam Courtney and added multiple producers from the lower level. The Oline is legit - UVA’s best two olineman (by coaches admission after practices began) didn’t play last year and were resigned. Got two others from the USCs to further fill out the 2 deep and retained the “6th Oline” in Hartsoe. UVA is returning 3 true starters and adding in two who would have started. The biggest thing is uva retained basically all but two players they had to retain (Harris and Osborne). Prevard was already losing snaps to the true freshman who has replaced him (Costner). The defense was already great under Rud last year and literally got better at in the secondary and will basically be even at LB and DLine. The offense will go as the QB goes, I agree. But on paper, this class is legit. It is the opposite of yalls. Yalls is legit on what they “should” become. But not a ton of true production of was added. UVA is legit on players who will contribute day 1.

Someone on Sabre posted 12 acc teams in top 75 of Kenpom. Tech goes .500 in acc play with a couple more Q1s, safely in as a 7-10 in my eyes. You’re going to get a few more Q1s at home as well, some teams will rise I’d bet (not sure of your remaining home schedule though).

Yeah, tech had a good game plan. And full credit. I’m just more pissed at uva failing to focus on what tech did well deserve praise for. Tech had 2 playable bigs that got 3 total fouls in 55 minutes - as a staff just a complete failure to me. Frankly more frustrated at the simple things that Odom and staff frankly did really poorly. The lineups, plan of attack, adjustments were flat out a failure. That is a game you shouldn’t lose. Happy it happened in first acc game so they learn, but this really put my worries about Odom out there. You can’t win at uva, even with better money and strong reputation recruiting being an “let’s out athlete you team”. There has to be schematics, etc etc etc and Odom hasn’t shown that.

My “analysis” was only wrong about Gurdak. de Ridder got his as I said he would. UVA got what they wanted offensively and at their pace. Techs offensive wasn’t good either……. My last paragraph summed it up prior to the game. If uva hit shots it would have been a 10+ point game at multiple points. Take off the orange and maroon glasses and thats exactly what happened, tech didn’t shoot well so if wide open rhythm threes for uva fell at average or even slightly below, uva would have controlled the game. That didn’t happen. So it was a close game throughout. Just as I said I expected a 2-3 possession game throughout.

Spent NYE in the ER for a few issues. Not out of the woods just yet. Watched most of the game, and was frustrated at Odom’s approach and lineups. As I said prior to the game, uva needed to attack the post and they didn’t. One of my biggest concerns on Odom is his lack of offensive scheming frankly when mismatches and advantages are there. No one could effectively guard de Ridder through action, and techs 1-High P&R defense wasn’t good either. And Virginia didn’t attack that at all effectively. Even when it was obvious there was advantages there. Not to mention that his lineup usage was pitiful. Lewis and Thomas are the best offensive weapons at the guard, neither played enough. I have no idea why at all. Thomas isn’t a great defender, but with how uva wants to play as an offensive oriented team, you outscore your defensive lapses… but guess not to Odom. Gurdak was great. Thought the foul situation was terrible. Refs were terrible both sides, VT reached 1&1 at the 14 minute mark in the second half, uva didn’t until the second OT….. I can’t remember the last time I saw that in any game, any two teams. It is pure negligence by this coaching staff to allow Hansberry to have 2 fouls and Gurdak to have 1 in 55 minutes of game. And I’m sorry, you can call 4 fouls on any starting big in acc play every game alone in the 25 minutes they play lol. And don’t give me any BS that tech wasn’t fouling etc etc etc. Thought Avdalas wasn’t great either, never seemed to get a rhythm and didn’t like the physicality. Box score is a bit of misnomer, lotta stats that felt empty. Game was won bc of Hammond and Gurdak. (Other uva issue is when the offense isn’t scoring, defense gets bad, MY saw a Hammond P&R to strong side with a weaker side swing shooter (Schutt) uva couldn’t defend… so he ran it constantly……) My read overall is tech had to have a perfect storm to stay in the game and that happened. UVA played terrible, Odom got outcoached. I don’t like boiling games down to simple stats but uva shot 22% on a ton of wide open 3s, shoot the average (with the terrible night added in) of 37% and it’s a 15 point win. Sometimes that’s how things go.

Is what gets de Ridder out of his fun. Hansberry is more a European big (physical, mobile, but not jumping out of the gym). But I’d imagine Odom attacks Hansberry immediately bc tech either A) collapses allowing guards to attack, B) plays straight up and likely leads to fouls trouble for Hansberry/bigs. Lawal, to me, can play a step back on the perimeter, and de Ridders driving ability might be his most effective usage. The athleticism as well doesn’t allow de Ridder to finish as comfortably either.

I think Hansberry will provide a good matchup, but I fully expect uva to pound the post to start the game to open the defense up. Between Oyenso, Grunloh, de Ridder, UVAs post is too much without Lawal. Even if Dorn plays, Hansberry, Dorn, and Gurdak is overmatched and de Ridder draws fouls at a good rate too. Johnson is too small to guard de ridder in the post too. If uva hits 3s at a good rate, it could be a 10+ game, but otherwise I’d expect a 2-3 possession game the entire game. Think UVA’s pace and physicality disrupts yalls offense enough to control the pace.

I think we are past the realignment discussions being a pure 100% football oriented decision. That was the first true round for B10/SEC. The reality is if uva/VT moved to either conference, they are still 6-6 teams at best given the past 5 years. I see both teams as fighting to get to a Miss St type position. Playing for bowl eligibility in your last game against a top 10 team. JF maybe moves the ceiling to 8 wins in a P2 conference? But even then, what is the point for either conference wanting that. I think we have reached a point where it is more likely the acc experiences a revival than the chance that one of uva/vt ends up in B10/SEC.

Go to 16 teams. And to preface that all P4 conferences agree to a tie breaker where highest ranked in CFP rankings goes (so Miami v UVA). I think for P4, all teams that make the conference champ should automatically qualify for CFP. So that’s 8 - and usually should be correct as that hits 6 teams that usually should be in anyways (top team in each conference and then the second of B10/SEC is always in, might even be 7 as second team in B12 should be fringe, like Utah/byu this year). So that’s 8, then do two spots for the two highest ranked G5 teams (usually a conf champ) - so this year that should be Tulane and JMU. Allows G5 better rep and more balance. Now at 10 - and you go next 6 highest ranked to get your bubble teams in. Rank them 1-16 however you see fit. I think this is the best solution, 16 is plenty large and that gets you to the 4 loss territory but think it best encompasses a whole season. Miami shouldn’t be out because of a bad two weeks. I don’t like a margin of error where 1/6 of a season determines a spot.

My minutes may be off but Avdalas picked up a quick foul early and got driven by at least twice within the first 5 minutes of game…. Is any coach picking up on that for PC? Sure as hell didn’t seem like it because the moment I saw that twice, especially on weak side ball reversals, I would have attacked that every time. Like to me that’s two identifiable things on Avdalas alone that were obvious and not attacked. Add in the dudes on a burner and two fouls sits him down…. Just bad coaching to me.

That’s tip your cap plays. What I saw was in that first 15pt outburst. You let the guy get hot, it’s over. Guys were playing way too far off, drop coverage on screens for that shot on the side. The roll into the short corner twice and I think 2 or 3 three warm up level kick out threes. To me, that’s terrible coaching letting a guy get comfortable. By the 10th point someone start face guarding, taking a step closer out of the gap, etc. That’s more of what I mean, and I think it’s more of an average scout against a new player, but small adjustments just weren’t there. That’s what I mean on English. I trust Scheyer, Wade, Odom, Kelsey, hell even Hubert freaking Davis to react and plan better.

You’re a coach, we both know what the hell Kim English had going on that first half wasn’t anything close to defense hahaha. Yeah early returns are looking good, but as you said and as this thread indicates, what happens when he is the gameplan. Thats a better way of putting it to me, dude is obviously talented, but is he THAT GUY? That remains to be seen as comp gets tougher and coaches actually run a real scout. Seriously, what the hell was Kim English doing hahaha

If the sum of VTs parts beat you, that is what you cannot allow. Allow Neo to get his 20 through firm physical defense. Hold everyone else to nothing. But I think the answer is defensively frankly. Given the already outsized reliance on Neo as a producer (and the fact I don’t see anyone else on the roster stepping up in that way given Pasha isn’t there and that’s not Hammond either), attack him on the defensive end every single possession. Get him in foul trouble or, better yet, make him be the sieve to score on pace. So let him score when we he wants and then do everything you can to take him out of the game on defense. Especially in the first half there were a number of moments he got blown by. And I don’t think his conditioning has caught up yet with his frame. Make him defend and I think you see a good amount of difference on the offensive side too.

Couple thoughts: 1. Avdalas is as advertised…. But Good God Kim English cannot coach. Doing absolutely nothing to disrupt Avdalas. 2. And same goes on the opposite end - Avdalas’ defense is suspect. VT is a clear different team without Avdalas. 3. That leads to 3 which is “the rest” haven’t stepped up yet which has to happen. Lawal/Johnson have to provide more offense, especially at this pace. Bedford is a really really good second scorer, and Hansberry is having a poor game (and is now not looking to shoot). Most concerningly is it doesn’t seem there is a lockdown defensive guy - sure modern offenses make that hard, but Bedford/Johnson have to step up on that end. So as GC has said, slow the hell down. Apart from Avdalas and Bedford, the rest of the roster isn’t designed and able to run and gun. Slow down, play more half court sets to the strength of different guys and there is something here with this team.

For Grunloh, it’s hard to pinpoint what type of NBA big he would be. The scrimmage against Vandy he held his own against Vandys centers and scored a ton. To me I see a lot of Myles Turner, more of a Finesse 5 that won’t be defensively strong as a rebounder, will provide rim protection but will a spacing 5 that opens things up. On the other hand, think the “big” point guard model is starting to take a hit in the NBA as a developmental piece. Topic/Denim in the last few classes seems to have cooled that momentum as teams seem to be either focused on true scoring at guard versus a do it all PG (which I think Avdalas profiles as). It seems there are ton more misses than hits, as really only Cade Cunningham, Lamelo Ball, and Doncic are fitting that mold. Think the other issue is Avdalas may not be a PG to pro teams. So as a wing, can he shoot well enough? Defend well enough? Obviously as GC mentions, questions to be answered in the actual games to come. Regardless this list is good and bad, some makes sense, others don’t. If de Ridder and Grunloh are at 16 or 17, no reason Avdalas is 15 spots below that.

Duke has reloaded. Unc I like their additions (but don’t see them as a true top 10 team) and the composition of Louisville and NC State is really really strong. UVA’s class (or rather entire new roster lol) features arguably the best scoring guard from the portal along with two top 5 international players, and they aren’t fully cemented as a top 5 team in preseason eyes. The additions for VT are known and strong. SMU has brought a ton of talent in. Clemson and Brownell is now the UVA Bennett of the acc in my eyes, new roster but I have a strong feeling they will continue to win. Wake is a wildcard to me, they lost a ton, brought a ton in and Forbes system is one that does well with new faces… but they don’t win as much as they should, especially with last years roster. I have a feeling one of Miami/ND/Syracuse/Cal/FSU is going to over perform into that 6-8 range and surprise some. All 5 of these rosters are stronger relative to last season. The biggest storyline I’m actually interested in right now is the playing style of UVA/NC State is going to be really similar to the SEC of fast and physical. How does it play in the acc? Does this close gaps to Duke? Does it really affect system teams (like VT)? UVA pressed most of their scrimmage against Vandy while using 13 players (11 of which are likely to see tangible minutes). Acc is better, needs to proven by everyone in the non-con, but it is a stronger base for sure in my eyes.

Lville, NC State, and UVa have improved the most in conference. Not saying the talent addition isn’t good at VT, but all three elevated their rosters to a better degree than VT. The impending season will obviously answer opinions. Duke, NC State, Lville will comprise the top 3. UNC, UVA, Clemson and VT will battle for 4-6. Today id say - 1. Lville 2. Duke 3. State 4. UVA 5. UNC 6. VT 7. Clemson

But this is ignoring the obvious. UVA’s lack of talent in the previous Elliott years was stark. This is the first season Elliott has had average to better acc talent at a majority of positions. And in reality, Oline might be the only group that is above average relative to acc talent. It is magical that coaching methods that were not effective with sub optimal talent is now suddenly effective when uva finally has a talent floor on par with those they play. And I understand those who do not watch, but this is UVA’s first season in I don’t know how long where they made the lowly FBS and the FCS team literally look like that. UVA, even in 6-6 seasons NEVER made lower teams look like lower teams. NokieHokie has it exactly correct. Last years VT Team had multiple NFL and multiple transfers as starters to top 10 level teams… and Pry didn’t do anything with it. Elliott and co. finally get actual talent and are 4-1, and a bad throw away from 5-0. Sure weak schedule, but don’t let the obvious get away from you bc of the Orange and Maroon glasses. (And for the record, still think the ceiling is 9-3. Any talk of ACCCG and CFP is too far. And 9-3 is all uva needs to further revitalize the program and investment, and put itself even more firmly in P2 convos. The win was great, but even more important is uva showed it’s here to play in the new age.)

I’m just not sure increasing to a 200m budget means tech maximizes. At the end of the day, VT and UVA are both in the same boat, they will not reach the upper crust of CFB. There’s 10-15 programs and it’s an exclusive club, both could outspend everyone and their money, and neither have any chance of replicating brand relevancy, NFL potential, talent development, etc. The reason both programs had their golden years was because recruiting was your state and a state over. Rondae and Tiki Barber would have made a mil each to play at Georgia today. And forget about the money Mike Vick would have gotten to go to the SEC. So you have to win on the margins - spending money doesn’t ensure that. Spending money doesn’t actually maximize? Not to be harsh, but from the outsider, all we see is an athletic department that doesn’t do anything great going for broke… that is why I’m genuinely curious about how this spent and its purpose.

But I’m genuinely a bit confused as to the exact reason why this 60m bump is needed. Obviously, more money helps the entire department, but it is my understanding that while overall department spending was low, football spending was high (relative to ACC standards). So what is the point of the increase? Is a majority going to go to Football? Or is tech now trying to create a “uva like” athletic department - where secondary programs to hoops and FB are bettered substantially? On the outside looking in, it sounds a lot like poor department development that stagnated and regressed the FB program, but tech still has the resources to be a consistent 7-5 to 9-3 team in this era if resources are MAXIMIZED - which VT hasn’t done (nor has uva done up until about 4 games ago). I know the re-org is underway, but again, what is the point of this massive increase in spending (beyond the obvious)?

Would say over 50% of uva students are back on that Saturday. Most classes line up with midterms the week after spring break so a lot are right back to work. Also most students start their break the Thursday before the Saturday break “officially begins” by the academic calendar. Other factor is if uva and/or vt is having a good year, that will put students in seats. JPJ saw really good crowds for a really bad team last year, I’d bet JPJ will be full assuming it’s two good teams at that point of the year. On the other hand, uva is avoiding maybe their hardest away game all season bc of this. @duke and @unc are always tough, but the VT crowd consistently brings it, especially in years A)uva is good and and/or B) VT is good. As we all know, colleges are ghost towns until after new years. That week between Christmas and New Years is the emptiest of them all. The first match up could easily be a ranked matchup as well. Each team has strong non-conf opportunities to be a one or two loss team heading into that game. Still will be a good environment but uva dodged a serious bullet.

I graduated from uva a few years ago, my first year was the year after the natty, maybe like 25% of the people in the incoming class with me knew that uva just won a national championship in hoops…. And it was being paraded everywhere in everything. I would wager maybe 10% of each student body knows their respective ADs. I think in general athletics is less “popular” as each school gets “smarter”. And societally it’s tough too. To be honest, hard to have a true interest in athletics when you are fighting for an internship/job/degree placement the moment you get to college - which is true at uva and becoming more true at vt each successive class. Although it will be interesting this season at uva, the Hill was full for Coastal Carolina of all teams, it was I think either a top 5 or top 10 student attendance record for a terrible team in an opener of a season where “great” is defined as 8-4….. so maybe things are changing here some. Bc the student sections at JPJ are small, don’t think there will be any issues filling those. They were full last season as uva limped to a .500 season and without Bennett.

Considering a brand new staff just started and had to rebuild an entire team they didn’t pay much attention to the 2026 class. And since Virginia is in such a down swing, they have only secured visits from 4 top 75 players in the 26 class in the 4 months Odom has been the coach…

Odom has talked about player development and it’s hard to judge considering he had to rebuild an entire team. But the initial roster has the ability to develop guys - Mallory, Lewis, Gertrude, Barksdale, even Carrere all have multiple seasons to develop and Mallory, Lewis, Gertrude will be major contributors to this season (Mallory and Gertrude will each see 10+ minutes, and Lewis will be a starter or basically 6th starter in terms of minutes). Obviously Grunloh/de Ridder have multiple seasons but ideally both have great seasons and they’re gone (that’s the plan). Odom is an offensive coach, he wants guys who can fill it up and so I think he’ll get that top 30 player often, especially if his first few seasons allows younger guys to come in and be the guy. But I think he’ll realize that getting strong players to develop is how uva will really be able to compete. The money is there to get that elite top end portal player to really fill the need that is there for the team - but no way uva can continually build a roster at Duke/UNC/Lville level. Bennett built rosters a step below it and coached those teams above it. It’s the other worry I have about Odom - there isn’t a ton of semblance of a system. They’ll run offense but how is he going to maximize a roster to win, that’s the thing I’m most interested to see. If it is just let Thomas and White get theirs…. It won’t be a great sign.

But I was always interested by Mike Young’s strategies (or the programs). It was offer a lot of younger players early and try to create strong relationships before the blue bloods etc began to get after those players. Ament is a good example, VT was on him for a few months before (maybe even a year before) uva offered. Duke/UNC offered ament the weekend after uva. You get the picture. Obviously, other than Advalas, it has not resulted in a premium player (top 50 or higher) to commit and likely won’t. The way I see it is tech looks at premier younger talent (9-10th evals) that they either A) can create a strong relationship with and become a unicorn (Advalas is similar in thought but not exactly so) or these guys stay good but not great and drop to where tech is now a more serious player and has already done a ton of legwork. Gurdak is a good example of this to me. One of the top centers in his respective class but never rose to the contention of a Connecticut, or Duke or etc. Impossible to say if tech gets him if he did, but tech prioritized him throughout so when it become a choice of other schools than the cream of the crop, tech won that race. On UVA’s side, it was always Bennett recruiting the diamond in the rough in hopes that player didn’t blow up. To me Tech didn’t want to see a kid stay elite, and uva didn’t want a kid to become elite. The best example is Kon Knueppel at Duke and then a top 5 pick. UVA dominated that recruitment through his sophomore and junior seasons, he was a good shooter but needed to work on his body and develop other scoring. UVA even had beaten out Wiscy (his home state) and made it basically a one team race….. until Duke offered. The rest is history. And that was Bennetts story - recruit the diamond in the rough that would go on to beat Duke and unc year in year out in that late 2010s. Malcolm Brogdon (between Harvard and UVA), London Perrantes (between a ton of smaller cali schools and uva) Devon Hall, Deandre Hunter, Ty Jerome (was recruited at a 4 star level but injury took him off the radar for bigger schools) Joe Harris, Kihei Clark (think was committed to Cal Poly before uva called) Trey Murphy, Jay Huff…. Basically every good player except Kyle Guy, Justin Anderson, and Mamadi Diakite played well well above their HS or eventual transfer portal rating. It’s just where those guys Bennett really found blew up, the convo was done. Another name that will give hoo fans heart burn was Sacha Killeya-Jones. Bennett found a 6’10 stretch 4 (think Lawal but less athletic) and got him to commit to uva almost under the radar only for Duke and Kentucky to come in and Killeya-Jones flipped to Kentucky within a few months. Odoms strategy is going after the elite scorers/talent on the AAU circuit and so far it has gotten uva in a few top 10s, etc. the money is there to recruit the legit top 30 players now (wasn’t under Bennett bc Bennett did not want it to be..) but will have to wait and see before you can really say how Odom will recruit and to what success level. Odom is basically recruiting on vision whereas the other schools in the mix (think you dukes, bamas, tenns) are recruiting on results.

15 years ago it was 25k and a car wasn’t enough (looking at you Adidas and Nike wiretap). 10 years ago at Lville it was only one strip club visit on the official visit instead of 2. The game has always been this way under the table and was basically known bc of scandal after scandal coming to light, it being open now isn’t earth shattering. I also don’t think an asst coach should be putting this out….. easily sets the market for what VT is recruiting at, and showing that the pitch isn’t being bought…. I frankly would be pissed if a uva coach did the same. Surprised no one in this thread has said that yet, and I know within the industry recruiting this is all more of an open secret, but this sets a perception that tech is recruiting at this level (which may be a good or bad thing, impossible to know without context), and Frazier was so pissed the pitch to a recruit wasn’t working he went to tweet about it. Or guys are renegotiating their NIL on the team…. Jalen Warley did this last season at uva and it’s what put Bennett in retirement… However you cut this, just not what I want to see out an asst ** Edited by wahoo2023 at 8/2/2025, 9:23:24 AM

Sam Veccine and other draft experts is where I get info on how other leagues compare. But since I am insane for questioning a players ability and expectation. Just so everyone knows. Avdalas in this last Greek/Eurobasket season. In 5 games in Eurobasket (champions league soccer equivalent where it is the best teams of respective leagues from Spain France etc) he averaged a touch above 6ppg in 5 games. In his Greek season, he scored in double figures 6 times and scored 5 points or less 9 times. There is absolute evidence to question whether he will be a dominant scorer or not in the acc, that is the least to say comparable with the Greek league. I’m not saying he is bad, I am not saying he isn’t capable. This all could happen and I could easily be wrong.

** Edited by wahoo2023 at 7/18/2025, 6:53:27 PM

Even on this board that it’s an unknown what euro players actually do for each respective team. Not once have I said Grunloh will be the best center in the acc or Thijs de Ridder is now the best forward in the acc. Thats crazy talk. Not to mention a forward and center aren’t expected and needed to be a go to scorer with how uva is constructed. I don’t expect either to be better than their current respective production if Thijs de Ridder averages 10 and 6 on efficient shooting, that’s all he’s needed to do - it’s what he has done in Spain for two seasons. That is expected to be Malik Thomas, the guy who is a proven go to scorer against high level comp in the WCC and against the best teams he faced (Gonzaga, Wazzu, Oregon St, Boise St, Memphis, Clemson - his WORST game was a 13 pt game against those teams. At uva in years 13 pts is lighting it up lol).

Euro League is the basketball version of the champions league. And I still said that the Greek league is somewhat comparable to the acc. But again, a 9ppg scorer in the Greek league doesn’t at all automatically translate to a “best in the acc” type player and someone that can dominate. That just isn’t realistic. This isn’t a pure guess, it’s just the reality that a player that wasn’t a scorer in one league isn’t going to magically become a dominant scorer in another that is the same or slightly better. Take Malik Thomas from San Francisco. Averaged 20 ppg there last season, scored 34 against Washington state, 13 25 and 27 against Gonzaga, 24 against Memphis, 14 against Clemson, 24 against Oregon State. All comparable acc level teams - so I think it’s safe to say that Malik Thomas is going to be an effective and high level scorer at uva. So today Malik Thomas or Neo as your go to scorer in the acc? Who ya got?

Was a first rounder based on nba defense alone - no offense whatsoever. If the offense developed that season, then lottery, but it didn’t. I will absolutely say when a uva player has deficiencies lol.

I’d say the exact same thing if this player were coming to uva! It’s literally the reality of the situation.

He’s posting nice stat lines….. against a talent and athletic level that is not close to acc level. A majority of those players in that tournament will not sniff high major D1 basketball, much less P2. Sorry to burst bubbles with reality, but questioning whether he can be a dominant scorer in the acc given that isn’t his game at a somewhat comparable level is fair (Greek league).

That’s what is currently being missed in this conversation I think in conference realignment. The arms race in football is done. The best brands are already in two conferences and all the money will come from those brands alone. Other ND, no addition truly moved the needle. Maybe Florida State. But adding Florida state doesn’t add another $100m to bottom line. To me the direction in conference realignment for the next round isn’t just for football maximization. I think it is more creating the best athletic conference, and if you think that, it’s easy to see why uva/unc would be brought up (if the report is true). The arms race for football - That’s already been done. And if it is the reason for the next round then Miami/ND/FSU/Clemson will be the movers only. 2 to Big10, 2 to SEC. I also think the viewership/tv market thing is overstated. Sure more eyes is more dollars but I think it is marginal. The market is already cornered. Everyone watches the big games everywhere. Think expanding into “new markets” is a superficial game of capture the flag. Of the course SEC/Big10 wants the Virginia/DC market. But a ton of people already watch/spend on those conferences in the state already. A ton of vt/uva fans already consume SEC/Big10 football. So there isn’t a ton to gain by getting Virginia/DC the way everyone thinks there is. Think the movers and shakers see that. ** Edited by wahoo2023 at 7/2/2025, 11:26:49 AM

Which again, not hard to see uva is considered for the athletic department…. The only inference is the next round of moves will not be ENTIRELY a football decision. You tell me who that stands to benefit between uva/vt.

It already is. Many on this post are trying to argue that it’s insane to think that uva is getting consideration because it’s a top 10 athletic department annually and it has a 3-9 football team. It’s very funny to watch bc these reports about uva to the big 10 and the sec keep tricking out over the months and years. But it’s not possible uva can be considered! Also no bubble to burst of my own here, if uva moves, it’s because of overall department performance. Not calling it will happen - but it’s pretty indisputable that would be the reason why at this point. Don’t think you have to really think that deep to see that.

It’s the exact reason why uva is being consider more prominently than VT - The reality that no one discusses in conference alignment is the added benefit of uva/unc/vt/Duke to name a few isn’t going to come from whatever football brand moves with it at that time. The TV contracts are not going to increase because it is now VT vs Vandy or UVA versus Vandy. Same for Alabama versus uva or vt. That first game against the name brand will be fun - then not so fun looking at the 60-0 scoreboard - for both uva/vt. The money in these contracts is for THE games of the conferences. Bama v Georgia. Texas v Bama. Michigan v OSU. Penn state v Oregon etc. You think VT v Arkansas is going to be pay per view worthy? Same for UVA v SCAR. That’s where’s it is headed is pay per view games. Despite the interest difference in football programs at uva and vt - (and sorry to burst your bubble that is now the only effectual difference between the programs today.) whatever revenue tech football would bring is marginal to overall income! Whatever revenue uva football would bring is marginal to overall income! You are not expanding for the best football teams anymore - the best are already there. FSU/Clemson/Miami is clearly on the outside looking in - they are the top of the second tier now because revenues will continue to distance ability. AND it makes sense for the sec specifically not to add brands that hurt their best brands (Texas, Georgia, Bama). That’s why I continue to think that B10 will want FSU/Clemson/Miami more than SEC. We all can obviously debate WHY the next round of expansion will happen. we can say it will be football based or creating the best holistic value for the conference etc etc etc. there’s so many different ways you can convince yourself one school is worthy over another, etc. But I think at this point it is rather clear this just isn’t a pure football (and potential football revenue) decision because otherwise Clemson/Miami/FSU would comprise the last spots and unc/uva/vt/ncsu/others would be out of convo. Sorry to burst your bubble, but yes the fact that UVA’s athletic department as a whole is well ahead of VT will matter, even if you don’t want to accept it. Will uva leave and tech gets stuck? Maybe - who the hell knows.

Was which ACC teams can say they have talent to compete - your response of “name them” to a bunch of acc teams can say the same. But even on your point, bringing back a few players from a bad team…. Is still bring back a few players from a bad team. Lawal is Lawal, but I’d say the same about uva if they brought back Ames/Rohde/IMac/Cofie/Buchannan, only one their that is a top 5 type player was Mckneely (IMac). The rest didn’t do too much so that’s why I wasn’t pulling hair when they left (like everyone else on the Sabre).

Godfrey, Davidson, Wahlin, Welling I’d put as one of the better front courts in the league. UVA was after Davidson and Wahlin, and they are going to be good acc players, especially Wahlin who should have some increased burn at Clemson as opposed to Utah. Lot of inside out ability, and I think Godfrey is going to be a thorn in the side of a lot of teams as a physical athletic 4. Guards are good too in Butta Johnson, Hunter (who I think takes a step this year) and Jestin Porter (transfer scorer). Mentioned it above but Brownell puts together top 4 finishes like Bennett used to do. Dude is just winning consistently. Like the guards that wake got in the portal. Akins, Calmese, Mason (from UW) and Myles Colvin brings them right back in terms of guard production. Colvin could be a breakout type that Sallis was coming from Gonzaga. Post looks lite but don’t think it’s a crazy stretch to look at that roster and say top 10 roster in acc. Same for Cal, Madsen put together a complete portal haul imo, does it work? Maybe, but to say Cal is in conversation as that 9-11th acc team isn’t too far off. Same with SMU. Enfield can coach. Walters from Michigan will do well in an expend role. Like Pierre a lot as well.