Update [5:20 PM]: Further reports indicate Whit Babcock spoke with Ryan Odom about the Hokies' vacancy.
Per report in Baltimore Sun indicating Ryan Odom to remain at UMBC: Circled back to #Hokies source who insists offer was made and VT felt it was done deal.— Gene Wang (@gene_wang) April 6, 2019
Sources confirm UMBC coach Ryan Odom spoke with #Hokies about their opening but will not be the next coach at Virginia Tech.https://t.co/tz6VkRaTcn— Mike Barber (@RTD_MikeBarber) April 6, 2019
Update [4:50 PM]: The Baltimore Sun refuted previous reports that Ryan Odom was set to be the next men's basketball coach at Virginia Tech.
UMBC men's basketball coach Ryan Odom is not leaving for the same position at Virginia Tech, he told The Baltimore Sun on Saturday.
Two other sources with knowledge of the situation disputed reports that the coach was leaving after three seasons in Catonsville. The Washington Post reported Saturday that the Hokies, who have a vacancy after Buzz Williams accepted the job at Texas A&M this week, were set to announce Odom as coach at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Original Post: Per reports from the Washington Post and WDBJ-TV, the Hokies have zeroed in on Ryan Odom as their next men's basketball coach. A Virginia Tech spokesperson declined to comment on the news.
Bring told #Hokies are set to announce Ryan Odom as new men's basketball coach today at 6. Stay tuned.— Gene Wang (@gene_wang) April 6, 2019
Everything pointing to Ryan Odom as next VT basketball coach.— Travis Wells (@TravisWells7) April 6, 2019
The UMBC head man guided the Retrievers to the 2018 NCAA Tournament per an America East Conference title. There he architected an unprecedented upset. Sixteen-seed UMBC upset No. 1 Virginia. That's the first time ever a No. 1 seed lost to a No. 16 seed in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Odom spent seven years (2003–2010) on the Virginia Tech staff as an assistant to Seth Greenberg.
Comments
I cant help but feel a but deflated/unimpressed by this considering the other names mentioned earlier this week. Oh well I guess time will tell
Based on what? He turned around an awful team, is young, isn't going to want 3 million just to start, is considered a good coach among coaches. I mean just like football did anyone honestly think a coach making over 2 million at a program that regularly goes to the tourney is coming to Tech right now?
I don't dislike the hire, but yes, I thought it was reasonable to poach a more established head coach.
More eloquently and clearly put, this ^^^^
None of the names thrown against the wall this week are at programs on down swing, lack NCAA tournament chances or had falling out with AD. Hell I bet the top three end up with raises above what Odom will make his first year here.
They end up with raises because their current administration wants to keep them.... because they are good.
And if you want to switch and argue youth argument why not go full send and give it to McNeilly hypothetically
See James Johnson.
Agreed and not advocating for it. Just trying to analyze multiple potential lines of thinking
Me too. Buzz left the Hokies as, what I thought was, a much more desirable destination. So I figured that we would get a bigger name guy with more of an established track record.
He left it with a successful season but otherwise pretty broken
If we hired this guy cause he was cheap, we deserve to see the program slide back.
I'm having a tough time getting on board with this. I'm sure Odom is a good coach but we needed someone with consistent success who is known to recruit well and... Well, he's not really that. In fact this just seems like a move to appease our boosters cause LOLZ HE BEAT THE HOOS, HAAAA.
It's not cheap it's reality man. The coaches named by people should have required 2 million plus to come here, with little doubt they would be gone when a bigger job came along. That's even if you could get them away from their current jobs where they aren't exactly in bad spots in terms of wins and fan support.
Then we deserve to see our program slide back to irrelevance.
Blah blah blah blah I really don't care. Buzz was making an assload of money here with a big support staff and we could afford it and we won. Cheaping out now is signalling to donors we don't care about basketball anymore, which is sad.
And to be honest, I really don't care about any rationalizations you want to make. We made it work under Buzz, there is no excuse to not make it work going forward.
O boy we have reached the spoiled fan level.
Lol so now expecting to maintain the status quo is "spoiled fan level"
Christ could you be more of a mouthpiece for the Athletic Department
How is wanting someone with a little more pedigree and experience at the higher levels of basketball being a "spoiled fan"? Jesus no one is saying we have to hire K or Bill Self...but a guy from a school with ONe fluke win over a D1 school?? This is insane.
Because those guys weren't leaving their job. It's just like with scheduling Whit can't make a coach leave their current job. So he hires a coach who recruits well, who game plans well and has great background in coaching and VA.
Based on what? His only real major success as a coach was a fluke win in the NCAA tournament. We haven't seen how well he can recruit.
Took a team that won 7 games to over 20 in every season since he got there.
That has way less to do with recruiting than it does coaching and lack of competition, the man still lost at least 4 conference games every year he was their coach, would be extremely uninspiring and rightfully so
Did you just really type he lost 4 games and that means he isn't any good? Coach K would never have been hired from Army with that attitude, he lost 17 games his last season at Army.
Against a very easy conference. Toughest teams are Vermont and Stony Brook. I'm not saying it isn't a good accomplishment, but to act like he's a good hire for VT because he was able to do well against UMASS Lowell, Binghamton, and New Hampshire is ludicrous.
To take a team that went 3-13 and finish 12-4 two years later in any conference speaks to the Xs and Os acumen of that coach. Especially when most of the players doing the damage were inherited. Biggest question mark here is recruiting.
Mike Young
I'm not disagreeing that it isn't a good accomplishment. What I'm saying is that it's one thing to do it against the UMASS Lowell's of the world as opposed to Coach K. I would like to see him prove himself at a higher conference before making the jump to ACC play.
That is absolutely a justified concern. I guess what I'm saying is success against your contemporaries is at least a positive indicator when all you have to work with is players of similar quality to your opponents'.
He's also competing in a mediocre conference
We will see how this comment ages once the actual hire is announced
Odom has done a lot more than engineer one fluke win over a D-1 school. He completely turned around 2 programs in his 1st year at each school, was voted Coach of the Year in his division and has state of Virginia connections (lots of fans want that instead of another coach who is waiting to go "home"). If rumors are true, it's not a splash hire but he seems solid on the coaching. Next, can he recruit?
O boy we have reached the homer level.
It's okay every now and then to criticize VT.
Yep and I do, maybe you just don't read it. Lots to critique: no spring game one TV, Hokie Club is subpar, letting Buzz Williams have such a low buyout and promote his brand at same time, apparel deal, Kenny Brooks here not being great. But we want to throw Whit in the flames for a hire that hasn't even been made yet.
But others are spoiled fans if they don't agree with you on the Odom hire?
It's ok that we're hoping for a household name
Household names in college basketball are maybe a dozen guys total. Hell Im more than a casual fan and couldnt before this search name outside of Tech and VCU name more than 10 none ACC coaches.
I take it back. Odom would have been a superstar compared to Young
100% agree.
Man, try looking at Hokie athletics without worrying about the money just for once. You will be so much happier. I get that it's not always ideal but good god man.
Being realistic in my expectations and goals of teams and the overall athletic department is a great way to follow sports. I take a step back before jumping into the mobs.
That was a quick step.
Because prior to today I had read the posts about his resume, and most of the other names thrown out there. Then when the rumor came out I went and read what high school and college analysts thought of the hire and made my decision..
Oh spare me Fireman. Everyone on this website knows your condescending Hokie Club schtick. You parade around about the Hokie club then talk down to everyone who doesn't choose to follow Hokie sports by reading the financial reports.
Fireman is 100% right about joining. If you love VT and are able to join, you should if you expect to win the big games.
Sure, but this thread is prime evidence for why it's annoying. He's calling fans homers for expecting a hire that makes more than $2 million.
Just because it's annoying doesn't mean it's not true.
Again, I'm not saying it's not true.
I didn't call them homer I called them spoiled, spoiled by Whit being able to grant Buzz out of a bad situation and get him to stay for so long. That coaching level hire isn't normal at Tech currently.
Then you look at Odom's resume and tell me why he isn't a hire people should look at before bashing him and Whit?
Calling them spoiled is worse. I'm not going to rehash the debate, just scroll up.
Would it be wrong for Clemson fans to expect a great hire after Dabo, just because he isn't the norm?
Not after two Natties. But if you're talking about expecting something changed permanently after a few ACCG appearances and maybe one CFP then, yes.
It is time to stop
Whatever helps you deal with the realities of coaching hires man and the outcomes on the field. We all have our fandoms in different ways.
It is fine to be cognizant of money, but to act like VT's only realistic options need to be guys who making $425k/yr in their current role is nothing more than disingenuous.
To question someone's expectations or call them spoiled for hoping for a coach with more experience or from a larger program (mind you we're days off rumors where we were offering our coach more than $3MM) is downright obnoxious.
Exactly. With the kind of money it's rumored VT is willing to spend, if true, that should open a lot of possibilities in the coaching world. Beard? Marshall? Wojo? Others? if after an exhaustive search we are unable to make a big hire due to financial constraints or disinterest from top possibilities, and we have to go with an "up and comer" I will understand but we are 3 days into the process. I'm sure Whit had a target list but he still has to conduct interviews, and keep it under the radar. I wouldn't call it spoiled hoping for a big hire, but definitely disappointed if it feels like we didn't even try. Hiring Odom three days in would have that feel, regardless of his ability and the results he may or may not bring to the program.
Which candidate did you even like that was realistic? Lol
He won't be able to keep any recruits or bring in any transfers. You are a sheep
Which guy would have?
Dawkins, Musselman, Wojo, wofford coach, becker
Dawkins who while at Stanford was .458 in conference games?
Please provide your negative opinion on my other 4 options. Baaa baa baa
This comment is something else
So Wofford head coaching job is now high enough to be a notable level above UMBC? Sorry I dont see a huge difference in the profiles and Odom has a huge regional advantage over Mike Young at this point since Young, while from this area, hasnt coached here since 1989 at Radford. Young also has a .545 winning percentage over 550 games at Woffords level so why would I expect much better here?
Wojo would be an interesting hire.... We could take Marquette's head coach for the second time in a few years...
I'm gonna say it and hope people understand. Tech isn't gonna get a big time coach. From what I seen no big name coach wants too come here right now
I fully understand. My comment was solely based on Wojo being thrown into the list of candidate ideas.. And the fact that he replaced Buzz at Marquette and now we are looking for a new coach again...
I also thought it would be interesting if he went up against Coach K.
But I wasn't expecting a big name hire.
He immediately brought in a transfer from VCU to UMBC, he also retained the entire roster but one, brought in several late additional recruits and just managed a 14 game win turnaround from the previous year.
This article touches on many of the same subjects Buzz brought up regarding OKGs. Odom has much the same approach.
https://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/2018/8/18/17693028/umbc-bask...
This is a mediocre hire and a terrible attempt to troll UVA.
Boo.
I really hope this isn't true. Not so much the hire (but I do have some big reservations about it) but the timing of the announcement. If we go through with this, that's just flat out embarrassing. It's not funny. It's weak. I'd lose some respect for the VT Athletics if we do this. If you want to hire Odom, fine. But make the announcement tomorrow at Noon or something. Don't to be a 12 year old that got their feelings hurt on Fortnite
If I were a UVA fan (shudder) I'd laugh at this heartily.
It would be embarrassingly bush league.
Man he hasn't even coached 1 game here and we're already bashing him
I'd argue that it is an above average attempt to troll UVA. I still laugh at Odom making history against the Hoos. The fact is that time will tell. Boo HOO!
Potentially unpopular opinion if true:
Not impressed. At all. No disrespect meant here, but Odom's one claim to fame is an upset of the century. He's coached against competition that's much more inferior than ACC basketball. His recruiting is an unknown, but likely not great. We're going from a top 15 coach to a relatively unheard of guy. Called me unimpressed. I am willing to give him a chance however, but won't be expecting much. I honestly think he needs a stop at a higher caliber school before jumping to an ACC program. It's an uninspired hiring quite honestly.
We will see my bar for setting my expectations will be who he can keep/bring in first few cycles
You skipped the fifteen "Buzz is leaving" and "coaching search" threads I take it? My dad asked me what I thought about Steve Forbes (ETSU) as a candidate. I said I didn't know much about him but fans would be very upset if it were him. This is basically the same thing.
It got lost in the shuffle, not gonna lie. Those threads got to be too much and I don't remember 95% of what was said.
I would have preferred someone with experience at a higher level but if he can recruit and knows the Xs and Os, I will reserve further judgement.
I think everyone was maybe expecting more because of the homerun surprise hire of Buzz. The chances of Whit making another Buzz like hire was slim. Give the dude a chance... anyone was going to be a downgrade from Buzz, but maybe he'll surprise us
He didn't have to make another Buzz hire. But if our next move is to hire a guy who's top competition in conference is Vermont and Stony Brook...well that speaks for itself.
I think Buzz's success has made us a little unrealistic about where our program is as well.
How? We're in the top conference in basketball with an AD who's shown he cares about the sport and a fan base who will show up and be loud. Buzz didn't make us unrealistic, Buzz made us realize Blacksburg can have a competitive program.
Because we have exactly 0 sustained success. We have building blocks.
We're expecting more because we're an ACC team that made the sweet sixteen and the tourney 3 years in a row in a talent rich region of the country
Where's the poster that was telling us all to relax, that he was hearing good things? I need him to tell me that again....
I'll reserve judgement. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy the troll job.
Quick thoughts.
Upsides:
He's young so there's potential for long term success if he pans out.
We'll be saving at least $1m per year over Buzz's salary for those concerned about lack of resources for football.
Strong coaching pedigree.
Connections to the area that should be beneficial for recruiting.
Absolutely licked UVA with an America East roster plus one VCU transfer.
Downsides:
Not a splash hire.
Unproven at the power conference level.
OOC record vs P5 teams at UMBC was not great outside of the UVA win.
UVA fans will say "lol u only hired him cuz upset ur desperate to beat us lol"
Here's UMBC's entire Division I basketball history with Odom's tenure highlighted. He took a team that hadn't finished with double digit wins yet this decade and won 21 games the next year. None of that happened by accident.
You're correct, but I wish you would've led with the bad stuff 1st so as to end on a positive note. But again, correct.
Looks like a good on court coach. He did magic at UMBC and also turned around Lenoir-Rhyne his 1st year there. Biggest question may be recruiting. And of course, if the rumor is even true.
The worst part about this is the rumored announcement at 6. If this goes down it's a targeted attempt at trolling the Hoos while they are playing in the Final Four. That would be monumentally poor form on our part and make us look like desperate for attention morons. I really hope this isn't true because the optics here are so poor.
UMBC Beat Writer:
I hope this is true. The optics around this rumor are very poor
Please let this be true....
To add more context beyond "beat writer", he works for the student newspaper, best I can tell.
I saw that and would appreciate if he would have some follow up info. Best I can tell he's in a position to at least hear something even without being told directly.
Odom is pulling a Willard.....
Don't like the hire would have liked to see more sustained success before hiring him and I feel tech is at a place to hire a more accomplished coach. Hopefully it's just a stupid rumor
I hope the price is right so we can give him a raise when he kills it, or pay up for his replacement if this fails.... here's to hoping he kills it! Let's Go!
HOKIES!
Relax HokieNation the words of no leaks came from Whit himself. I'm more unsure of who it could be now just because the info hasn't been as easy to come by but I would say Marshall is still very much in the discussion. I don't think Odom would be a bad hire but I do think Whit could definitely pull someone at least a little better.
THE LEAKS WILL ONLY COME FROM ENEMIES OF THE HOKIESTATE
Given how you were going on a few days ago if we don't hire Wojo or Marshall I'm not listening to a word you have to say again.
Lol you don't have to I could honestly carealess. I put out insight I've heard, my source is credible to me if the dude happens to be wrong so be it, people change their minds I'm not gonna hold it against the dude, he's usually not and I'm gonna reserve my judgement till after the hire.
I'm sure you and your source are fine people, but I have no reason to ever trust your #sauces if we don't hire one of those two men when you throw around comments like this: https://www.thekeyplay.com/comment/815422#comment-815422
Man! This is a rollercoaster ride!
There is no way we actually plan to hire a guy who is only known for beating UVA once at the exact time that UVA starts a final 4 game.
No thanks
Strike me at odds with most of the posters here. I am a big fan of Ryan Odom both from a coaching style, coaching background, and recruiting background. Odom turned around a basement dweller in UMBC overnight by identifying talent that was available at his level, which is way harder then trying to find and compete for talent with a P5 budget and staff. Yes he beat UVA but he also prefers a pace and style of basketball that is very similar to what Buzz ran, which we have seen causes major problems for much of the ACC over the last few years. He knows the region exceptionally well, having coached here for most of the past 20 years. He is younger but not that much so that he doesnt have the ability to lead an ACC program. He also would not be starting from scratch even in dealing with our own administration after spending 7 years as an assistant under Greenberg. There are reservations with any coach but of those I thought would be available, I considered Odom the top option.
That said, if this is true, announcing the hire right before the UVA game is a poor optic anyway you look at it.
People want a big name from a P5 school. That's literally it.
Hey if Odom is good enough for you he's definitely good enough for me.
Thank god someone else slowed down and didn't just jump off the cliff.
Is the softball coach still available?
I'm with IT on this. Would be solid hire. Lot of people with unrealistic expectations here.
No disrespect meant to Odom, but I'd actually rather have Greenberg back.
i must not downvote based on opinion. i must not downvote based on opinion. i must not downvote based on opinion. i must not downvote based on opinion.
Hahaha, fair enough. But I think if/when Greenberg decides to coach again, his fame from his high-profile ESPN analyst role will be highly attractive to big-time recruits. Certainly way more than someone like Odom.
And in fairness to Greenberg, he took over a program that was actually in worse shape than when Buzz was hired, and Buzz only had marginally more success. In fact, during Greenberg's 8 seasons with VT in the ACC, FIVE times his teams finished higher in the conference (4th or better) than any of Buzz's VT teams EVER DID.
Greenberg's downfall was the Delaney, Allen, Bell, etc. group. Those guys hated each other, they hated Greenberg, and Greenberg hated them. If he had had players with similar talent but the attitudes of Zabian Dowdell and Jamon Gordon, Seth might still be here today.
UMBC has put out a press statement saying Odom is staying:
EDIT: UMBC's student newspaper has put out a statement saying Odom is staying.
I don't think so, that's the student newspaper, not an athletic department release.
Here we go again.
great we just need 2 or 3 more of these to happen and this'll be the next Tennessee Football Coach Search
I think people would view an Odom hire much differently if he and UMBC had beaten any other team as a one seed. I trust Whit isn't just going off a list of coaches who beat UVA.
List would be pretty short over the last five years.
Fair point haha. That Williams guy at A&M has a few wins against the Hoos, we should look at him
This whole thing is ridiculous lol, we got spoiled when Whit brought in Buzz. I say give this guy a shot, could turn out great and if it doesn't we can just say we're a football school again...and if the football team is subpar again we can become a wrestling school, that program's pretty good I hear.
Trollception?
If true, hiring Odom is a "time will tell" hire and I can see how, on the surface some will be disappointed.
We would all love a "splash" hire that creates instant momentum, keeps KB here, and maybe even brings a few recruits with them..that would be great. It would also be real expensive. Prying Marshall from WSU particularly would be a budget-strainer (that's assuming there is even mutual interest).
Not sure where this rumor stands but I think a guy like Odom is not a bad hire.
One thing you have to do at VT is more with less. That's just reality. He seems to have done very well with limited resources.
VT is not a destination yet. It can become one with more winning and more money. The big dollar guys (Buzz excluded) are typically not guys who do more with less.
Give him and chance and troll UVA.
Odom may be a great coach but we can not hire him under any circumstances.
So did he turn down a 4x salary increase or did someone just leak the wrong name on purpose?
Nope not happening I'm drunk Tuesday at the earliest
Me thinks this was just a bad rumor. Not sure if Odom was actually a candidate or not.
At this point, I won't believe anything until Whit releases a statement. I suggest every VT fan does the same.
Baltimore Sun: Men's basketball coach Ryan Odom to remain at UMBC despite reports of move to Virginia Tech. https://www-baltimoresun-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.baltimoresun.com/sports/college/basketball/mens/bs-sp-ryan-odom-umbc-virginia-tech-20190406-story,amp.html
Can we all just wait for a reliable VT reporter to say something before forming opinions. Geez...
The Washington Post is a pretty credible news outlet. Something about this all seems off.
So is the Baltimore Sun, so you're right, something is NOT squaring up here.
Whit did say specifically not to believe everything we hear regarding this search.
Do you really think any reliable VT sources told this Gene Wang character this before guys like Barber or someone always on top of VT news? Wang claims to have heard this from VT people and I guarantee you his VT sources are either non-existent or unreliable. If they were reliable, this would have been picked up by the reliable VT reporters first
Travis Wells reported it too.
Wells said that signs were pointing towards Odom once the (non-)story started to pick up steam. He didn't say that he had any sources tell him anything. If we're gonna take that as a reliable report, than idk what to say
Yes, I think it's entirely possible. It's the Washington Post. Tech news has been scooped by reporters outside the regular beat. On top of that, it's asinine to suggest Wang had "non-existent" Tech sources.
He is literally just speculating. Says "deal must have unraveled in late stages" in one tweet. He doesn't know what he's talking about. I'd LOVE to know who his "VT sources" are. A lot of journalists just want to be the first one with the story and I think that's what happened today
You're literally just speculating. I'd LOVE to know how you know he's wrong. A lot of people just want to pile on journalists and I think that's what's happening with you today.
This is bordering on political commentary... watch it. /s
A post earlier today made a GREAT POINT: The center of the basketball universe is all in one place this weekend. If one wanted to really get some attention and generate interest - why would you compete with the final 4 AND even worse, announce at the same time as your rival's final 4 game??? I might expect that from a 17 year old recruit, but not a pro like our AD!
Think of all the opportunities for "interviews" and negotiations that can happen in a place where logistics and flight trackers don't matter???
Earlier this week Whit even warned us this crap would happen! (Maybe he's been through a few of these before!)
I'm going to crack a beer, order a pizza and turn on my TV and enjoy my evening of b-ball! Hope all of you do as well!
(If there's an announcement at 6 then I'm just a dumbass and you'all can pummel me later!!!)
{an hour ago} "Don't hire Ryan Odom!"
{reads Wolken's tweet about Mike Young} "Damnit, hire Ryan Odom!"
I'd be happy with either hire.
Mike Young has built that Wofford program basically from the ground up. They play attractive basketball and the SoCon is one of the better mid-major conferences right now so his success isn't coming against vastly inferior competition.
At face value, I'd be fine with Odom, but perception wise it doesn't look optimal.
My source is saying Mike Young. He says he's 60% confident.
Edit: My source is plugged in with the SoCon (friends with one of the coaches in the conference) and says he thinks Mike Young "might be the best coach in the country".
While the Socon is a decent conference, Young has coached 550 games at Wofford and has a .545 winning percentage and only a .582 in conference. Sorry if confidence just doesnt explode out of me when I see that and put it up against ACC coaches. Sure we wouldnt be cellar dwellers but I doubt we would compete for the top regularly.
I agree. But if we are going to get a relatively unknown head coach, I wouldn't mind them having SWVA roots. My friend said that it's incredibly hard to recruit to Wofford and that the facilities were worse than a high school before the Jerry Richardson Arena.
Makes me wonder if Whit tests the people around him to see how the rumor mill is connected.
I wondered the same thing.
If that's the case, someone got royally exposed.
Whit pulling a Tyrion Lannister! He is simply trying to find the mole.
Just like Chuck Rhoades...
Whit was apparently upset that the Fuente leak happened during the UVa/VT game in 2015.
Sorry Joe, not rubbing salt, just highlighting our fame.
Oh man that could be awesome but hey, Odom cant recruit
Doesn't hurt me in the least. Two reports indicating Odom was the guy, one from WaPo. TKP will do what it does, and has done, and cite those reports.
It looked for a bit there!
Gene Wang is a clown & was just jumping to conclusions to try to beat the story & got caught so he's saying he has "VT Sources". Whit said himself there would be a lot of leaks but none would be from the VT athletics department so Wang is just making himself out to be a dumbass. Move along people nothing to see here
1. There are people in the know at Virginia Tech not associated with the athletic department.
2. You're forgetting he said the same about Buzz and Fuente, and both were reported before they were announced.
I don't doubt he has been right in the past, I'm just saying in this instance he was wrong & is trying to cover his ass. He's reporting that Odom was offered the job & it was a "done deal" from VT's side. There's literally a 0% chance Odom would turn down a move up from UMBC to VT, especially with a significant pay increase since he only makes $425k/yr and we could quadruple that & still stay under what we were considering paying for a quality coach. Just makes no sense.
EDIT: Also I'm sorry if I came off as trashing TKP. I'm not trying to slander yours or the website's name. Just giving my take on the way Gene went about reporting this
I didn't take any offense. We good.
However, you're presuming Odom turned Tech down. Perhaps Tech pulled its offer.
I'm only assuming that because Gene said "Circled back to Hokies source who insists offer was made and VT felt it was done deal". That would be a weird thing to say if we had pulled the offer..
But you're right I am assuming so obviously I could be completely wrong. Either way, just a very weird situation.
Maybe because of this he was fed trash to keep him away from the real hire process.....
The people acting like no leak can possibly be true because "Whit said so" are just being utterly ridiculous
It is otterly ridiculous.
I know there has been a lot to keep up with in Blacksburg the past week or two.
Well, if there's one thing we can be thankful for, there wasn't a troll job announcement at the UVA tip. That would have been monumentally stupid.
Yeah when I saw a 6pm announcement to coincide with the UVA tip and saw the rumor of Odom of all candidates, my reaction was, wow, are we just 100% in the troll business now? Glad it doesn't seem to be the case.
So no 6pm announcement?
The rumors of the 6pm announcement were greatly exaggerated.
Maybe they meant tomorrow and not today at 6pm
did they really clarify the time zone?
Depends on which flight tracker they are using as their source.
Man I was looking forward to talking about the hire during halftime and between the Final Four games.
*whit sitting at his computer staring at key play comments while we guess*
;)
Are you Whit?? Lol
Haha certainly not, Whit doesn't make leaks
Come on. He's great, but surely the man urinates like everyone else.
This thread has me like our recruiting threads...
So so true, feel like there is so much hype on this hire it needs to be reported before there is actual truth.
What about this well known famous assistant coach at the almighty N.C. State?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Johnson_(basketball,_born_1971)
Wow & the guy even has prior experience as a HC in the ACC! I say we go for it!
I mean, what could possibly go wrong?
Maybe VT just isn't the ideal spot that all of us homers think it is....
Could be or coaches have agents who are social media savvy and if they get an idea that they would be an unpopular hire they either pass or ask for more than Whit is willing to commit.
So we just Tennessee'd Odom?
Judging from this thread we damn near Tennesse'd a couple of guys. I think it would make sense as part of a vetting process to get an idea of how the fanbase feels before taking a HC job especially after trying to follow a well-liked guy that coached the team to the NCAAT three years in a row.
I'll pay someone $5 to send me a text message once we make an announcement so I don't have to dredge through this shit swamp anymore.
And once you find out, I'll pay ya $10 to tell me!😂
This might go plaid.
So it looks like Whit's plan is to leak bogus coach hires to screw with the media and then hire Chris
Beard after they beat UVA for the national championship on Monday . /S
Agreed
I know the /s but smartly TT saddled Beard with a $12 million buyout. Can't believe we let Buzz have one so criminally low.
I think it's because he wouldn't agree to come here unless his buyout went down fast.
We got Buzz for 5 years. It was pretty transactional.
This has me wondering if Whit will Hurdle past all these picks and get Bobby..
Delay is Whit needing time to collect the. 2.5 mil buyout from donors... /s
I don't care what it cost. I'm on the Chris Beard hype choo choo! /s
I'm bummed - Odom was a good choice IMO. He did well at UMBC, and spent 7 years at VT as an assistant. His teams are fun to watch, and he wins games.
I just want a basketball team that's fun to watch and can score some points.
I agree. Don't know how that went off the rails, assuming it was ever on them.
Hopefully, Whit has something else going.
It is a total sham for anyone to say he was ever offered. There is NO WAY he turns it down if he was offered.
I believe that "on the rails/off the rails" covered all the possible bases. I don't think we know what was or was not discussed.
This whole process has been a lot of rumors, followed by the crushing of those rumors, even to the embarrassment of news organizations.
Whit said not to believe what we're going to hear until the official channel makes an announcement. He predicted that in the vacuum of information, people would fill in their own narrative.
Sure, not throwing shade at your comment... just those in the media thinking they've got a 'source'
Normally, we expect the mainstream media to verify their sources independently, and to ensure that they're not, in fact, the same source.
Seems to me that didn't happen at the Washington Post this time, as Gene Wang tried to scoop the Roanoke Times.
All I want for my birthday is the announcement of our new Basketball coach. I cant take the suspense any longer.
When is your birthday? Mine is November... I really hope we have some news by then.
Today is the day. Looks like I'll be getting no presents from Whit this year.
If Young is the guy I already miss coach Odom...