Ryan Odom’s Journey Comes Full Circle
By Robert Viccellio
When Ryan Odom was introduced this past March as the University of Virginia’s new head basketball coach, the occasion represented much more than just a new chapter in his coaching career. He was returning to a university where, in many ways, his story truly began. “This is the place where I fell in love with basketball,” he said at the press conference. “This is the place where I was shaped in so many ways.”
Ryan Odom spent many of his formative years in Charlottesville, arriving in 1982 when his father, Dave, was hired as an assistant by head basketball coach Terry Holland. He started as third grader at Venable Elementary School, then moved onto Walker middle and Charlottesville High School. After Ryan’s ninth grade year, the Odoms moved to Winston Salem, North Carolina, when his father was named Wake Forest’s head coach in 1989.
“That’s the time when you’re with your parents the most, when you’re starting to figure out life, how you’re supposed to behave, and what your values are,” Odom says of his years in Charlottesville. “Education, respect, friendships. All of that really takes root then. It’s also when you begin to fall in love with what you want to do, while still just being a kid and enjoying life.”
Sports were an ever-present part of his childhood—both participating in them and having access to the inner workings of a college basketball program. Odom excelled in youth soccer, tennis, and basketball, ultimately choosing to focus on the latter two sports in high school.
“Growing up in Charlottesville, around the University of Virginia, you really couldn’t ask for a healthier place,” he recalls. “Everywhere you looked, people were chasing excellence—not just in athletics, but in all different walks of life. You learn the value of hard work, competitiveness, respect, integrity, love, and friendship, all in a safe environment.”
Odom served as a ball boy at UVA home games, and, as the son of coach, he lived a childhood that blended seamlessly into the excitement of UVA sports. After school, he’d head to University Hall to watch women’s and men’s basketball practices, then walk home over the Copeley Rd. bridge with his father and Coach Holland.
A childhood photo of Odom was featured on the cover of a UVA basketball camp brochure, one that he brought to his interview for the Virginia job to underscore his deep ties to the program. “Honestly, I was pretty spoiled—getting to sit at the ACC Tournament, front row at U-Hall, watching the greats of that golden age of ACC basketball, along with outstanding football, women’s basketball, and Bruce Arena’s soccer teams. It was special.”
Terry Holland and his family played a prominent role in making those years so special. The Odoms—Dave, Ryan, big brother Lane, and mom Lynn—lived on Morris Road just two doors down from Ann and Terry Holland.
“They’re family,plain and simple,” Odom says. “We’re as close to the Hollands as anyone in our lives. What I love is that it started with two friends: Coach Holland asked my dad to come along on this journey, and they worked side by side every single day. Of course, it wasn’t just those two. Jeff Jones, Craig Littlepage, Jim Larrañaga, and others all played important roles, but Coach Holland and my dad had a special bond.”
“[The Hollands’ daughters] Kate and Ann-Michael and I grew up together like brothers and sisters,” he continues. “We celebrated the wins and felt the sting of the losses, too. That’s part of growing up in a coaching family. Mrs. Holland set the tone in so many ways, offering support to players, coaches’ wives, assistants, and their kids.”
Those lessons stuck with him as he watched his parents follow the Hollands’ example throughout their own career stops. Now, as a head coach, he has built a culture where everyone feels valued and included.
When asked what he hopes Terry Holland, who passed away in 2023, and his father would notice about the way he runs his program, Odom doesn’t hesitate. “The first thing I’d hope they’d see is that I truly love those kids and want them to succeed,” he says. “That’s the foundation of any strong program—when people come together and genuinely care about one another, special things can happen. Individuals flourish when they feel free to be themselves, and that confidence creates the courage to attack whatever’s in front of them. Winning and losing will always be part of the game, but real success is a byproduct of that kind of culture.”
The welcoming atmosphere that Holland cultivated years ago allowed Odom to get to know Jeff Jones, a former Virginia basketball player who joined the staff as an assistant the same year the Odoms moved to Charlottesville. “Before or after practice we’d sometimes sit together,” Jones recalls. “I had this habit of dribbling a basketball between my legs while sitting, and Ryan would join me. What I really remember is that he and his brother Lane were always around the program. That was the culture Coach Holland fostered—the players and their families were intertwined.”
One childhood friend sees a direct correlation between the traits Odom showed as a kid with the coach he’s become today. “Back in the day, he was the guy people wanted to hang out with, and now he’s the guy players want to play for,” says Joe Miller, a Charlottesville native who spent summers with Odom at Holland’s basketball camp. “His style is fun, he’s honest, he’s genuine—and those qualities matter.”
Odom went on to Hampden-Sydney College, where he starred on the basketball team. Still the school record-holder for most three-pointers made in a season, he was inducted into the Hampden-Sydney College Athletic Hall of Fame this past September. Beyond the accolades, it was the relationships forged with his teammates and his coach, Tony Shaver, that have followed him through his life.
“Coach Shaver was an amazing coach who took programs to championship levels and taught us lessons we still carry today,” Odom says. “More importantly, he set the tone for how we carried ourselves—with discipline, work ethic, and respect—and those lessons have stayed with me. What makes it even more special is that the relationship didn’t end when our playing days did. He still follows our games, checks in, and shows up, and that ongoing support means everything.”
Odom has also reunited with longtime friend and H-SC teammate Griff Aldrich, bringing him aboard as Virginia’s associate head coach. Aldrich has his own Virginia ties, with a degree from the UVA School of Law.
After graduating from Hampden-Sydney in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in economics, Odom began a coaching journey that included stops at numerous schools, including some with UVA connections. Jeff Jones hired Odom as an assistant coach at American University. As colleagues, their friendship deepened, extending beyond the court to time spent together with their families. After Odom moved on to be an assistant at Virginia Tech under Seth Greenberg (another former UVA assistant coach) the bond endured, and they have remained close friends.
“I don’t know if I’d call myself a mentor,” says Jones, who has held head coaching jobs at UVA, American, and Old Dominion. “I think of myself simply as a friend. We’re both sons of coaches, and maybe that says something about the bond we share.”
After paying his dues as an assistant at six different schools, the head coaching opportunities began rolling in, first as interim head coach at Charlotte, followed by stints at Lenoir-Rhyne, UMBC, Utah State, and VCU. He’s had success everywhere he’s been, compiling a career record of 222-127, with postseason runs at each of his programs, conference championships, and multiple 20-win seasons.
“I’ve had a lot of jobs over the course of my life and career, but none that have felt quite like this,” Odom says of landing the UVA job. “Every job comes with responsibility. You want to do well, to succeed, to represent the program the right way. But being back here, it feels different. It’s been more present in my heart and mind, because I know how much people care about this program, about the totality of it.”
Since he’s been back, Odom has had impromptu conversations with fans and season ticket holders around town, many with decades of devotion dating back to the 1970s. To him, it underscores how deeply the basketball program resonates in the community. In 2018, Virginia fans were reintroduced to Odom when his 16-seeded UMBC team stunned Coach Tony Bennett and his No. 1 seed Virginia in the NCAA Tournament. “In the moment, it felt bittersweet,” Odom says. “I spent so many years at UVA, but you don’t get to pick your opponent or your seed. Later, it became joy, because UVA turned it around the very next season and climbed the mountaintop. The way Coach Bennett handled that setback—with grace and humility—will be studied for years. And now, the exciting thing is that we’re on the same side.”
After Odom accepted the UVA job, former Cavalier Ty Jerome texted him about the UMBC loss. Painful as it was, Jerome said, it became the spark that drove the team to the hardest ever summer of training, becoming the fuel for their redemption. “Hearing that directly from one of the players who lived it showed me how much resilience was built in that moment, and how the program used it to rise higher,” says Odom.
Odom has made reconnecting the UVA basketball family with the program as important as rebuilding the team itself. “Ryan knew when he came in that it wasn’t just about basketball,” says Jones. “He remembered how important that connection was when he was growing up here. From the start, he’s made it a priority to bring it back. He’s opened practices to alums, and people have responded. And it’s not just the players. Ryan includes managers and staff, anyone who’s been part of the program. People are lining up now to join Zoom calls, attend practices, and come back for games because they feel truly welcomed by Ryan and his staff.”
With 11 new players on this year’s roster, instilling a sense of pride and connection on his team is another key ingredient in Odom’s formula. Frequent visits from past Cavalier greats like Ralph Sampson and current Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, among many others, have helped reinforce those efforts. “Introducing them to the history of this place is really important,” Odom says. “Not only on the basketball side, but the overall history of this place and what it means to be a Virginia basketball player and a Virginia student-athlete.”
Given his background, it’s not surprising that family is at the center of Odom’s life. His older son Connor played on his dad’s teams at Utah State and VCU, while Owen is now a first-year walk-on at UVA. “I think my boys have benefited from growing up in a coaching family,” Odom says. “They’ve always had ‘big brothers’ to look up to—the players who’ve come through our programs. Over the years, we’ve been fortunate to work with great kids, the kind you’d want your own children around.”
Off the court, his wife, Lucia, has been his anchor. For 16 years, she built and ran a women’s boutique called Monkee’s until making the difficult decision to sell it just before COVID. She chose to step away so the family could focus on his career, knowing moves were on the horizon and their boys needing her time and energy. “I couldn’t do any of this without my wife,” says Odom. “She’s the real champion in our family story. Walking away from her business was a tremendous sacrifice. But she did it for our family.”
With the little free time he’s had since taking the UVA job, he and his wife have been getting acquainted with local restaurants. “We enjoy going out to eat and seeing what the local cuisine is like—that’s kind of our thing,” Odom says. “Coming from Richmond, where the food scene was off the charts, we’ve been impressed with Charlottesville so far. We haven’t been everywhere yet, but there are so many good spots here.”
As Odom and his family settle into life in Charlottesville, he’s amazed by the UVA facilities that have been built in recent years. However, he’s still getting used to not seeing U-Hall, the old arena where he spent so much time during his childhood, which was demolished in 2019. Beyond Grounds, Fashion Square Mall and Route 29 North have changed dramatically, but he’s happy to see familiar spots still on the Corner like Ragged Mountain Running Shop and other places such as 21 Curves and Foxfield that remain just as he remembers them.
“It’s such a beautiful college town, and no matter which direction you go, it’s just sheer beauty all around,” Odom says. “Charlottesville never really left me. Sitting here now, it’s pretty humbling to be back.