DENVER — VCU basketball coach Ryan Odom appears set to leave for the UVA job, less than 24 hours after the Rams season ended with a first-round NCAA tournament loss to BYU.
Fan host Michael Phillips gave his instant reaction to the move in a podcast on Friday night.
"Two years is not a long time to be coach at a school," he said. "And yet, in this transfer portal world, it's not a leave-the-cupboard-bare situation, because in a lot of ways, the cupboard is now bare every year. Even if Ryan Odom had stayed as coach, he was going to have to rebuild this VCU roster.
"He's going to have to rebuild the UVA team and impose a new style there, but it's easier to do it (representing an ACC team). That's the way of the world. And it's not fair, but it's hard to begrudge anybody when you see the system allowing for it, and everybody's doing it."
Odom has one NCAA tournament win, ironically against the Cavaliers, as the coach of No. 16 seed UMBC.
VCU has managed to stay nationally relevant through a number of coaching changes now, with each of the last six Rams coaches taking the team to the NCAA tournament.
"I think the brand is strong," Phillips said. "If (VCU athletics director) Ed McLaughlin can get VCU an invite into the Big East, just build a statue of him. That's the thing that could launch these guys into the next era. Until then, it's finding a way to make do in a tough circumstance."
MP and AWadd return to the airwaves on Monday to discuss Odom's departure and everything else in the world of sports.