Watch the video below courtesy of Virginia Sports TV on YouTube to see the full postgame press conference with UVA basketball interim head coach Ron Sanchez following Virginia’s 59-41 win over Bethune-Cookman on Thursday night and follow along with the transcript below to read everything Sanchez said after the game.
On what changed in the second half vs. the first half:
RON SANCHEZ: Well, first of all, it’s finals week. I think some of them were still studying when they were sitting on the bench today, at least they looked that way. But you know, winning is hard. It doesn’t matter. The history here speaks of that. And we respect every opponent, and we didn’t get the best start. We took, I think, 15 threes in the first half, only made three, but I think our defense kept us in there. I think we gave up 20 points in the first half, or 21 in the first half, and then we just had to battle in the second. That was the message at halftime, was just keep guarding. We’re going to find ways to score. We’re going to find a rhythm. And I think they did a really good job of handling the adversity that they faced in the first half, because they could have kind of faltered there for a minute.
On the play of freshmen Ishan Sharma and Jacob Cofie:
RON SANCHEZ: Man, we got a great lift from the freshmen today, and I’ll go back. You know, you got to go through some experiences in order for you to grow. And Ish [Ishan Sharma] is a hard worker, Jacob’s a really hard worker as well. And he’s been, what you saw today is what he what he’s done in practice many times, and it’s just a matter of time. I would like to say that hard work is rewarded when the opportunity presents itself, and with Dai Dai [Ames] being out, Ish was asked to do more, and he stepped up, and he was the next man up, and he did a really good job. And Blake is usually our defensive anchor, and he was a little off today, and Jacob stepped in and did a really good job as well. Those two guys, we’re very pleased with with what they did for us today.
On the play of Elijah Saunders in the second half:
RON SANCHEZ: Elijah played a lot more physical in the second half. He got in front of the basket. The attention to detail and executing our kind of special situations – out of bounds under with 0.8 seconds left on the clock – some of those execution plays were really well done. Him doing part of it, but the pass and the screen, IMac [Isaac McKneely] set a phenomenal screen. Rohde deliver the pass on time, and Elijah made the correct read. So, you know, from that standpoint, I give the guys just credit for paying attention to the details in that moment, because all of those kind of quick hitter plays we needed tonight.
On the injury status of Dai Dai Ames:
RON SANCHEZ: No, I don’t think it’s long term. I just felt that he was still a little sore, and today might have set him back further. So, we wanted to be really smart with his recovery.
On the challenge of maintaining the team’s confidence and focus:
RON SANCHEZ: Today I was actually thinking, I wish I would have gotten a psychology degree; maybe that would help. The truth is that losing kind of teaches you some things, and through adversity is where you grow. I know we all want to shy away from it, those two road games were challenging. Of course, we practiced hard. We practice well, they had great attention to detail at shootaround today. These guys want to be good. Our job is just make sure that no one gets left behind, that we continue to value every possession. We’re turning the ball over way too much right now, and we have to continue to clean that up. But for us, it’s to continue to encourage them. They’re all talented and they’re all good players. One person’s opinion or one person’s suggestion of an athlete, you know, should not dictate to them who they are. These guys are good players. They’re here for a reason. They’ve earned the right to be on this stage. And for me as as a coach, right now, what I have to do is encourage them and let them know how talented they are, and to continue to stay the course.
On Eli Bennett getting an opportunity to play in the game:
RON SANCHEZ: There are very few things that you can do as a coach that really kind of bring you tremendous joy. And to award a guy a jersey is one of those things. I think the second thing is when you can award a guy a scholarship, you know? But one of our pillars is servanthood. And we have guys that show up to practice every day that half the people around here don’t even know their names, and they work so hard, they’re here early, they leave late. Eli Bennett is one of those guys. What we decided to do is every home game, we’re going to dress a different guy to give those guys the opportunity to get on the floor, and hopefully even if it’s just to warm up, if they have a chance to get in, if we have an opportunity, we’ll find a way to get them there. It’s our way to say thank you for all that they do to serve this team.
On his approach towards solving the team’s turnover problem:
RON SANCHEZ: We just have to keep working at it. It’s a mindset. There’s a skill set to it, of course, but we do. We’ve been focusing on that since the summer, something that has plagued us a little bit, and we were aware of it, we just kind of continue to work on it, and we’ll get better. We’ll show film, we’ll do drills, I mean, a lot of drills that we’re doing right now. And since the turnovers haven’t picked up the way we want, I’m going to scratch some of those drills and create new ones. But in the end, honestly, it’s a mindset, it’s a mentality. I think the level of toughness, it’s a level of playing when you’re tired. A lot of different things come into play, and then there’s leadership on the floor that has to control some of that.
On preparing the team to face Memphis next week:
RON SANCHEZ: Yes, I mean, we respect every opponent. We’re going to prepare for Memphis the same way we prepared for the game tonight, the same way we prepared for Florida. We don’t have the luxury of looking at any opponent differently. We have a young group. We have guys that have to get to know each other. Our attention to detail and practice has to be intense. Memphis is an athletic team. They’re long, they’re in the top 25 for a reason. So it’s another opportunity for us to take on that task at home and make sure that we do the little things really well.
On Alexis Ohanian’s donation to the UVA women’s basketball program:
RON SANCHEZ: Alexis is a huge ambassador for women’s basketball, I mean, for women’s sports as a whole. I am personally a huge tennis fan, so I’m just excited that he is a part of our community. I think that his gift to our women, I think, is a gift that could, that will impact this program in a huge, huge way. And I’m just thankful that we have individuals like him that are willing to support women’s sports and we’re very, very fortunate to have that.
The Plus/Minus: Virginia Takes Down Bethune-Cookman
Five Takeaways From Virginia’s 59-41 Win over Bethune-Cookman
Virginia vs. Bethune-Cookman Live Updates | NCAA Men’s Basketball
ACC Weekly Roundup: Power Rankings and the Good, Bad, and Ugly
UVA Basketball: Dai Dai Ames Injury Exacerbates Point Guard Situation
