The I Love CVille Show With Jerry Miller! - UVA Basketball Has Won 3 Of Its Last 4 Games; What Has Sparked The Hoos Into Win Column?

Episode Date: February 11, 2025

The Jerry & Jerry Show headlines: UVA Basketball Has Won 3 Of Its Last 4 Games What Has Sparked The Hoos Into Win Column? Dai Dai Ames & Andrew Rohde Leading Charge Rohde’s Last 12 Games: 67 Assists, 8 Turnovers Dai Dai Ames Double Digit Points In Last 3 Games Does Sanchez Get A Chance To Keep His Job? UVA at Virginia Tech, 2PM Saturday, CW Network Virginia Football, Baseball, Lax News & Notes Read Viewer & Listener Comments Live On-Air Jerry Ratcliffe & Jerry Miller were live on The Jerry & Jerry Show! The Jerry & Jerry Show airs live Tuesday from 10:15 am – 11:15 pm on The I Love CVille Network. Watch and listen to The Jerry & Jerry Show on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, iTunes, Apple Podcast, YouTube, Spotify, Fountain, Amazon Music, Audible and iLoveCVille.com.

Good Tuesday morning, guys. My name is Jerry Miller, and thank you kindly for joining us on the Jerry and Jerry Show. We are live in downtown Charlottesville, Virginia, on a snowy Tuesday morning. Walked into the studio with the snow gear on, and, you know, a lot to talk about with Ron Sanchez's program here. We've got a basketball team that is winners of three of its last four games, winners of four of its last six. Frankly, it had an opportunity to be five and six in the win column,

and things have broke a little differently against the Virginia Tech Hokies in the John Paul Jones Arena. I'll tell you what, Andrew Rohde and Day Day Aims are leading this charge for Virginia. I mean, Isaac McNeely's been that consistent long shooter from downtown. The mark's been from bonus fear, as Hootie likes to call it. But Rohde and what he's doing with distributing the basketball is not just something that should be celebrated. It currently is some of the best basketball distribution in Virginia basketball history,

albeit the sample size is small, 12 games. But in that 12 games, ladies and gentlemen, Andrew Rohde, 67 assists and just eight turnovers. I mean, that startles me to even make those comments. Day-Day Ames, guys, double digits in scoring in his last three ballgames, including excellent work, Judah, live on LinkedIn and YouTube. Thank you very much, Judah. Day Day Aims is on fire as well.

So we'll talk Ron Sanchez saving his job, the emergence of Rhodey and Day Day Aims and what Virginia basketball has to do down the stretch to solidify its positioning in the ACC tournament and maybe make a push to the big dance. And I'm a glasses half full, guys, so I'm going to still keep that glass half full. Judah Wickhauer behind the camera, studio camera, and then two-shot our star, the Virginia Sports Hall of Famer, who makes the trip into town from north of town. And he's like, in a lot of ways, a legend around these parts.

So it was like Bruce Willis and Die Hard with a Vengeance, where he needed the traffic to a part. So he got the ambulance coming down Route 29 from the Holly Mead area. You remember that movie? Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson. I do remember that movie. So they cleared the roads for Hootie Radcliffe To make it into downtown Charlottesville

My friend, good Tuesday morning to you Thank you, it wasn't quite that dramatic It was a pretty easy ride in But It might not be on the way home Right, I know If it keeps going as hard as it is right now Virginia basketball

Hootie, they've won three of their last four games, four of their last six, and they have redemption against the Virginia Tech Hokies in Blacksburg on Saturday. First, I start with the open-ended question for you. What have you been seeing with Ron Sanchez's program? Well, we're seeing improvement. And, you know, I think the game is slowing down for some of these guys. I think some of the others, they're getting more comfortable in their roles.

I think for others, they're just developing into better basketball players like Blake Buchanan and Jacob Kofi, Sharma, I think, and Robinson. I think all those guys are improving their games. Certainly, as you mentioned, Rhodey and Day-Day have been unbelievable. And the fact that Day-Day's been able to light it up and Rhodey's hitting some pretty good percentages from outside the arc is taking a lot of pressure off McNeely, and that's freeing him up to be who he is. some pretty good percentages from outside the arc, is taking a lot of pressure off McNally, and that's freeing him up to be who he is.

I mean, he's been scoring 20 points a clip lately, and that's a good reason why, because they have to pay attention to the other guys for a change. Rhodey playing with swagger. I mean, he gets on the floor. This guy has got size. He's got basketball IQ. He is a dog.

I mean, this guy is one of the toughest competitors on the team. He and Day Day. He's a tough kid. He is a tough kid. And you have to be a tough kid. Why don't we start with this? You have to be a tough kid to deal with what Andrew Rohde dealt with last year. Oh, absolutely. And, you know, a lot of people said, well, he won't come back

because he had a horrible year and he doesn't fit into high Division I basketball. And we were kind of surprised that he did come back. And he got off to a rough start this season and people were down on him, and we all thought he was going to be a liability, and I'll be damned if he didn't show us that. Everyone.

Showed everybody that he's a strength, and my hats are off to him. Absolutely. You don't see guys make that kind of a turnaround very often, particularly in the ACC. I mean, kudos to him for being resilient and not giving up and fighting to get better. I mean, that's the storybook that everybody wants to read. Andrew Rohde, guys, I'll give you the statistic again.

J-Dub, did you get your Facebook Messenger open there for me? Rohde, 12 games, the last 12, 67 dimes and 8 turnovers. Danny Neckle, a fantastic statistician that creates a lot of content on Twitter, puts in perspective what Rhodey has done, not just this season, but in Virginia history by comparing and contrasting him with some of the great point guards, if you may, of Virginia's past. This 12-game stretch, one of the best in the history of the entire program. I mean, that's amazing.

Just since January 21st, he leads the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio. That's not easy to do, especially when your team has been struggling like Virginia has. So, I mean, the guy has just been fantastic, and I think that's helped some of the resurgence in this team is that they have – I think his teammates can look at him and say, hey, if he can hang in there and improve his game and become a force, then why can't we? Yeah.

And it's contagious. And all these guys are playing the best basketball that i've seen him play except for uh uh saunders who i'm just banged up he's banged up yeah i'm sure even roadie's banged up yeah and yeah he's he's been he's played hurt during some of that and uh i think sanders Saunders, now that he's back and starting to get healthy again, I think we'll see more contributions from him. And, I mean, this basketball team kind of is in control of their own destiny right now because there's a lot of winnable games coming up on the schedule. A lot of them are on the road, so they're going to have to really suck it up and play solid basketball to be able to.

I mean, it's never easy winning in the ACC on the road, but this year it's going to be a necessity if they want to continue what they're doing. Virginia basketball's got the Virginia Tech Hokies in Blacksburg. Two o'clock on Saturday, unfortunately for Wahoo fans on the CW network. For those of us that were trying to watch Virginia basketball the last time they played on the CW network, the game before it went into double or triple overtime, which kept us from actually watching the game. So the Hokies and Hoos, Saturday, 2 o'clock,

Blacksburg, CW Network. Then you got the Duke Blue Devils, who just took it on the chin against the Clemson Tigers, the only other top 25 team in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Then you travel to Chapel Hill. You travel to Winston-Salem to face the Demon Deacons. You host the Clemson Tigers. You host the Florida State Seminoles, and you close the season at Syracuse. The Hoos right now,

ladies and gentlemen, are 12-12 overall and 5-8 in ACC play, and it looks like a completely different team. Hootie, it looks like an offense where the leash has been loosened. It looks like a more free-flowing offense, in particular for the Windy City kid, Day-Day Ames. Yeah. Well, you know, they scored 41 points in the first half against Georgia Tech. How many Virginia teams do that? That's been the whole thing with Day-Day is the whole – you've got to turn him loose and let him go.

Let him go. Ron Sanchez is an advocate of that. He's been trying to tell Day-Day, you be you. Don't worry about the rest of us. Don't worry about fitting into all this. You be you. If you feel comfortable scoring 20 or 30 points a game, go for it.

He's got the green light and he's taking advantage of it. 7 of 12 the other day against Georgia Tech and 4 of 6 from the arc. The guy's just been on fire and hit the

27 up at Pittsburgh. I mean, for a Virginia player to score 27, it's like somebody else almost scoring 40 points for just about any other program. Did we figure out the last time there's been that many points? Where was it, DeAndre Hunter? I think there was one since then, but I can't remember who it was. I read it somewhere the other day, but it's extremely rare. There's just not many guys in Tony Bennett's program

or Ron Sanchez who have scored 30 points in a game. I think for that, you probably have to go all the way back to Joe Harris against Duke several years ago. So it just doesn't happen very often. Bill McChesney watching the program. And viewers and listeners, this show is dynamic and interactive. So wherever you're watching the program,

ask Hootie Aracliff a question or help shape the discussion of the show. For example, Bill McChesney is doing this over here on McIntyre Road in Charlottesville, Virginia. He says, I see Andrew Rohde being a leader on and off the floor. Absolutely, Bill McChesney. I concur a thousand percent with you, my friend. And speaking of Day Day Ames, he's got triple digit scoring in his last three outings. He's got 11 against the Virginia Tech Hokies, went bananas against Pittsburgh at Pitt with 27,

and then 18 against the Yellow Jackets, triple digits his last three outings. And when Day Day is scoring, the team has a different look offensively because perhaps the only guy that can break opposing defenses consistently off the dribble. And when he's attacking the rack and breaking defenses off the dribble,

on the dribble drive, it opens things up for what is a talented team of shooters. Obviously led by McNeely, you throw in some Rhodey, you throw in some Tane Murray, and Elijah Saunders, Kofi, I mean Sharma. You got talent all across bonus sphere. Day-Day Aims, Hootie Ratcliffe. We said early in the season, maybe one of the most important guys on the roster, Day-Day Ames. Yeah, because he can create his own shot and create for others.

Defenses have to respect that. They have to be concerned about him. He can attack. He's aggressive. He's not afraid. He can shoot. He's not afraid. And, I mean, he can shoot. He's got a nice little pull-up. He's got a nice mid-range shot. He can hit the three. He can drive.

I'd like to see him get fouled more because I think he's a good free-throw shooter. But, I mean, we're talking about a kid who, in high high school was considered one of the top shooting prospects in the country. He scored 67 points in one game for, I think, Lakewood Academy in Chicago back his senior year. So the guy definitely knows how to light it up, and he's not afraid. He's very aggressive, and that's something that Sanchez would like to see become more contagious with his team. He even joked early in the season that he would like to syringe that aggressiveness into the rest of his players,

and Rhodey has some of that in him, and it would be nice to see some of the other guys get it too. I think Blake Buchanan is starting to become more aggressive. I was talking to somebody that knew his game really well in high school out in Idaho where they called him the big potato. But he said, you know, Blake's a gentleman. I said, well, yeah, that's okay off the court. But in the ACC. Blake's a gentleman. I said, well, yeah, that's okay off the court, but in the ACC.

You need a dog. He can't be a gentleman in the front court in the ACC. And I think maybe that discussion was passed on or something, but ever since then he's been a much more aggressive player, and he's close to a double-double every time he takes the floor now. He had 16-9 against the Hurricanes. He had a down game against the Hokies. He had 10-11 against Pitt and 7-11 against Georgia Tech.

Protects the rim. Offers a little bit more toughness than Kofi, who at times looks, you know. Kofi's a first-year. I'm not going to try to throw shade on Kofi, who at times looks, you know, Kofi's a first year. I'm not going to try to throw shade on Kofi. He is a first year, and it's tough to play the center position in the Atlantic Coast Conference as a freshman. Does Kofi have more offensive upside than Buchanan? Absolutely. Is Kofi as tough as Buchanan?

No. Is Buchanan a better defender than Kofi? Absolutely. Does Buchanan need to work on his hands a little bit? Probably so. Has a hard time at times catching the basketball, especially in traffic when he's asked to finish around the rim when there's people around him.

But Buchanan, as you said, has led this turnaround. They've tightened the bench too. They've tightened the minutes that are going out there. T.J. Power is not part of the rotation anymore. Yeah. It's been unfortunate what's happened with Mr. Power, especially with the expectations coming in. It looks like a very tightened rotation,

and it's a team that's going to get a boost, Hootie, once Elijah Saunders gets back and healthy. Yeah, they're playing eight or nine guys, depending, you know, Sharma and Murray, their minutes are depending, I think, on how they're playing. If they've got a hot hand, they'll get more playing time. Anthony Robinson, who's adding a much more physical presence up in the front court, is getting better and better.

I think the game's slowing down for him. And he's been getting more minutes lately too. So, you know, if Saunders gets back up to speed, if you've got Saunders and Robinson and Buchanan and even Kofi on that front line, that's a pretty formidable front line if those guys are playing well. So what we're seeing here, and Ron Sanchez has told us all along that each week he incrementally sees improvement in various guys.

And their focus of what was killing them early in the season was turning the ball over and being out-rebounded. And they've worked hard on correcting both of those things. And, you know, they out-rebounded Georgia Tech 38-24. They only turned it over eight times. And they're not turning it over much at all all thanks to Mr. Rohde's turnaround. So, I mean, this team, you want to talk about a developmental program, well, these guys are developing, and they're getting better, and it was probably the youngest team that Tony Bennett's ever had

or was going to have, and that was dumped in Ron's lap. And he and his coaches, true to their profession, have worked hard in trying to get these guys to improve, and they have. And you're starting to see Ron Sanchez garner the support on the record from his ACC contemporaries. The coaching culture and the coaching fraternity in college basketball is a tight-knit one, and I respect that they go to bat for the others in the fraternity. They're certainly doing that with Ron Sanchez. Other coaches saying that Ron Sanchez should have an opportunity to keep his job. I throw that to the Virginia Sports Hall of Famer who's been to,

this will be your 51st ACC tournament coming up? Yeah. 51 straight ACC tournaments? Virginia Sports Hall of Famer Jerry Hootie Rackliff, Ron Sanchez in keeping his job. Where do we go well you know Jeff Capel pointed it out after the pit game and even before the pit game that you know that and uh Damon Stoudemire from Georgia Tech was profusely uh talking about the situation that Ron Sanchez is in,

Mike Young mentioned it from Virginia Tech about he was thrown into the fire. To the lion's den. I don't care who you are. Just being promoted to head coach without warning two weeks before the season starts. I mean, who could be prepared for that? And he didn't know it was coming. I've talked to Ron since then. You know, we had Jeff Jones on the show a couple months ago,

and he said that Ron and Tony will take it to the grave as to whether Ron knew this was coming. I talked to Ron one night after a game, and he was very honest. He said, I had no idea that it was coming. He said, and I feel bad about that because I'm supposed to be Tony's best friend, and I should have asked more about the pressures and all that stuff. So he had no idea he was going to be named head coach at that point. And, you know, he could have taken this team when it was bottoming out a few weeks ago

and everybody was throwing in the towel. He could have just said, we're going to sink to the bottom. And, you know, so, you know, my time here is gone, but, uh, he's not that kind of guy. He's a fighter. He talks about, he uses the boxing, uh, uh, analogy a lot compared to basketball. And if that's the case, he, he's a, he's a puncher, he's a fighter and, uh, a fighter. And they're going to go down swinging no matter what happens. And so I give him a lot of credit for hanging in there and not giving up on these kids and trying to get the most out of them.

And if you'll talk, you know, you go back to the day of Tony Bennett's announcement that he was gone, and we talked to Carla Williams, the AD, at the end of that press conference, and she has said all along that there would be a national search, which there is being conducted as we speak, but that Ron Sanchez is part of that search, and he will be considered as a candidate. So I think at this point, if they can continue to improve and stack up some more wins and finish strong,

I think he's got to be given consideration, considering a lot of the circumstance that he was put in the fact that he's got an incredibly young team if they could keep these guys together and add some pieces they could be pretty decent next year and also the factor that the continuity factor. I mean, there's a lot of banners hanging up in JPJ. We saw that the other Saturday when they put Tony Bennett's banner up beside Terry Holland's in the arena.

And those banners are there for a reason. It's that style of basketball that they've proven that it works. I think what you don't want to do if you're Virginia right now is make a mistake like Louisville did. We've seen other programs do it like Indiana and some others where you bring in the flavor of the month and it just doesn't work out. And a year or two later, you're looking for another coach. And a year or two later, you're looking for another coach. And a year or two later, you're looking for another coach.

Do you really want to go through that? Or would you like to keep the continuity that is a proven way to win? It might not be the most exciting brand of basketball that there is, but it's a proven winner. It's changed the brand of basketball. You've got all the elements of it except for Tony Bennett. The brand of basketball has changed, or at least it's evolving. Yeah.

This doesn't look like the plotting, wait until single digits in the shot clock before you initiate the offense. Yeah. I mean. Their offense is greatly improved. Their offense is greatly improved. I've got to be honest. The pack line defense is a shadow of its former self. Right. We've got to be straightforward with that. But the offense is more improved. Their offense is greatly improved. I've got to be honest. The pack line defense is a shadow of its former self.

Right. We've got to be straightforward with that. But the offense is more free-flowing. Yes. And it's an offense that's improving each outing. So Sanchez is putting his fingerprints on what's happening on the floor, ladies and gentlemen. And we're seeing that influence become more significant each game

as the season has matured. I've got to ask you a very straightforward question. ladies and gentlemen, and we're seeing that influence become more significant each game as the season has matured. I got to ask you a very straightforward question. They're winners of four of their last six. They're winners of three of their last four. And boy, oh boy, how this season could be different. Had they have beaten Memphis, they lost a top 25 team by two points. Boy, oh boy, could this season have been different. Had they have beaten SMU and Dallas, were they team by two points. Boy, oh boy, could this season have been different had they have beaten SMU and Dallas, where they lost by two points. They lost to Virginia Tech by what? A point at the John Paul Jones Arena.

I know it's woulda, coulda, shoulda, but those are three games that easily could have gone Virginia's way. And had those three games had gone Virginia's way, ladies and gentlemen, you're looking at a team that's 15-9 instead of 12-12, and you're looking at a team that is, what, nearly 500 in the Atlantic Coast Conference? Oh, yeah, absolutely. And right in the thick of things.

Oh, you'd be over 500. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, you would be, what, you'd be 7-6. And in the top portion of the ACC, and folks would be saying Ron Sanchez is a lock to keep this job. So it just shows you how sports is a game of inches. Oh, absolutely. Hootie Ratcliffe, I'll throw this question to you.

The success of late, is it because it's a down, they're opponents in the bottom portion of the ACC, which they are, or is it because Virginia truly is turning the corner? Well, I think it's a little bit of both. They're not playing the upper echelon of the league, and they'll have a couple of those games coming up quickly. And the league is down, there's no question about it, but I think you can see the improvement. You have to be blind not to be able to recognize the fact that each one of these guys seems to be getting better.

I can't see anybody on the roster who has regressed, so I think you've got to give them a lot of credit for that. But, you know, the cake still has to bake. There's still, what, six or seven games left and a chance to do something pretty cool. I don't think that this team is going to make the NCAA tournament. It would have to be something. They'd have to win the ACC tournament. It would have to be magical like NC State was last year. How often does that happen?

I don't think that's ever happened before, what NC State did last year. So, I mean, if they can just finish at this point with a winning record and show improvement down the stretch. I think that's maybe the most you can expect out of this program at this particular time and point. Randy O'Neill,

Logan Wells-Claylow, thank you for watching the program. Folks in Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee on the show right now. Viewers and listeners, let us know your thoughts. We'll relay them live on air. We've got Georgia on the stream right now, watching Hootie Ratcliffe on the Jerry and Jerry Show.

Virginia fans across the board. This question's come in. Any chance that Chance Mallory is still on the hook? Well, I haven't talked to anybody over at St. Ann ann's lately so i don't know where he stands but uh i i'm guessing that he's as curious as everybody else to see what's going to happen here at the end uh i don't know what kind of relationship he has with with ron sanchez he plays basketball with the assistant coach as his kid. Right. Williford.

He knows Williford. I'm sure he knows the staff very well. And I'm sure Ron Sanchez probably had a hand in recruiting him to begin with. But, you know, it would be interesting to see what he's looking for in Virginia to keep them on his radar, or if his heart was so set on playing for Tony Bennett that that was the only circumstance he would come to Virginia for. So it's a good question as to whether he would be interested or not.

Ralph Sampson said on the Jerry and Jerry Show a couple of weeks ago that Chance Mallory could start on Virginia right now as a senior for St. Ann's Belfield Academy, a prep school in Charlottesville, Virginia. He said he could start as a high school player right now on the roster, which, you know, that's significant praise from the greatest basketball player in Virginia history, Ralph Sampson. The coaching question is all over the feed. It is all over the feed.

I read on JerryRackliff.com some compelling commentary as you offered some perspective on a head coach, a skipper, tied to what was it, Iowa State? Yeah. Yeah. I don't know how accurate that was. I know that somebody went to scout him out, and I know that they looked at him. I don't know if he's gettable because of that buyout and long-range contract he's in. That buyout initially 18, but I believe it's lighter than that, right? I think it's down to like 15 now.

But who knows if they'd want to spend that kind of money. But if they're not looking at him, it's certainly a guy that they should be looking at. But they're being pretty mum about all this. We don't know exactly. I have a feeling there's probably a couple of candidates out there that they're checking out that none of us know a word about at this point.

That they've kept very secret. The fan base is asking about Ryan Odom. Still on the short list, would you say? I would think he would have to be on the short list. I mean, he just keeps winning down at VCU, and I think a friend of mine's gone to see him play several times lately,

and I think they were down by six with a few minutes left the other day. He ended up winning by six. He's doing a bang-up job at VCU. He's got to be somebody you would at least take a look at. VCU guys in the receiving votes portion of

the coaches poll and VCU, frankly speaking, is going to invest a significant amount of money into its men's basketball program with some reports saying that the Rams players will get on average 400K, roughly 400K, plus the scholarship, plus the room and board to play for the VCU men's basketball team starting next year.

And that's everyone on the roster. Wow, that's significant. A significant amount of money right there. We'll talk Virginia against Virginia Tech, an opportunity at redemption on Saturday in Blacksburg, Hootie. Yeah, I'd be interested to how Virginia fans feel about, you know, if they would like to see Ron Sanchez get a shot at a second year or not. Well, what's your fan, what are the Radcliffe followers saying? You know, it's kind of split, I think, from what I've seen. I think a lot of people believe he deserves a chance.

It's awfully hard to ask somebody to get everything done in one season with a young team. Some other people are ready for a regime change and would like to see a more modernized style of play on both sides of the floor. Again, like you said, I think the offense

has definitely picked up. The statistics bear that out. It's nothing like it had been over the past 15 years. But, yeah, I think the biggest game left on the schedule right now is in Blacksburg on Saturday. If you can win that game. You're talking not just for statistical output. You're talking for morale with the fan base.

Yeah, that and for their just, you know, if they're only a half game out of ninth place in the league and they're a full game out of eighth place, and that team is Virginia Tech that's a full game ahead of them at 6-7. You win that game, you improve your seating in the tournament. You steal one back from the Hokies who's not only your rival but somebody that can give you incredible momentum. That would mean they would

win five of their last seven and four of their last five. Nice way to be sitting when Duke comes to town the following Monday night for a big Monday game. Who knows? They might take Virginia for granted and you might get lucky. They're going to have to steal at least one or two games on the road if they want to do anything because Blacksburg is not an easy place to win.

Chapel Hill traditionally is not an easy place to win, although this is probably the worst. I don't even recognize North Carolina. Yeah, I mean, in terms of big men and the inside game, this is the worst I can ever recall Carolina being in my lifetime. And so you might be able to steal one in Chapel Hill, and Wake Forest is a really tough place to win as well. So, you know, if they can go in and steal a couple of these games,

that would be huge for this basketball team. This Virginia men's basketball team with redemption on Saturday on the line against the Virginia Tech Hokies is going to have to play tough with its interior defense. Toby Lawal beat the hell out of Virginia. He looked like a pro against the Hoos. 17 points, five boards, attacking the rim, finishing strong. Keys to victory against the Hokies. What do you got, Hootie Ratcliffe? I think they've got to be able to shoot it. I think the defense will be there. It's going to be as good as it's going to be.

It's not going to be locked down, jaw-to-jaw defense like we're accustomed to, but I think they're going to have to score because Tech's got shooters and Tech can score, and Virginia has to answer that. And if they can continue to play the way they have the past couple of weeks, they should be able to do that. And I just think that's a huge game going forward. On the CW network, unfortunately for Wahoo fans, the last one, though, on the season On the CW network, unfortunately for Wahoo fans, the last one, though, on the season on the CW network,

Duke clear-cut best team in the conference. Is there a clear-cut second best team? Do you give that moniker to the Tigers? Yeah, I think so. They've been pretty consistent all year, and they've got an older team compared to most of the league. They've got a veteran coach in Brad Brownell who always does a better job than he's given credit for, I think.

And they've been playing some pretty decent basketball. They didn't back off at all against Duke the other night. It was fun to see the fans flood the floor at Little John Coliseum. Cooper flagged the slip heard around the world. Yeah, no question about it. And, you know, usually it's Duke that gets those breaks in the close games, and Virginia fans know all about that. But it's nice to see somebody else get a tip of the hat from the basketball gods for a change.

How about Ron Sanchez's comments to the media when asked about his job? He said, look, I'm not following what's happening across the hall. I'm just showing up and doing my job. I respected that answer. He said, look, I'm not following what's happening across the hall. I'm just showing up and doing my job. I respected that answer. I respect Coach Sanchez's professionalism throughout all this. Yeah, I mean, he can whine and make excuses and stuff, but he hasn't done that. And, you know, he's doing this without NBA players. I mean, Tony Bennett and Ron Sanchez was part of the reason why.

They recruited NBA players, and that's why Ron came back here, was to help recruit more NBA players and get this program back to a Final Four. Saw some of those NBA players on Saturday when Tony Bennett was being honored. Yeah, I mean, Ty Jerome and DeAndre Hunter surprised everybody by rolling in. Now on the same team. Yeah, they had played the Wizards the night before

and drove down from D.C. I think DeAndre got his first start maybe last night. So, yeah, that was nice to see. Jack Salt flew in from, I guess, I don't know where, if he's back in New Zealand. From on the other side of the world. Yeah. It was nice to see all that. And getting back to Ryan, I mean, I've talked to him and heard him a couple times say, you know,

if this is my only year coaching Virginia, then, you know, I know that I've looked myself in the mirror that I did the best I could do. And, you know, it was an honor and a privilege to do so. And, you know, if things are fortunate enough for him to stay, he's delighted. And if not, then he's content that he gave it his all. And that's all you can ask for. I found Saturday's honoring of Tony Bennett quite compelling. It was very well done.

I thought so as well. Some of the comments that resonated with me, perhaps the comment that most resonated with me that Coach Bennett had to say for those at the John Paul Jones Arena, and it was also streamed online. The entire halftime honoring was streamed online. He said that banner over there pointing to the 2019 national championship, perhaps your last amateur college basketball national championship.

And I respected that. That sentence was a loaded sentence. He went out of his way to mention that. Yeah. And with good reason. And I guess that kind of tells the entire story in that this short sentence but I think he's right college basketball changed forever after that and then the COVID and then all the other stuff that's occurred and changed in that time period

something he's very proud of, the fact that they did it the old-fashioned way, I guess. It was nice to see his family there, his parents were there. His son got some minutes? Yeah. How fitting was it for Eli to steal the ball and then come down the floor and get an assist? Because that's certainly what Tony Bennett basketball is all about. And they showed, as soon as he stole the ball, somebody in the arena showed a flash shot of Tony and Dick Bennett watching,

and they both got a kick out of seeing Eli steal the ball. But that was pretty cool. That's the way to go out if you're going to go out. We may be looking at Hootie Ratcliffe, one of the most, you know, I'm trying to use my words carefully here, but a pretty significant period of time here for Virginia basketball because you would think if this team, and right now the writing would suggest

they're not going to make the NCAA tournament, you would think that this coaching search would be potentially determined in the next three to four weeks, if not sooner, because you would anticipate, and I'm just hypothesizing here, that Virginia basketball would want to do this either during the NCAA tournament, prior to the NCAA tournament, so some of these other openings that do materialize do not become competition for Virginia basketball.

Your thoughts on any of this? Yeah, it's complicated because the transfer portal opens up after the Sweet 16. Right. So you've got to be Johnny on the spot in trying to not only find some pieces, but to keep your pieces if you want to keep them. And so that, you know, the coaching staff has to be highly involved in all that because you don't have a general manager to deal with that. By the way, I saw where Carolina is apparently going to hire a general manager

for their basketball program after this season, whether Hubert Davis is there or not. And so I think, excuse me, and the general manager's role in college basketball is a lot different, I think, than the general manager in the NBA in the fact that it's going to be more about roster management than anything else, whereas a GM has to deal with – and I think it's good that a GM would take the load off of a coach in terms of having to deal with the money side of things. It just doesn't seem right for a coach to have to talk money with players.

But I don't know if that's on Virginia's mind or not, whether they're going to try to hire one. But, you know, if they are indeed talking to someone, who knows if it's somebody who's going to have a team that's still playing at that point and they have to wait, or if it's somebody who may be eliminated by then and they can go ahead and make the transition, or if they're going to just stick with what they have. Again, nobody knows right now except Carla Williams and her committee as to where they may be leaning. We just don't know. We know that they have talked to other candidates.

We don't know to what degree. Don't know who. Don't know how many. Again, I think there's probably one or two people's names that they're talking to that none of us know i think if uh you know if they do make a change it could be somebody that whose name we hadn't heard at all i mean this this could be a a completely um brand new acc coaching fraternity into next year.

Yeah, really good. You've got the Tar Heels that may be looking for a head coach, probably so. NC State. NC State. You've got the Florida State Seminoles looking for a brand new head coach. Maybe the University of Virginia. The Miami Hurricanes looking for a brand new? I mean, you may have, ladies and gentlemen, 25% of the league replacing head coaches.

I don't know that that's ever happened before. I was just going to ask you that question. I can't ever think of that, ever recall that happening in my time. And that goes pretty far back. Right? 51 ACC tournaments for Hootie Ratcliffe here. So think about that storyline as well. And if Virginia is serious about finding a new head coach,

and I think it's going to depend on how the rest of the season plays out, I would imagine it's mindful that the Wolfpack and the Hurricanes, I mean, what's Boston College going to do? Granted, they don't invest a lot of money in its basketball program. Notre Dame continues to struggle. Their head coach relatively new to the job, but they can't. This was once a proud program under Mike Bray that is a doormat in the ACC right now. Virginia, you've got the fall for the Tar Heels under a legend in Hubert Davis.

Does North Carolina go outside of the Chapel Hill family tree for its head coach? Well, they have before. Not very often, but, I mean, Dean Smith was not a Carolina guy, and certainly Frank McGuire wasn't before him. What, Bill Guthridge? Excuse me. From Guthridge, what, Matt Daugherty? Yeah, that's all been in family.

Roy Williams' family. Yeah. Hubert family. They might want to. I don't know who's in the family now that they could go to, really. I think most of their guys – Unless you give a guy a chance that's not with much coaching experience. Yeah.

Yeah, so I think they'll probably be going outside the family for the first time in a long time. How much feedback did you get on Ralph Sampson's commentary on Rick Carlisle as the head coach? Tons, really. Got tons of feedback on that. Mostly positive. Some people weren't high on it because they felt like the NBA coaches have not been successful coming back to college. Some, there's been a couple that have.

I mean, Rick Pitino and John Calipari have both made it work. A lot of guys haven't. But some people say, well, you know, Rick is 65, so they'd like to see maybe a younger guy in the job. But a lot of people love the fact of his experience and his ties to the university and the fact that he's a brilliant offensive coach. Building a house in the Charlottesville area.

One of the most brilliant offensive minds in NBA history from what I've gathered talking to players and coaches over the last 15 or 20 years just about his knowledge of the game. So I don't know that it's going to happen or would happen or even if it's thinkable or not, but it's certainly an interesting road to go down. Interesting road to go down. A lot we're going to cover with Virginia basketball in the program,

and the final eight or nine minutes on the program, we also got to talk baseball, lacrosse, football. Baseball team is not dealing with what we're dealing with right now, Hootie Ratcliffe. No, we would have probably had Coach O'Connor sitting here. Love Brian O'Connor. When they saw the forecast, they decided to leave a day early for Puerto Rico. So they're down there in the sunshine right now, I'm imagining. I swear I'm not jealous

Brian O'Connor. we're all jealous of that I've been to Puerto Rico in December with the basketball team and it was glorious so I can imagine what it's like right now down there but Hootie Radcliffe is a warm weather man I am indeed I don't I'm not a cold weather guy I used to be when I was younger, but those days are gone. But, yeah, I mean, he's fired up about this baseball season. I think all their games are going to be on the ESPN Plus thing, so if you've got that, you can see them. They open up Friday against Michigan.

Pretty big deal. That's a huge deal. They got Michigan on Friday, 1 o'clock first pitch. Villanova on Saturday. And then they got Rice on Sunday. I mean, you're talking big-time college baseball for number one, number two-ranked team in the country, depending on where you're shopping for Virginia. Then they return to Charlottesville on the 19th of February, which is, ladies and gentlemen,

a week from tomorrow where they have one at the Dish against GW. We got a national championship contender in baseball. Cross programs are always darn good. These tennis programs are ridiculously talented. Spring sports has sprung in Charlottesville, Virginia. How about a tidbit or two from Hootie Ratcliffe on Virginia football? Well, yeah. We talked to Tony Elliott last

Wednesday, I guess the second national signing day. I'll be writing a little bit about that this week since there's no game until Saturday. His new nickname, Tony Transfer Portal Elliott here. Yeah, I mean, I think they're ranked 23rd in the country in the Transfer Portal recruiting class. It's a pretty big time, really, considering. considering and he was talking about how fortunate they were to get the gifts and how that has transformed what they're able to do with the NIL and attracting team players out of the portal they're still not done yet they they'd like to add some pieces when the portal reopens, I guess sometime this spring. Probably add some secondary guys, maybe another

wide receiver or two. Maybe a lineman or two. He's pretty jacked up about what they were able to acquire. With the he's pretty jacked up about what they were able to acquire. And, you know, with the lighter schedule, you know, a lot of people are thinking that this team might do something special this season, and they really need to. It's his fourth year as head coach, and it's time to make a move.

Virginia has got talent, and it's time to make the donuts, as they say, with this football program and what could be a season of much-needed production for a staff that is coaching for their jobs here. This is a time where we have a multitude of sports being played, and lacrosse has already got live action, Hootie Ratcliffe. Yeah, they won their opener last Saturday morning. Colgate. Against Colgate.

It was pretty frosty out there from what I understand. I was talking to Myron Ripley. Myron is still around. Wow. At our pre-basketball game lunch at our dinner over at JPJ in the press room that day and he was talking about how cold it was for

that game. So yeah, I think Lars is loaded again and I think the women's team is pretty loaded too. It's pretty cool that there's a bunch of Charlottesville girls on that women's roster, so I imagine that will help their attendance quite a bit. We should get the mayor, Myron Ripley, on one of these shows.

We could do that. 1990 UVA graduate, I believe, Myron Ripley. That sounds about right. He certainly knows Virginia sports as well as anybody. And sometimes if I'm trying to come up with something and I can't think of it, sometimes I'll give Myron an email or a text or something to see if he remembers something. That'd be a great interview.

That would be a great interview. Another guy that would be a great interview on the Jerry and Jerry show that's still a driving force in Wahoo Nation, Mike Ingles. Who I see snapping pics at games left and right. Myron Ripley, a blast from the past right there.

You just made me smile. Another guy I'd like to get on the show sometime, if we can get him to do it, would be Joe Geek. I bought this place from Joe Geek. I thought you did. Joe Geek would do it in a heartbeat. Yeah. Joe Geek still walking around ACAC downtown Charlottesville

with cowboy boots on. Throwing weight up in the gym, Hootie Ratcliffe. That's my Joe. That man does not miss a workout session, Joe Geek. He's an unbelievable guy. Got a farm right outside city limits here. Yeah. I've been to his house, and it's pretty impressive.

I love that place. Me too. He's got some great artifacts in there. But, uh, he's just a, uh, just a fun loving guy. He's a cool dude. And, uh, that'd be a great interview. Yeah. We got to get him on, um, viewers and listeners.

And if you're aging in Charlottesville and you want a role model, look at Joe Geek. Joe Geek's got the chutzpah and spirit of a 17-year-old. Yeah, and he's in his 90s. Yeah, I swear. He's at ACAC downtown five days a week lifting weights. Yeah, well, I know. Walking around in cowboy boots in the locker room. Absolutely.

That'd be a great interview. In his cowboy hat. In his cowboy hat. That's right. All right, Hootie Radcliffe. Dot the I's and cross the T's on what's been another successful Jerry and Jerry show. Well, you know, it's always fun talking to you. We always, I think we have great chemistry.

I have a great time with you. We love our audience because you're so knowledgeable and ask great questions, and we love your participation. Rob Craig, Myron is an encyclopedia of UVA sports history. So is Rob Craig. Yeah. Another smart guy with Virginia sports, Rob Craig. A collectibles aficionado as well is Rob Craig. Another smart guy with Virginia Sports, Rob Craig. A collectibles aficionado as well, Rob Craig.

Oh, okay. That's cool. The guy was the guy when it came to collectibles, trading cards of any kind at Cavalier Sports Cards and Collectibles. Rob Craig is... He has some stuff. He is the

golden of Charlottesville. And if you watch the Netflix series Golden, you'll know what I mean here. Rob Craig should come on the program. That would be a hell of a roundtable right there. Yeah, we could get. Four of us just talking Virginia. Yeah, we could get those guys in here just talking. You know, any time we're sitting around over at JPJ at dinner or lunchtime with Myron and a couple other writers or whatever, it always leads to stories about something we probably can't tell on the air.

But maybe we can. Who knows? We have no rules here. That's right. Well, I guess we could tell them that but uh you know it makes for an entertaining uh lunch or dinner that's for sure uh jerry rackliff is the namesake at jerry rackliff.com they are hiring guys um a sales representative um at jerry rackliff.com so if you're interested reach out to hootie the man is is the place. His website, the place for anything Wahoo and Orange and Blue related.

51 straight ACC tournaments on the horizon for Jerry Ratcliffe. This tournament will be 51 in a row for the Virginia Sports Hall of Famer. Judah Wickhauer is behind the camera. Thank you to Judah Wickhauer for all he does. Our glue guy. The glue guy. The glue guy of the team. The wizard. The absolute wizard of the audio and visual world. My name is Jerry Miller and the show is archived wherever you

get your social media and podcasting content. Thank you kindly for joining us. Bundle up if you're in the mid-Atlantic and certainly in the Charlottesville area as the snow continues to fall. So long everybody and take care Thank you.