How often does someone have a chance for a career advancing opportunity in one evening? This was the case for Annapolis newcomer, Coach Ryan Odom, as his 16th-seeded team, the University of Maryland-Baltimore County Retrievers, faced the No. 1 ranked team in the nation, University of Virginia, in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament last March. This one game could elevate Ryan’s status within the basketball world.
In the 80-year history of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, not once has a 16th-ranked seed defeated a top seed in the annual basketball championship tournament. Ryan’s father, Dave Odom, was a highly respected NCAA coach—most notably at Wake Forest—that developed two of the greatest players in college basketball history, Ralph Samson and Tim Duncan. Yet, even he hadn’t faced the long-shot odds that his son was about to experience.
Coach Ryan Odom was thrilled that his team even qualified for the tournament. To get in, UMBC had to defeat the University of Vermont in the America East Conference championship game. UMBC had lost to Vermont 23 times in a row. In their two meetings during the regular season, Vermont won twice by a combined total of 43 points. In the championship game, Vermont had a nine-point lead with eight minutes to go. UMBC star Jairus Lyles led the comeback that night and hit a three-pointer with less than one second left on the clock to defeat Vermont, 65-62. UMBC advanced to the first round of the NCAA Tournament, where they would face the country’s No. 1-ranked team, the Virginia Cavaliers.
Shortly before the game, while the team was warming up, Odom was speaking with CBS announcer, Jim Nantz, who told Odom he wanted to call the first game ever of a 16th seed defeating a top seed. He asked the 44-year-old coach if his team was going to be the first in history to pull off the upset? Odom pointed to a tee-shirt worn by a player’s father that stated, “Why not us?”
The tournament has always been about great games and upsets. Spectators perpetually hope to witness a Cinderella story each March. Odom and his UMBC players faced a team that had a 32-1 record. The Retrievers had only been in the NCAA Tournament one time before, in 2008. One of the reasons why so many people participate or watch sports is that you never know the outcome. For Virginia, they were most likely looking forward to a long tournament run. For UMBC, this was the opportunity of a lifetime.
Coach Ryan Odom led UMBC to its first NCAA berth in a decade last year.
Family Roots
Odom’s father, Dave, was a career-long successful college coach that included a 13-year run at Wake Forest, with Duncan (5-time NBA champion with the San Antonio Spurs) on the team for four years. From the third through the ninth grade, young Ryan attended basketball practices with his father when Dave was an assistant coach at the University of Virginia from 1982–1989. During that period, star player Sampson was on the Cavaliers team. Of that time, Odom says, “I loved the passion my father had for basketball. It inspired me to play basketball.” He certainly became a good player. Odom started for four years at Hampton-Sydney College, and graduated as the college’s all-time leader in three-point field goals. The 5’ 10” Odom also was the team captain his senior year and helped lead the team to an 80-30 overall record during his four years there. After graduating, he served as an assistant coach at South Florida, Furman, UNC Asheville, American, Virginia Tech, and UNC Charlotte. He was the interim head coach at Charlotte (8-11 record), then took over as head coach at Division II Lenoir-Rhyne (21-10) in North Carolina before accepting the job at UMBC in 2016. He quickly turned the program around, going an impressive 80-49 his first three seasons. The year before he came to the Catonsville school, the Retrievers struggled to a 7-25 mark during the 2015–16 season.
Odom’s family is passionate about sports. His brother, Lane, is a scout with the Utah Jazz. His father is currently the director of the high-profile Maui Invitational Tournament. His cousin, Russ Atkins, is the general manager of baseball’s Toronto Blue Jays. Odom says he follows sports closely and is an Orioles and Ravens fan, but also roots for the Carolina Panthers, Miami Dolphins, and Los Angeles Lakers.
At our Annapolis neighborhood’s annual Christmas party in 2017, I introduced myself to new arrivals Ryan and Lucia Odom. They have two young sons. He told me he was a basketball coach. Then on Friday, March 16th, 2018, I was watching the UMBC vs. Virginia game on television. And there on the sideline was our neighbor, Odom. The game started off with neither team scoring many points. Virginia was noted for its stifling defense. This was a team that took down Duke and North Carolina that same season. The Las Vegas oddsmakers had Virginia winning over UMBC by 20 points.
The Game
The UMBC Retrievers play in an arena that seats 4,024. If they get 1,000 seats filled, it’s considered a good night. In this game, they were suddenly playing in front of 17,943 fans at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Another 3.5 Million viewers would watch the game on CBS. As I followed the game, I kept wondering when Virginia would start pulling away, but the scoring was low and close throughout the first half. At halftime, the score was tied at 21-21.
Later, back home in Annapolis, I had the chance to ask Odom what they talked about during halftime. He explained, “Our goal was to be in the game. The low numbers were fine because we were playing the best defensive team in the country. I was worried about them picking it up in the second half. Our players were saying ‘We could do this.’ Let’s have a good start to the second half, and go for it at the beginning.”
The second half got underway, and UMBC came out hot. The fans in the stands responded in kind, and the noise got louder with each UMBC basket. Virginia started to look frustrated. Retriever Jairus Lyles played for 39 of the 40 game minutes and made 9 of 11 attempted two-point shots, and 3 of 4 three-pointers for a total of 28 points. K.J. Maura from Puerto Rico, who is listed at 5’ 7” tall, proved to be annoying to the much taller Virginia players. He scored 10 points and moved the ball to his teammates Joe Sherburne and Arkel Lamar, who also finished in double figures. The squad was shooting 50 percent from the three-point arc and 55 percent from the two-point zone. UMBC opened the second half with a 7-2 run before Virginia called a timeout. After the timeout, UMBC went on a 6-2 run and suddenly had an 11-point lead. When Virginia took its third and final timeout, they trailed by 19 points.
It is important to note that the Virginia Cavaliers led the NCAA in team defense during the regular season, allowing only 53.4 points per game. The final score was UMBC 74 and Virginia 54. Lyles was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.
Virginia’s coach, Tony Bennett, was gracious after the game. “That was not even close. That’s first a credit to the job by Ryan. I don’t know what to say, but that was a thorough whipping.” Odom would later tell me, “I spoke with Tony a few days after the game. It was bittersweet because I have so much respect for him and UVA. He was okay. It was a special exchange.”
UMBC faced Kansas State in the next round and kept it close. The Retrievers were down by just two points with two minutes left in the game. But Kansas State won 50-43, ending UMBC’s Cinderella run. It was a disappointing loss, but the victory over top-ranked Virginia will long be remembered.
"We want to develop the whole person. There is more that goes into the mental side. They are going to have slumps and all kinds of personal issues. There are many aspects to working with players."
The Upshot
For Odom and his family, the 2017–18 season turned out well. He received offers from other colleges to become their coach but elected to stay at UMBC and receive a substantial increase in salary. After all, his family has grown fond of Annapolis and were reluctant to uproot. “I did get some offers, but I am happy at UMBC, and my family loves living in Annapolis,” he says. “It’s fun just walking our dog, Bear, around. It is a great town to be in.”
The team was nominated for a 2018 ESPY Award by ESPN. The squad traveled to Los Angeles for the event last July and Odom described it as, “An amazing experience.” They lost out to fellow nominee, the Minnesota Vikings, in their award category “Best Moment,” but got a huge ovation from the audience.
Odom throughly enjoyed the NCAA Tournament experience.
This past summer, I took Odom out for a sail. We talked about basketball. I asked him if he can make an average player better? He said, “No doubt, we try to max them out to be the most skilled player they can be using repetition. We want them to be a great student and help young people to be a better human being. We want to develop the whole person. There is more that goes into the mental side. They are going to have slumps and all kinds of personal issues. There are many aspects to working with players.”
I am certain that is correct. It will be great fun watching Odom over the coming years. I envision continued success for this inspiring coach. For now, he is still a neighbor on our street, and I hope we get a chance to spend some more time on the water. But first, all eyes are on the UMBC Retrievers this March and the hope for another Cinderella season.
