UVA Basketball: Is There a Path for Ron Sanchez to Earn the Full-Time Job?

William Smythe | Feb 13, 2025

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Few head coaches across the NCAA men’s basketball landscape have tread a path similar to that of Virginia’s Ron Sanchez. Having inherited Coach Tony Bennett’s position two weeks prior to the season’s start, Sanchez is in rare air even among a litany of notable interim coaches. One can argue that he was set up for failure with such short notice. 

In 1997, North Carolina’s Dean Smith — a two-time National Champion — stepped down only a few weeks before the Tar Heels’ opening game against Middle Tennessee. As a 30-year assistant to Smith, assistant coach Bill Guthridge stepped into the role and put any doubts to bed after a 34-4 campaign, culminating in a Final Four exit to Utah. Guthridge reached two National Semifinals in his three-year tenure as Smith’s successor in Chapel Hill, only to step down all of a sudden and hand the baton over to a college teammate of Michael Jordan — Matt Doherty. He would flame out, and, three years later, Roy Williams entered the scene.

Notably, Guthridge didn’t carry the interim tag into his first season post-Smith, and the situation was still quite different.

In April of 2022, Villanova’s Jay Wright retired, and ex-assistant Kyle Neptune was hired shortly after. A succession plan involving an internal hire (even though Neptune spent one year at Fordham as their head coach) aimed to keep the Wildcats’ culture alive. Well, Neptune is firmly staring down the barrel after failing to reach the Big Dance in his first two seasons. If the Wildcats fail to reach the tournament this season, the writing is on the wall.

Both Guthridge and Neptune aren’t Sanchez, who is the only one of the bunch to carry the interim tag. They are all, however, torchbearers of impossible coaching standards to follow. Even if Guthridge kept Carolina rolling, he yielded the coveted position to another internal hire. Neptune has brought Villanova back to earth after a run with Wright that brought two National Championships and five Big East Tournament titles to the program.

Following the shoes of Bennett, Smith, and Wright is a tall ask for anyone, let alone former assistants. However, it seems as if momentum is building for Sanchez’s case.

Virginia, who looked hapless through a five-game losing streak, has won four of their last six ACC contests. Sanchez has been more willing to deploy frontcourt combinations of freshmen Anthony Robinson, Jacob Cofie, and sophomore Blake Buchanan in junior Elijah Saunders’ absence, and the ‘Hoos have won three of the last four rebounding battles. What more can be said about junior guard Andrew Rohde, who has all but eliminated the turnovers from his game.

Luckily for Sanchez, opportunities for needle-moving wins are on the horizon. Virginia has essentially been eliminated from at-large contention with some disastrous losses on their resumé, but the ‘Hoos’ interim head coach knows the stakes. A nightmarish five-game spread is a gift.

If Virginia can topple Virginia Tech in Blacksburg for the first time since February 26, 2020, Sanchez’s case will build. Bennett lost by a combined 64 points in his last four outings at Tech, including a 34-point drubbing last season. Sanchez has the chance to exorcise those demons in the first of a few matchups which will dictate his future in Charlottesville. The matchup against Duke next Monday, moreover, provides the biggest opportunity for the interim head to put the athletic department on watch as it continues with a national coaching search.

This probably isn’t the year to expect a win over Duke, which leaves Sanchez with little pressure! A competitive, single-digit game in John Paul Jones Arena would be a moral victory so long as he notches wins over two or three of Virginia Tech, Clemson, North Carolina, or Wake Forest. Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, and North Carolina are winnable games if Virginia plays up to its recent billing. Clemson and Duke provide matchup issues and talent discrepancies that give reason for concern.

Another question to monitor within Sanchez’s camp is the roster construction for the next few years. If Robinson, Sharma, Ames, and Rohde continue to progress throughout this stretch of the season, Sanchez would provide the best chance by far of keeping that roster composition together. Bennett mentioned a multiple-year project with this group. Power hasn’t panned out, but the rest of Virginia’s newcomers — highlighted by the recovering Saunders and the Pitt/Georgia Tech versions of sophomore guard Dai Dai Ames — have all shown flashes at some point or another. Among the returners, Rohde has displayed the most improvement.

As a reminder, Virginia is only set to lose senior guard Taine Murray to graduation. Now, would Sanchez be able to keep this crew fully intact? Probably not. However, sophomore Elijah Gertrude is set to return from injury next season, and Charlottesville native Chance Mallory still hasn’t decided on his college destination after de-commiting from Virginia in October. Both of those players could help the ‘Hoos’ roster immediately, even if Mallory might not want to compete with the ‘Hoos’ point guards and Gertrude’s injuries might linger.

I’m setting lofty goals for Virginia’s short-term future. In a landscape that has leaned more heavily on transfers, Ron Sanchez could potentially carve out a niche through roster development. He can recruit, too.

Sanchez will have to suffer only two or three losses (max) the rest of the way to merit a look as Virginia’s next full-time coach. There will be plenty of qualified candidates knocking at the door, and many have yearned for Virginia to reform its mover-blocker offense and brutally slow pace of play. Replacing a legend such as Bennett does also carry with it unrealistic expectations.

All I’m saying is that opportunities lie ahead for Sanchez. His team is playing their best basketball of the year at a crucial juncture in ACC play. Yes, no one expects a tournament berth, but these next few weeks might give Sanchez a fighting chance against the rest of the field of coaching candidates. Multiple wins over this deadly five-game spread would begin to shift the conversation about Virginia’s long-term choice to represent a proud program.

A national search has likely been underway since Bennett’s retirement, though. It’s a long shot that Sanchez nabs the full-time position, and it might be time to turn the page. A good amount could depend on other coaching changes and whether Virginia’s top options either stay at their respective schools or pursue Indiana, Miami, Florida State or some other school to be named later.

Related: Coaching Carousel: Who Will Virginia Battle for Top Coaching Candidates?

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