Virginia Basketball: Ron Sanchez Has No Plans to Redshirt Anyone

Matt Newton | Oct 28, 2024

Virginia Athletics

One of the main messages from Ron Sanchez in the week and a half since he took over as interim head coach of the UVA men's basketball program in the wake of Tony Bennett's retirement has been that Virginia Basketball is still Virginia Basketball even without Tony Bennett. The emphasis has been that very little will change with Sanchez leading the way, except for those minor offensive changes that were already being implemented before Bennett decided to retire.

With that said, Sanchez might have hinted at one big structural change in the way this program is run in his preseason press conference on Monday afternoon at John Paul Jones Arena. When asked whether there was any consideration being given to possibly redshirting one of UVA's true freshmen - Jacob Cofie or Ishan Sharma - Sanchez said, "I think we're going to need everyone. Right now, there's no discussions of redshirting anyone."

Of course, that statement leaves some breathing room for things to change, but it comes as a bit of deviation from historical precedent under Bennett, who frequently had at least one or two players redshirt every season. Most recently, Anthony Robinson and Christian Bliss redshirted the 2023-2024 season and Isaac Traudt and Leon Bond III redshirted the year before that. This follows a long tradition of redshirting at UVA, with stars like De'Andre Hunter and Jay Huff redshirting their first seasons before going on to have successful careers in the orange and blue.

Obviously, the exception to this discussion is sophomore guard Elijah Gertrude, who will miss the entire 2024-2025 season with a knee injury suffered in an unfortunate scooter accident back in April. Gertrude will take a medical redshirt for this season and will have three years of eligibility remaining when he returns.

The redshirting tool has come under serious fire in recent years, with the main criticism stemming from highly-touted recruits being understandably unwilling to exercise the patience necessary to see the long-term benefits of a redshirt year and unable to resist the allure of the transfer portal and its immediate opportunities for playing time and NIL benefits elsewhere. Those were some of the primary factors in Bennett's retirement as well, leading him to believe that he was no longer the best choice to coach this program.

While Sanchez hasn't provided plain evidence of diverting from Bennett's ways in terms of transfer portal and NIL, he might be shedding the redshirt system, at least for this interim season. Whether that's because of a shift in principle or simply because Jacob Cofie and Ishan Sharma are special cases of true freshmen who are ready to contribute right away remains to be seen.

"You asked about the interior - Jacob Cofie is another guy that can play some of those spots, as well, but his ability to shoot the ball would also help us," Sanchez said of Cofie, a 6'10" forward from Seattle, Washington. "He's been progressing well defensively, so we're excited about his ability to guard and rebound. He's got great hands and really good feel offensively."

About Ishan Sharma, a 6'5" sharpshooting guard from Ontario, Sanchez said, "I like his ability to shoot. He has something he can hang his hat on, and that's going to be his weapon. Obviously the game is a little fast for him right now. He is a first-year guy. But as things slow down for him, I think you guys are really going to like his game."

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