Hanging on the wall of Kyle Getter’s office at John Paul Jones Arena, strategically placed directly above the Virginia assistant coach’s desk chair, is a framed Sports Illustrated cover.
With the headline reading simply “WAHOOWA!”, the oversized commemorative cover shows DeAndre Hunter and Braxton Key on the floor of US Bank Stadium, an instant from celebrating the Cavaliers’ 2019 national championship victory against Texas Tech.
“It’s a much better background than just a plain wall,” Getter quipped during a recent conversation, particularly while sitting at his laptop for the countless virtual recruiting visits he’s had to conduct amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now in his fifth season at UVa, Getter was promoted to assistant coach this off-season after four years as the program’s director of recruiting and player development. Before arriving in Charlottesville just in time for that 2018-19 national title run, he’d been an assistant on Ritchie McKay’s staff at Liberty. His career has also included time as both an assistant coach at Radford and as Shaka Smart’s director of operations at VCU.
But Getter couldn’t be hands-on in practice in his previous role at Virginia. This pre-season, he’s been another set of eyes on the court and doing “just whatever’s asked, pretty much.” He works a lot with the ‘green team,’ coaching up the group of reserves and managers on offensive actions or defensive approaches that the Cavaliers could see from upcoming opponents.
“I think it’s gone smoothly,” Getter said of the transition to his new role. “Just finding that balance of balancing the recruiting as well as the on-court responsibilities, and just trying to serve Coach Bennett and the rest of the staff the best I can.”
With Getter’s first game as a UVa assistant fast approaching, he recently talked with CavsCorner about what he has seen from the Wahoos this preseason and more: