Editor’s Note: For the last few years, we have reached out to all of UVa’s three assistant hoops coaches to do a question and answer feature to talk about the end of the previous year, the offseason, and the opener ahead. Today, we begin with our first in the renewal of this series with associate head coach Jason Williford.
A year ago, you told me that after UMBC you locked yourself in the house for a week or two and asked your wife to keep the fridge stocked with food and beer. Now, looking back, I’m curious what were those days and weeks this spring were like after the championship? What was that aftermath like for you and how odd was it in contrast to the year before?
It was all a blur, man. I still pinch myself, honestly. I’m not even really sure I realize exactly what we did. The neatest part for me was having all the fans lined up from the airport all the way to JPJ along the route on 29. You had cars pulled over with signs, folks honking their horns. That was pretty cool, man. The fanbase, it’s been a long time coming for them. They have stuck with us through thick and thin and they couldn’t wait for us to get back with it. That was really, really cool. But honestly, those days after we had to immediately go to work. We went right into recruiting. I want to say not too many days later, Justin (McKoy) was here on his official visit. So, it’s like you don’t necessarily get to enjoy or appreciate the moment as much because by then you’re back into the grind. We had a spot to fill, we weren’t sure what Mamadi (Diakite) was going to do, is Kyle (Guy) staying in the draft, that kind of thing. We just had to get a lot of questions answered and we had to do the work. So, you appreciated it but reality smacks you right back in the face and you’re right back into the groove. By then, you simply had to be.
That then might answer my next question why is, did it feel the way you thought winning the thing might actually feel? Did it feel like what you thought it would if you ever got there?
I’m not even sure, honestly. It was all so crazy. It was awesome seeing the confetti fall and then you’re standing on the podium and you dream of that kind of stuff. But it was so surreal. I really enjoyed being on the podium and pumping my fist and waving at the crowd. I felt like it was for all of the fans and all of the former players, all those guys who gave this program so much over the years, for my former teammates and guys I played with. We finally broke the ice, ya know? We finally did it. That was very rewarding. But it was a quicker celebration than I anticipated. Like, it’s something you can enjoy for a few days and then boom, you’re right back to it. You’re right back to working and trying to rebuild and trying to figure out how you can potentially do it again.
Speaking of doing it again, you guys knew going into the postseason at least that you were going to have some NBA decisions ahead and you were losing some pieces. Quickly, you had uncertainty to deal with. In hindsight, when you look at the personnel losses how does a team even plan to make up for that kind of impact?
Like you said, we knew one for sure with Dre (Hunter). That one was coming. Quite honestly, you weren’t really sure about Ty (Jerome) or Kyle. But then as the year progressed and we’re having the season we’re having, they’re having the one they’re having, you knew it was very possible. You can’t make up for those losses not just numbers wise but the leadership with those guys plus Jack (Salt) of course. That’s hard. As we got later in the year it became more and more apparent even though we didn’t want to think too much about next year. But you just had to in some ways while still staying in the moment. You ultimately had to deal with next year when everything was eventually over. We had to go get Tomas (Woldetensae) and again, we talked about McKoy. You’ve got to hope that the culture’s strong and guys have that ‘next man up’ mentality. We’re going to need Mamadi (Diakite) to step up and Jay (Huff) to step up and Braxton (Key) to step up and Kihei (Clark) too. We’re going to have to have the new guys learning on the fly and getting there quickly.
That leads perfectly to my next question which is about the new pieces. What do you have in that group and what do you need from them this season? Because this isn’t usually the way you guys do it, where you have a bunch of dudes leave early and now you’re forced to lean on really young kids to fill out the rotation. You normally like to have guys soak more than these guys will.
I think we’ve got size, physicality, we’re good on the interior. We’re going to need the guards to step up and make shots and defend at a high level and expedite that learning curve. The best way to do that is being on the floor and they’re going to get a chance to do that. Kody (Stattmann), he didn’t play much last year but he’s going to have an opportunity to play and contribute at a high level. Everybody’s got to be excited that there’s opportunities but at the same time, they’ve got to play within what we do. We’re going to have to be really efficient on offense and defend like wild men on that side of the floor.
With new faces comes a different personality. That piece will take longer to develop but in terms of the on-court differences between last year’s team and this one, where do you see the biggest contrasts? How do you expect this team to compare? Seems obvious you won’t have as much at guard so you’ll need a lot more from the inside guys. What’s your sense as of now as to how this team will compare?
Obviously we had the luxury of having three dudes who shot, what, 40 percent or more from 3? So, we’re going to lose that. We’re going to lose some of the efficiency from being so good beyond the arc. I think that’ll be the biggest difference. We’re going to have to in all likelihood lean on our bigs to score and have to do that at an efficient, high clip. And then I do think, though, that we’ve got a good chance to be good defensively. I think Kihei being a presence on the ball is good, I think (Casey) Morsell is good on the ball, I think Key’s a good defender, and then you know what Mamadi and Jay give you inside at the rim. I think (Francisco) Caffaro gives us a physicality very similar to what Jack had. So, I think the biggest change will be offensively. I’m stating the obvious there. But I think the defense has a chance to be okay. It’s going to be a work in progress. It may not be there early but I think as we go later in the year, we’ll tighten it up and become pretty efficient on that end.
Last one. You guys went from ‘resiliency and turning the page’ coming off the end of 2018 and then to something special this spring. So now, how do you put together an encore for that? I remember you saying something to me in the locker room that nobody knew what those guys had been through except for them. Nobody knew what it felt like. How challenging is that for you as coaches to now follow all that up?
I think it’s exciting, honestly. It’s a new challenge. It’s a different challenge, a different team and a different story obviously. We’re going to be writing that story as the season progresses. It’s a challenge that we as a staff are up to and I think it’s going to be fun. It’s going to be different but I think it’ll be good. If the guys are two feet in and all rowing in the same direction, it’ll be a challenge that we’re all ready for and looking forward to.”
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