With Midnight Madness ceremonies taking place across the country last weekend, college basketball season is officially upon us. There is considerable excitement being generated by this season's Virginia basketball team and the new John Paul Jones Arena.
Cavalier basketball fans are even starting to reminisce about the Virginia men's basketball squads of the 1980s and 1990s, when Virginia was a force to be reckoned with in the ACC and across the country. Arguably the greatest four-season run of Cavalier basketball occurred from 1980-1984, when Virginia won three regular season ACC Championships and appeared in two Final Fours. Many of the players and coaches involved during that time are now leaders on and off the court.
The man responsible for bringing Virginia basketball to levels not seen before was Terry Holland. Holland came to Virginia in 1974 after serving as a head coach at Davidson University. In Holland's 16 years in Charlottesville, he became the winningest coach in Virginia history and led the Cavaliers to Final Fours in 1981 and 1984. Since retiring, he has served as Athletic Director at Davidson, Virginia and, currently, East Carolina.
Several of Holland's former players and assistant coaches went on to be coaches. The most notable of this past year is Jim Larranaga. Larranaga served under Holland as an assistant coach at Davidson and Virginia. While Larranaga had success as head coach at Bowling Green, his current job at George Mason made him a familiar face to much of the nation. His Patriots advanced to the Final Four last season as a No. 11 seed, knocking off Michigan State, North Carolina, Wichita State and Connecticut along the way.
Another one of Holland's assistants went on to be an outstanding head coach as well. Dave Odom served as an assistant under Holland from 1982-1989. He parlayed that into a head coaching job at Wake Forest, where he turned the Demon Deacons into one of the premier ACC teams in the 1990s. In only his second year, Odom led the Demon Deacons to the first of seven straight NCAA Tournament appearances, also earning ACC titles in 1995 and 1996. Currently Odom is the head coach at South Carolina, where his Gamecocks are the two-time defending NIT champions.
The man who replaced Holland as head coach at Virginia is still coaching today. Jeff Jones, who played and was an assistant for Holland, took over the head coaching job at Virginia at the age of 29. In his eight seasons in Charlottesville, he took the Cavaliers to five NCAA appearances and won the NIT in 1992. In 1995, Jones guided Virginia to a 25-9 record, an Elite Eight appearance and their highest final ranking since 1983. Jones is currently the head coach at American University.
Former players of Terry Holland have also gone on be collegiate coaches. One such example is Ricky Stokes. Stokes played under Holland from 1980-1984, where he was part of the 1981 Final Four team and co-captain of the 1984 team that made a Cinderella run to the Final Four. Stokes has reunited with Holland at East Carolina University, where he is serving as head coach.
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