America East Basketball: Top 10 head coaches of the century (2000-20)

By Joey Loose | Jul 12, 2020

CHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 16: K.J. Maura #11 of the UMBC Retrievers stands with head coach Ryan Odom on the sideline during their game against the Virginia Cavaliers during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 16, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

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Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images /

2. Ryan Odom – UMBC (2016-2020)

While he served briefly as Charlotte’s interim head coach, Odom really got his head coaching career started with the Retrievers in 2016. He had been head coach at D2 Lenoir-Rhyne the year before and had a long assistant coaching career. He was the son of former Wake Forest coach Dave Odom and had spent time on the staff at Virginia Tech.

Prior to his arrival, UMBC had won single-digit games each of the last seven seasons, but Odom completely changed the culture. He’s won 82 games in his first four seasons with the Retrievers, though the highlight is obvious to all. His 2018 team upset Vermont in the America East Tournament, made the program’s second NCAA Tournament, and shocked the world by routing 1-seed Virginia in the first round of the Tournament.

Odom is a name mentioned for many bigger jobs, but he remains with the Retrievers, looking for that return trip to March Madness. Even independent of that amazing upset, he’s done fantastic work to make this program competitive in the league again and is truly deserving of a shot with a bigger program someday. It’s hard to find a coach in a league like the America East with an accomplishment quite like that upset over Virginia.

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