Ex-49ers coach Ryan Odom removes ‘interim’ tag in new job at Lenoir-Rhyne

Ryan Odom made the best of a tough situation earlier this year. That helped him land his first college basketball head-coaching job – without an “interim” tag attached.

Odom was a career assistant until he took over as the Charlotte 49ers’ interim head coach in January. After Odom and the rest of the 49ers’ coaching staff were let go in March, Odom was hired as Lenoir-Rhyne’s 18^th head coach in May.

“When you’re an assistant coach and vying for jobs, it helps to have a little bit of a ‘separator,’ ” said Odom. “The experience I had as Charlotte’s interim head coach probably gave me that. It helped make me with some valuable experience, that’s for sure.”

Odom replaces John Lentz, who resigned in March after 29 seasons at Division IILenoir-Rhyne. Lentz had a 432-374 career record, leading the Bears to six South Atlantic Conference regular-season championships, four league tournament titles and five appearances in the NCAA playoffs.

“There’s great tradition at Lenoir-Rhyne,” said Odom, 40. “Coach Lentz was here for 29 years and that’s hard to do. It’s very rare for a coach to be successful enough to stay that long. The names that do that are like (Duke’s Mike) Krzyzewski and (Syracuse’s Jim) Boeheim – hall of famers. He’s paved the way for the next group. It’s up to us to match and build on what he laid.”

Odom took over as the 49ers’ interim head coach in January when Alan Major took a medical leave of absence. Charlotte went 8-11 under Odom and lost in the first round of the Conference USA tournament.

“It was challenging being the interim coach,” said Odom. “It was a weird dynamic. We all did the best we could do, given the circumstances. But nobody ever griped about it. I have tremendous respect for Charlotte and (athletics director) Judy (Rose).”

Major’s two other assistants also have found jobs: Desmond Oliver is an assistant at Tennessee and Orlando Vandross is Virginia’s director of recruiting and player development. Major continues to live in the Charlotte area, where he is recovering from surgeries on his eyes and heart last summer.

How Odom handled a difficult situation at Charlotte made an impression on Lenoir-Rhyne athletics director Neill McGeachy, a former Duke coach who is a long-time friend with Odom’s dad Dave, a former head coach at East Carolina, Wake Forest and South Carolina.

“It showed me Ryan’s mettle,” said McGeachy. “That’s what I look for in our coaches. I watched the three months of his labor as the interim coach and his loyalty to (Major). He didn’t change the system and did the best with what the circumstances allowed.”

Odom hired former 49ers staffers to be his assistants, including Nate Dixon as associate head coach, assistant Bryce Crawford and graduate assistant Blake Simmons.

Odom inherits a Lenoir-Rhyne team that went 8-18 last season, but returns guard Will Perry (team-leading 15.3 points per game) and forward Rob Noyes, whose 8.9 rebounds per game tied for theSouth Atlantic lead. Odom also landed guard Keenan Palmore, a transfer from Old Dominion who will be immediately eligible.

In Odom, those players are getting a coach with 20 years in the business, with assistant stints at South Florida, Furman, UNC Asheville, American and Virginia Tech leading to his time at Charlotte. He had already been promoted to associate head coach when Major took his second medical leave within a year in January.

“If nothing else, being a head coach gave me the opportunity to call my own timeouts, call my own plays, run my own practices,” said Odom. “I was able to be the CEO.”

Said McGeachy: “Ryan is imbued with the game of basketball. We were at a pivot point at Lenoir-Rhyne. The proof of how Ryan does is still years down the road. As in all things, I’m guardedly optimistic.”

Notes

▪ Charlotte’s men’s soccer program recently signed five high school players: defender Curtis Hansford (Weymouth, England), forward Maclean Holbrook (Cary Green Hope High), midfielder Tommy Madden (Burtonville, Md.), midfielder/defender Callum Montgomery (Victoria, British Columbia) and goalkeeper Elliot Panicco (Hough High).

▪ The 49ers’ football team got verbal commitments from Vance High linebacker Anthony Butler, defensive lineman Timmy Horne of Anson County and safety Jacquez Williams of Liberty (Ga.) County.

▪ Davidson women’s tennis coach Sara Anundsen is one of four coaches on the U.S. Tennis Association’s Collegiate National Team this summer.

▪ Gardner-Webb’s nonconference men’s basketball schedule, released last week, includes games at Iowa, Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Louisiana State.

This story was originally published June 27, 2015 at 4:49 PM with the headline "Ex-49ers coach Ryan Odom removes ‘interim’ tag in new job at Lenoir-Rhyne."