CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Thijs De Ridder couldn't help but feel uneasy as he shifted from multiyear professional player in Europe to first-timer in American college basketball, complete with returning to the classroom.
Big man Johann Grünloh didn't worry about the academic work as much as being so far from family and friends in Germany.
Yet by the end of the season, the duo — part of an influx of international talent across the sport — had transitioned
smoothly enough to play a huge role in the Cavaliers' immediate leap under first-year coach Ryan Odom to win 30 games and play for an Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title. Those former pros have returned for a second season, and they can look back at last year like a curiosity and valuable experience that had them knowing exactly what to expect this time around.
“It worked out pretty well for us,” Grünloh said Wednesday during the ACC Tipoff preseason media days. "Of course in the beginning it was a little bit different. But I think we managed to adapt to this play style pretty good and did what the coaches wanted us to do.”
Both were every-game starters for a team that reached the second round of March Madness for the program's first NCAA Tournament victory since winning it all under Tony Bennett in 2019. It was a strong start to Odom's tenure with a team originally picked to finish fifth in the ACC.
The 6-foot-9, 238-pound De Ridder ended up being a first-team All-ACC performer after leading the Cavaliers in scoring (15.6) and rebounding (6.2) while shooting 50.8%. Grünloh, a lean 7-footer, provided interior length and rim protection in averaging 7.1 points and 5.2 rebounds and ranking 16th nationally in blocked shots (2.2).
Yet their success was about more than numbers in a different style of basketball. For them and other players in attendance Wednesday, like North Carolina's Neo Avdalas (who played last year at Virginia Tech) and Duke's Dame Sarr, it also was about acclimating to a new life.
“The biggest thing when you have international players, it's no different than a young man coming from across the country ... you want to make them feel comfortable like they're a part of a family,” Odom said. “I think our staff does a good job of that, our community does a great job of making these guys feel very comfortable and wanted at UVA. I think that's the biggest reason they get acclimated pretty fast.”
De Ridder was particularly concerned about reentering academia considering he had graduated from high school in Belgium in 2021.
“I was just scared, really nervous in the beginning a little bit,” the 23-year-old De Ridder said. "First, the basketball part is like, I didn’t even know that my style of basketball would fit in the college basketball part. And it was like four years for me without any class. You have to go to class again instead of like resting or being on a PlayStation.”
That wasn't as much of a concern for Grünloh, who was only a year removed from graduation. Still, it took adjustments like playing by American college rules with TV timeouts — “That threw me off a little bit,” he said — and playing halves instead of quarters.
“Overseas it’s a little bit more slowed down,” Grünloh said. “You’ve got some veterans there, some veteran point guards who are like 30 years old. They play a long time and they ease it down a little bit, most of the time. But here it’s just the athleticism. Everybody can jump out of the building, everybody can dunk the ball.”
As for staying connected to home, Grünloh leaned on video phone calls, while his mother got on the Snapchat app for another avenue.
“You've got to stay in touch with them,” he said.
De Ridder, at least, had spent some time living on his own by going from Belgium to playing professionally in Spain to prepare for at least part of this experience.
“Before it was just like a one-hour flight and now it’s like a 12-hour travel,” De Ridder said. "So that’s the hardest part for sure, being away from family. But I’m having fun. I’m having a great time being a college student.”
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AP Sports Writer Steve Reed contributed to this report.
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