Bennett retires at UVA
- Thread starter HoopsCoach42
- Start date
As much as I hated his team's style of play, I hope he's ok health-wise. Something must be up for him to do this at this time.
Just heard, really shocked, may have been the best coach in the ACC after Roy and K retired. Has to be more to this...
He is sick at what college bball has become....getting out like Wright k roy....it is a mess he wants nothing to do with
NIL - can you blame anyone for getting out? It's a different world and presently there must be little joy in coaching.
I agree, and all these great coaches hanging it up early just shows what a crap show it really is. They have plenty of money and makes since to me. Why deal with all of it for sure. Great man and coach.
I remember he played for the Hornets. Maybe he'll join a NBA coaching staff. At least the NBA has a salary cap.
Bennett often seemed to build his teams around redshirts or other late-developing players. Hard to hold onto them in this transfer portal world. So you lose people just when they're ready. And the people you might pick up in the portal to replace them may not be able to adapt to his style in a single year, since they are unlikely to be familiar with it.
The game has changed with NIL and the transfer portal. Kids aren't flocking to Virginia for the chance to score 55 points as a team. He was a great coach, but this college environment doesn’t fit his style anymore. It's all about highlighting individual talent over team defense now.
Weeks before the season without an interim in place tells me it’s not a stance on what bball has become. If so that would be a shyt way to treat the current team. He doesn’t seem like that kind of guy. I would think something serious in his personal life.
It's his life and choice... but, the timing is really strange. I can understand that he may dislike the way the kids have newer opportunities and options that don't align with his style of building teams. I understand why all of the older coaches left. Bennett is much younger than them, but still very old school. If he's just up and leaving on impulse, without having some kind of backup in place, that's definitely going to hurt the school and players.
I will. It made for interesting games.
Not saying I want us to play that style, although you do have to admire the dedication to D.
Hated the way his teams played but respected the man as a coach. He had a style that consistently won without getting 5 star recruits. Unfortunately that style was just not sustainable in the new college basketball world.
College bball will miss Bennett! He is one of the few links left to the "Good Old days". I respect his way of building a team and his dedication to playing his style of ball! I also respect the fact that he insisted they do thing properly and follow the rules! It is clear from his statement that he just couldn't take the new style of player and the new era that has absolutely no regulation!
Good luck Coach with whatever is next!
Good luck Coach with whatever is next!
Well I know a lot of people like him and this won’t be a popular take but if he did truly retire due to the “nature of the game” then he’s lost a lot of my respect due to the horrible timing. To do so now with no hope of being able to hire a replacement so close to the season open is a slap in the face to those kids he recruited and made promises to. I mean if it’s health or family issues I get it and would fully support it. But if it’s to make a statement…hell no I’m sorry he’s a effing hypocrite in my book. And yea his style of play absolutely sucked and I couldn’t bear to watch them play. So with all that in mind….
I’ll never forget that sports talker whose name escapes me for the moment…he used to have a show on espn but moved to fox….oh yea cowherd, well after another one of those unwatchable uva games where they won like 47-40 in the acc tourney cowherd went off on the guy for pretty much the whole show. I laughed my asss off. He said Bennett set back basketball 50 yrs.
It was so hated because it was effective... most of the time. He was a good coach. I thought he would stay at UVA, and dominate, for at least another 10 years or so. I won't miss him.
I loved watching UVA lose (and lose BADLY) to UMBC in 2018. That was so much fun to watch! I have friends and cousins that are HUGE UVA fans, going back to Wally Walker and Sampson in the 80s.
He`s over the state of college sports with all the BS that goes along with it!!!!!!!!!!!!
People always get "over" stuff, especially with change, age, and other options. If the money is secure and/or the opportunity to exit is available, they are free to do so
Kinda funny that it seems like he used the coaches version of the portal 2 weeks before the season. Oh, but that portal has always been available, so he was used to that one. To each their own, carry on Mr. Bennett, solid run, guess you felt a change of scenery was best for you at this point in your life. Ok
Kinda funny that it seems like he used the coaches version of the portal 2 weeks before the season. Oh, but that portal has always been available, so he was used to that one. To each their own, carry on Mr. Bennett, solid run, guess you felt a change of scenery was best for you at this point in your life. Ok
Last edited:
Based on all the UVA media and fan stuff I've read, it seems this was done entirely to force UVA to make Bennett's guy Ron Sanchez the head coach. He left UVA a while back and took the UNCC job, where he was pretty mediocre. Then in June 2023 he stepped down as UNCC coach and rejoined Tony's staff. Since then there was a lot of talk about Tony retiring, which subsided when he signed a contract extension this past summer. But apparently Sanchez was the main guy who recruited UVA's large transfer class this summer. It appears he's been taking on a larger role behind the scenes.
The other factor is the UVA AD Carla Williams. She apparently has a history of questionable hires. Allowing her the time to run a national search meant she likely would not have hired Tony's guy, and she may have hired a coach who would squander everything Tony built and take the program back to mediocrity.
So Tony did what he did to ensure his guy got the best possible shot to take over the program.
The other factor is the UVA AD Carla Williams. She apparently has a history of questionable hires. Allowing her the time to run a national search meant she likely would not have hired Tony's guy, and she may have hired a coach who would squander everything Tony built and take the program back to mediocrity.
So Tony did what he did to ensure his guy got the best possible shot to take over the program.
My spin on this is he didn't leave his team or players in a lurch; he left them in hands he trusted. DES left the team in Gut's hands because he trusted him, and he wanted Gut to have the opportunity he had worked his entire life for. TB also had a coach in waiting he was grooming so maybe the players and team will be fine and not suffer any break in continuity! I can see the argument that he made promises to recruits but that is balanced by the fact that he said he would be there for them and the team but wouldn't try to do "too much."
Seems like a good man who made a difficult choice. The timing could be better, but it also could be intentional.
Seems like a good man who made a difficult choice. The timing could be better, but it also could be intentional.
Sounds like a decision to leave school for what's best for him and his. Very common use of the portal.
Similar threads
