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Bennett wasn't built for today's game
Virginia coach says 'my way more designed for the old model' rather than portal and NIL. Plus: news and quotes from CAA media day, injuries to note, scrimmage results and Michigan's newest commit.
Mike Miller
October 21, 2024
Good morning! Hope you had a great weekend, and hopefully watched some Law & Order. A UConn “coach” played a notable storyline…
Let’s get to the news.
1. ‘I'm no longer the best coach to lead’ Virginia
Tony Bennett rebuilt Virginia basketball into a program not only capable of competing for ACC titles and Final Fours, he elevated it to heights it had never been before.
A national title. Six ACC regular-season championships. Ten NCAA tourney appearances. Five top 6 kenpom finishes in six years. It’s the stuff that’ll make Bennett, 55, a lock for the Naismith Hall of Fame.
But it turns out he wasn’t built for today’s college basketball era where the transfer portal and NIL resources can be as important as player development.
"The hardest thing to say is when I looked at myself and I realized I'm no longer the best coach to lead this program in this current environment," Bennett said Friday at his retirement news conference. "If you're going to do it, you gotta be all-in. If you do it halfhearted, it's not fair to the university and those young men. So in looking at it, that's what made me step down. ...
"I think it's right for student-athletes to receive revenue. Please don't mistake me. The game and college athletics is not in a healthy spot. It's not. And there needs to be change, and it's not going to go back. I think I was equipped to do the job here the old way. That's who I am.
"It's going to be closer to a professional model. There's got to be collective bargaining. There has to be a restriction on the salary pool. There has to be transfer regulation restrictions. There has to be some limits on the agent involvement to these young guys. ... And I worry a lot about the mental health of the student-athletes as all this stuff comes down."
That’s a big-picture statement about the sport that almost certainly applies to more than just Bennett. As college hoops/college sports evolves into this new world of money and player freedom, it’s essential every coach understands what’s required to succeed. Many writers think the longer the NCAA fails to regulate the current sports landscape, it’s only going to push others out.
And if a coach as accomplished as Bennett is struggling with today’s sport, it speaks volumes about how much others must be struggling. This quote to Matt Norlander of CBS Sports was especially instructive:
"We lost a lot of players that I think we wouldn't have lost [before NIL regulations]," Bennett said. "And that's OK because it's a new model. And so you've got to decide, where's the line, how far can we go? … It's confusing. I'll be honest, it's confusing.
"I realized if we can't have the right players to compete, the gap could grow," Bennett added. "I felt I was the one holding them back."
People in power recognize why the new challenges exist, but things have changed and aren’t changing back.
Virginia will turn to longtime assistant Ron Sanchez as its interim coach. Whether it experiences the same success is very much TBD. The same challenges Bennett faced will be there for the new coach as well.
"I wish I could have gone longer. I really do," Bennett said. "But it was time, and I wouldn't have done it if I didn't think we had the right group of young men and the right staff to lead them forward in this way. I think I'd have more regrets staying longer and not being able to be all-in and not sure in giving everything to these guys than stepping away with maybe a little more energy in the tank. That would be the bigger regret I'd have."
2. Everything to know about CAA media day
Tony Bennett wasn’t the only coach in the Mid-Atlantic region making news on Friday. Not with Coastal Athletic Associate media day happening.
