Tony Bennett had his first press conference in Charlottesville today where he was introduced as the new head men’s basketball coach. I know initially I was critical of the athletic department but as I listened to Bennett field questions and speak with such enthusiasm about this opportunity I can see why Craig Littlepage and John Oliver chose him for the job and am now completely behind this hire. Though Bennett’s offensive style may not be flashy and up tempo it might just be the change up that could throw off the other teams in the ACC. There is a prime example of this in football in which Georgia Tech had tremendous success last year running a triple option offense. I also think that the fact that Bennett did not manage to bring in top flight recruiting classes at Washington State may also be viewed as a positive. As much as it drives me crazy this school will always have much higher academic standards than everyone else in the conference which will most likely handcuff the coaching staff a little bit when it comes to recruiting, which would prevent them from bringing in a top class. The fact that Bennett can still build a successful program without blue-chip recruits is a very positive sign for Virginia fans.
My biggest concern which is stated on Tuesday was Bennett using this job in order to build up his name to jump to Wisconsin or another Big Ten school if the opportunity presented itself, but in listening to Bennett at the press conference today I am firmly convinced that he is not. Bennett spoke today of building this team into a national power and how he was going to adapt his style to better fit the ACC. If the coach was truly going to jump ship he probably would be much less open to adjusting his style.
But my absolute favorite part of this coach has nothing at all to do with his coaching abilities. Coach Bennett appeared extremely open and approachable to the media and his sideline demeanor at Washington State was one of positive and motivational coaching. Bennett is truly a representative that this university can be proud of. Bennett could not be more opposite of Coach Leitao in this respect. While I would have been embarrassed to have someone see Coach Leitao as a representative of the university with his profanity laced tirades to have that same person see Coach Bennett be positive on the sideline and a visible presence in the university community makes me proud to have him represent this school.
As surprising as this seems after my initial reaction to the hire I think the athletic department hit a home run with this hire. They secured a young, energetic, and dedicated coach that can lead this team and represent this university proudly for years to come. Craig Littlepage and John Oliver deserve a great deal of credit for finding Bennett and I’m looking forward to next season.
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