Describing himself as a “square peg in a round hole,” a tearful Tony Bennett said Friday that he resigned from coaching at Virginia because he didn’t deserve to go the way he is now. college basketball.
Bennett – wearing his signature suit-minus-tie – told those gathered at his exit news conference that the name, image and money like it and the transfer portal brought aspects to the job “I’m not good at.”
“I looked at myself and realized that I’m not the best coach to lead this program anymore,” said Bennett as athletic director Carla Williams sat next to him. “If you’re going to do it, you have to participate. You have to have everything. And if you do it partially, it’s not good for the university and for those guys. That’s why I’m going down.”
Bennett led Virginia to the 2019 national championship a year after the Cavaliers were the first No. 1 seed to lose to a 16-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
He is the latest – and, at 55, the youngest – high-profile coach to leave, expressing some degree of burnout with the modern realities of the industry. That list includes former Villanova coach Jay Wright, who retired two years ago at age 60.
“The game and college athletics are not in a healthy place,” Bennett said. “And there has to be a change. I think I was equipped to do the job here in the old way. That’s who I am and that’s how it was. My staff motivated me to get to this point, but there has to be a change. .”
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Former assistant Ron Sanchez, who rejoined the program last season, will take over as interim head coach. Williams said a national search for Bennett’s replacement will begin soon, but Bennett hopes Sanchez will do well enough to earn the full-time position.
Williams said Bennett told him of his decision Wednesday morning, though he noted the two had discussed this time three years ago.
“I believe that he is equipped to do this job, but as he said to all of you, he has to put his whole heart into it,” said Williams, her cheeks still full of tears when Bennett spoke. “He’s the epitome of humility, because he could go on doing this and not have his heart in it, but it takes more courage to say, ‘I’m not your man.’
As for the surprising timing of his retirement, less than three weeks before the team’s first game Nov. 6 against Campbell, Bennett said he seriously considered leaving soon after last season ended with a First Four loss to Colorado State in Dayton, Ohio.
The Cavaliers struggled in that game and have not won an NCAA Tournament game since the 2019 title game.
But, because the current recruiting calendar requires him to go to work immediately evaluating potential transfers, Bennett said he hasn’t given himself full time to consider his situation.
He said he was happy with the players signed by the program, with the new offense he is introducing and with the opportunities for the next season. He felt he had enough leverage to sign a long-term extension with Virginia, though he admitted it was unlikely he would keep the full term of the deal, which expires in six years.
Then, finally, there was a break in his busy schedule. He and his wife, Laurel, took a trip during U-Va’s break, giving the couple a chance to process and think about the future.
“That’s when I realized I couldn’t do this,” Bennett said, overcome with emotion. “There is no justice for these young men, even in this institution that I love so much, continue knowing that you are not the right man for the job.”
Bennett’s current players and staff stood near the back of the room Friday, listening as he spoke.
“I’m happy for him,” said former player Isaiah Wilkins, who is now an assistant coach. “I see you’re calm. I think you know yourself well and it’s obviously a family decision.”
As Bennett’s recruiter, former Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage, looked on, Bennett spoke of his pride in how he and his staff built the Cavaliers into one of the nation’s most successful programs. Littlepage hired Bennett in 2009 following three solid seasons at Washington State.
After a 15-16 record in his first season at Virginia, Bennett went on to post 14 straight winning seasons.
He posted a 364-136 mark at the school, leading the program to two Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament titles, six ACC regular season championships and 10 NCAA Tournament appearances. Bennett was named ACC Coach of the Year in 2014, 2015, 2018 and 2019.
“I never imagined, in 15 years, what it would be like,” Littlepage said. “I was thinking a lot in the short term. ‘We have to do this thing and we know it’s going to take a few years.’ … He had the pedigree He understood the college game immediately.
Long derided by many in the national media for his slow rate of play and defense – first – and sense second and third -, Bennett’s first NCAA Tournament loss to UMBC in 2018 provided enough fuel for his critics, creating a chorus of questions about whether the defense His package is designed to win tournaments.
Bennett, in his signature way, handled the loss with grace and promised his heartbroken players that it would be “a ticket to a place they can’t go without.”
The following season, after an impressive run in the NCAA tournament, Bennett and the Cavaliers cut down the nets in Minneapolis, advancing past Texas Tech and capturing the school’s first national title.
“I’ve been here for 15 years as a head coach, and I thought it was going to be a long time, to be honest, but I was on loan,” Bennett said. “It wasn’t mine to keep. This position was on loan, it’s time to give it back.”
It is reported by the Associated Press.
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