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Friedlander: Only the timing of Tony Bennett’s abrupt retirement decision is a surprise
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Tony Bennett is only 55 years old. But in the context of today’s college basketball landscape, he’s already a dinosaur.
His deliberate, defense-oriented style of play isn’t the type that attracts elite high school talent. And his developmental approach toward building a program is as antiquated as the peach basket in the era of NIL and the transfer portal.
It’s a combination that has contributed heavily to 3 1-and-done NCAA Tournament exits — and an NIT bid — since leading Virginia to the national championship in 2019.
So it’s hardly a surprise that Bennett has followed in the footsteps of Jay Wright, Nick Saban and others at the top of their game by deciding to walk away rather than conform.
The only thing shocking about Thursday’s announcement of his retirement, effective immediately, is the timing. The Cavaliers are only 20 days shy of their scheduled season opener against Campbell on Nov. 6.
Bennett gave no indication of his impending announcement at last week’s ACC Tipoff media event in Charlotte. He talked passionately about adjusting to the new challenges of his sport, the success of former players in the NBA, his attempt to speed up the tempo of his offense and the 5-man transfer class he brought into the program. He seemed upbeat and energized about the start of the coming season.
His abrupt about-face toward the exit door led to immediate speculation that his departure was health related.
But that was quickly debunked by multiple published reports.
At a tearful press conference at John Paul Jones arena on Friday, Bennett explained that he’s simply grown tired of the 24/7, 365 grind that college coaching has become. And that he no longer has the desire to keep turning back the clock by trying to beat teams playing a different game than his own.
“I was equipped to do the job her the old way. That’s who I am,” he said. “The thing that’s choked me up the most and the hardest thing to say is that when I looked at myself and I realized I’m no longer the best coach to lead this program in this current environment.”
Bennett, who won 6 ACC regular season titles in his 15 seasons in Charlottesville, went on to say that “the game and college athletics is not in a healthy spot” and that significant changes are needed for the sake of everyone involved.
That’s hardly a revelation that came to Bennett as he sat down for breakfast Thursday morning. He’s been dealing with the evolution of the college model since the NCAA began allowing athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness in 2021.
He first entertained the idea of walking away immediately after his Cavaliers were blown out by Colorado State in the NCAA First Four last March. But because of the quick turnaround in the recruiting calendar and a couple of key transfer pickups, he was briefly re-energized.
He even signed a 6-year contract extension over the summer.
But the doubts quickly began creeping back, until finally coming to a head last week when he and his wife Laurel spent a few quiet days at The Tides Inn resort on Chesapeake Bay during UVa’s fall break.
Tony Bennett gets choked up during his retirement announcement:
"I've been here for 15 years… This position has been on loan to me. It wasn't mine to keep. And it's time for me to give it back" pic.twitter.com/zz9UIh8ZF0
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) October 18, 2024
While the now-former UVa coach said that the timing of his announcement wasn’t “pre-meditated,” he admitted that it wasn’t exactly an accident, either.
Bennett’s mentor and role model in basketball may be his father Dick Bennett, a successful coach in his own right at Green Bay, Wisconsin and Washington State. His decision to step down this close to the start of a new season takes a page from the playbook of another college basketball luminary.
Dean Smith.
The North Carolina legend had just become college basketball’s all-time winningest coach when he surprised everyone by calling it quits in October 1997. He cited waning enthusiasm for the job as his reason for walking away.
That was the explanation at least. The real reason is that Smith wanted to ensure his top assistant, Bill Guthridge, would be named as his replacement. A decision school administrators had little choice but to make because of the short turnaround time before the opening game.
While the line of succession at UVa isn’t as clear-cut, the motivation is similar.
“The reason I did it (now) instead of waiting is that I’ve always wanted this to be taken over by one of my staff members,” Bennett said. “I just felt if I knew it was the time, instead of trying to delay it, I wanted these guys on the staff to have 3 weeks before they play games to get it together. And I’ll step out of the way.”
Leaving now allows Bennett’s associate head coach Ron Sanchez to take over the team, put his own stamp on it and audition for the job on a full-time basis. Sanchez, who has head coaching experience at Charlotte, inherits the Cavaliers on an interim basis.
A successful season, another NCAA Tournament bid and maybe even a win or 2 in March could go a long way toward ensuring earning him a long-term contract and a seamless transition without having to go outside the program to find the next coach.
As for Bennett, it’s hard to imagine him completely divorcing himself from the game he loves.
He’s a basketball lifer, after all.
Even though his preferred pace of play hasn’t kept up with the speed with which college athletics are changing, there should still be some way someone with his background, passion and resume can contribute.
At 55, he’s still too young to be hanging around the golf course like UNC’s Roy Williams. He could go into broadcasting like Villanova’s Wright and Alabama’s Saban. His knowledge and temperament, however, make him a better candidate to follow a trail blazed by another former UVa coach of note, Terry Holland, and go into athletic administration.
“Sometimes when you’re in it you have to step away,” Bennett said. “Maybe I can be an advocate for the student-athletes and coaches to get the changes” that need to be made.
Regardless of what he decides, Bennett’s departure leaves a major void the ACC will be hard-pressed to fill.
He was the league’s last remaining coach to have won a national championship. And the most recognizable face and name in a league that has lost much of its stature in recent years with the exodus of Hall of Famers Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim and Williams.
Though he didn’t stick around as long, the word “retirement” in Bennett’s statement suggests that he was just as aware as those 70-something coaching dinosaurs that it was time for him to go.
In hindsight, we should have seen it coming.
Maybe not 20 days before the start of a new season. But sooner rather than later.
Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.
