U.Va. hires Washington State's Tony Bennett to coach basketball

SPORTS BLOG

CHARLOTTESVILLE --The University of Virginia has its next men's basketball coach, and he's not Minnesota's Tubby Smith or Oklahoma's Jeff Capel or Texas' Rick Barnes or LSU's Trent Johnson.

To the surprise of virtually everyone who followed this coaching search, U.Va. hired Washington State's Tony Bennett yesterday as Dave Leitao's successor.

Bennett, 39, recently completed his third season at Washington State, where he compiled a 69-33 record. His first team went 1-1 in the NCAA tournament, and his second team advanced to the Sweet 16. The Cougars finished 17-16 this season, losing in the NIT's first round.

Washington State had been to the NCAAs only four times before Bennett's tenure began.

He is considered one of the game's brightest young coaches. Still, Bennett has no ties to the ACC or the East Coast, and the news of his hiring stunned -- and, in some cases, disappointed -- U.Va. fans who had been hoping for a coach of the stature of Smith or Barnes.

Bennett "might turn out to be a great coach, but he is hardly the home run that we were looking for," one supporter said. "Where is the 'wow' factor?"

Bennett succeeded his father, the highly respected Dick Bennett, at Washington State. In 2006-07, the younger Bennett was named The Associated Press' national coach of the year after leading the Cougars, who had finished 11-17 the previous season, to a 26-8 record.

"Superb hoops DNA, and the kind of person and coach you love playing for under all circumstances," former U.Va. coach Terry Holland said by e-mail last night when asked about Bennett's reputation in the profession.

"A fiery competitor who does it with class -- a younger Midwest/West Coast McKillop or Wright," Holland said, referring to Davidson's Bob McKillop and Villanova's Jay Wright."

A year ago, Bennett turned down Indiana and LSU to remain at Washington State. He was not available for comment last night, so it's not clear why U.Va. appeals to him or the terms of the contract he'll receive.

After the 2007-08 season at Washington State, Bennett's contract was sweetened to pay him $1 million a year through 2015. Leitao had been making about $1 million a year at U.Va..

Virginia did not announce Bennett's hiring yesterday, and two attempts to reach Athletic Director Craig Littlepage were unsuccessful. Washington State, however, last night confirmed Bennett's departure from the Pac-10 school. WSU's athletic director, Jim Sterk, said in a statement that U.Va. asked Friday for permission to speak to Bennett.

Leitao resigned under pressure March 16 after four seasons at Virginia and received a buyout of approximately $2.1 million. Under Leitao, the Cavaliers went 27-37 in the ACC and 63-60 overall. U.Va. finished 10-18 this season -- its worst winning percentage since the 1966-67 team went 9-17.

As was the case in 2005, after Pete Gillen stepped down as coach, U.Va.'s No. 1 target was Smith. In '05, Smith was at Kentucky. He's now at Minnesota, but once again U.Va.'s attempts to lure the former Virginia Commonwealth University assistant to Charlottesville were unsuccessful.

To help find a new coach, Virginia hired an Atlanta-based firm, Parker Executive Search, after the university parted ways with Leitao.

Bennett, who grew up in Green Bay, Wis., starred for his father at Wisconsin-Green Bay. For U.Va. fans unsure of what to expect from Bennett, Russ Pannell offered some insight.

"The biggest thing they're going to get is a man of integrity and a guy who's going to speak his mind but do it in a very tactful way," said Pannell, who as interim coach guided Arizona to the NCAA tournament's Sweet 16 this month.

On the court, Bennett's teams, like those of his father, have been known for rugged defense and often deliberate offense. The WSU team that went 26-9 and advanced to the NCAA tourney's third round in 2007-08 averaged 66.4 points. It held opponents to an averaged of 56.4.

"Mannerism-wise, he reminds me of his dad," Pannell said. "He probably is a little bit more liberal on offense than maybe Dick was, but I think that defensively he's spot-on the way his dad was. And I tell you what, it's very tough to go against that man-to-man defense that they employ."

A two-time player of the year in the Mid-Continent Conference, Bennett helped UW-Green Bay to an 87-34 record during his career. He spent three seasons with the NBA's Charlotte Hornets before playing overseas and coaching in Auckland, New Zealand.

Before joining his father's at Washington State, Tony Bennett was an assistant coach at Wisconsin, where he helped recruit Alano Tucker and Devin Harris. He's known as an excellent recruiter, and he'll need to be at U.Va., whose talent is considered inferior to that of most its ACC rivals.

Contact Jeff White at (804) 649-6838 or jwhite@timesdispatch.com.

Tony Bennett bio

Family: Wife, Laurel; children Anna, 7, and Eli, 6 As head coach: Has been coach at Washington State the past three seasons (32-21 Pac-10, 68-30) . . . Led Cougars to postseason each year (2006-07: NCAA second round; 2007-08: NCAA Sweet 16; 2008-09: NIT first round) . . . Named coach of the year by AP after the 2006-07 season As assistant: Began coaching career as assistant at Wisconsin from 1999 to 2003, first for his father, Dick, then for Bo Ryan . . . Moved to Washington State to work under his father, whom he succeeded in 2006 High school: Preble High in Green Bay, Wis. . . . was named Wisconsin's Mr. Basketball as a senior in 1988 College: Bennett, a point guard, played for his father at Wisconsin-Green Bay fom 1988 to 1992, where he led the Phoenix to one NCAA tournament berth and two in the NIT. . . . Was named Mid-Continent Conference player of the year twice . . . Finished career as conference's all-time leader in points (2,285) and assists (601) . . . Won Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award given to the nation's outstanding senior under 6 feet in 1992 . . . Was named the GTE Academic All-American of the year in 1992 . . . Still ranks as NCAA's career leader in 3-point percentage (.497) NBA: Was picked 35th in the NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets in 1992 . . . Played three seasons with Hornets before career was ended by a foot injury