We never truly knew how lucky we were to have Tony Bennett at the helm. In only a few years time, Virginia men’s basketball shifted from an afterthought to a juggernaut. Bennett consistently dominated the ACC, brought with him his own approach to a program desperate for strong leadership, and simply went about things the right way.
In Bennett’s honor, let’s recap some of the best moments/games from his 15-year career at Virginia.
There’s really not much more to be said. After experiencing the lowest of lows the year prior, Bennett and company rebounded to bring Virginia men’s basketball its long-awaited National Championship in 2019. Each game was more stressful than the last (besides Oklahoma), beginning with a stressful win over sixteen-seed Gardner-Webb and ending with an overtime victory over Texas Tech. The emotions for Bennett, on display while he cut the nets following the Elite Eight win over Purdue, seemed to flow as his father and coaching mentor, Dick, watched his son navigate the storm with humility, class, and thankfulness en route to the crowning achievement in his career.
Regardless of whether or not he won the National Championship, Bennett’s legacy would forever be remembered in Charlottesville. ‘Hoo deserved it more than the man who brought Virginia out of the dark ages and into unprecedented winning territory?
Arguably the win which firmly put Virginia “on the map,” the ACC regular-season clincher against No. 4 Syracuse witnessed a dominant defensive performance from the ‘Hoos. The 2013-14 roster, quite possibly the most well put-together in Bennett’s time at Virginia, marked a departure from middling ACC performances in years prior, with the 75-56 victory over Jim Boeheim’s Orange also resulting in a top seed in the ACC Tournament. Sophomore Justin Anderson shined with three three-pointers, while fourth-years Akil Mitchell and Joe Harris cemented their legacies in Charlottesville with a thunderous win on Senior Night.
A 16-2 finish in the ACC would be a sign of things to come. Although Virginia bowed out in the Sweet Sixteen to fourth-seeded Michigan State, it cannot be understated how impactful this season was for the trajectory of Bennett-coached teams in the mid-to-late 2010s.
In terms of proportions, Virginia had not won an ACC Tournament Championship since 1976. Bennett’s high-flying group — having beaten Syracuse two weeks prior — capped off an incredible season in-conference with a win over the Dukies in Greensboro Coliseum. Virginia’s defense eviscerated the Blue Devils’ backcourt, while a combination of Akil Mitchell, Darion Atkins, and Anthony Gill held No. 1 overall recruit Jabari Parker to an inefficient 9-of-24 from the field (yes, he did end with 23 points). The ACC Tournament could not have ended in a more satisfying fashion for Bennett.
The win over Duke not only gave the ‘Hoos their second ACC Championship in history, but it catapulted Virginia into national contender conversations for years to come. Once again, do not let the Michigan State loss entirely overshadow what was a near-flawless season for Bennett’s team.
Bennett finally climbed his way to the top following his 327th win at Virginia on January 7, 2023, surpassing legendary coach and the late Terry Holland as the school’s winningest coach. In his classy style, Bennett shied away from giving himself praise and rather credited his players, staff, and the University of Virginia for his successes. With the retirement now official, he finished his 15-year career in Charlottesville with 364 wins and 136 losses — good for a 72.8% winning percentage. Considering the slow start to his tenure in the ACC, it is a remarkable stat and one that will be difficult for future Virginia head coaches to replicate; moreover, it would take a miracle worker to surpass Bennett’s win total at U.Va., which could feasibly stand the test of time.
Here’s what Bennett said prior to breaking the record against Syracuse: “I never got into coaching to break records or anything,” said Bennett. “I just wanted to try to win and see, because I love the game, in terms of wins in the season. But the overall record is a credit to the players, my staff, and that I’ve done this for a long time.”
“And it’s probably better than I deserve. So, I’ll leave it at that.”
This may be an unpopular pick considering the other options available — 2018 ACC Tournament win, Ty Jerome’s dagger over Duke — but an overlooked series of wins for Bennett took place in Las Vegas two years ago. Following the tragedy in Charlottesville which claimed the lives of three Virginia football players, the men’s basketball team participated in the Continental Tire Main Event — a non-conference, early-season tournament featuring the sixteenth-ranked ‘Hoos, No. 5 Baylor, No. 8 UCLA, and No. 19 Illinois. Virginia, donning UVA Strong shirts in warmups, blitzed the Bears with a 64.3% clip from behind the arc and pulled away from the Illini in the tournament final, 70-61. The two wins catapulted Bennett’s crew into the No. 2 spot in the polls, which wouldn’t last long after a home defeat to No. 5 Houston.
I consider the 2022-23 season to be one of Bennett’s most impressive coaching jobs in his time at Virginia. On the heels of an NIT appearance, he steered a veteran group to a 15-5 finish in the ACC and remained in the top-20 of the AP Poll for the entirety of the year.
In the wake of a harrowing tragedy, the men’s basketball team played for the football program and captured two major wins — significant both in their ramifications for the Virginia community and for the upward trajectory of that 2022-23 team. I don’t think those two games are talked about enough.
*This is not necessarily a moment, but let us stop and appreciate what Bennett was able to do in terms of producing NBA-caliber players from the University of Virginia. At ACC Media Day only a week ago, Bennett took a rare moment — a necessary moment — to boast about Virginia’s success at turning players outside of the top-25 recruiting rankings into professionals. Mike Scott, Malcolm Brogdon, Joe Harris, Justin Anderson, Anthony Gill, Mike Tobey, London Perrantes, Devon Hall, Ty Jerome, Kyle Guy, De’Andre Hunter, Mamadi Diakite, Jay Huff, Braxton Key, Trey Murphy III, Sam Hauser, Reece Beekman, and Ryan Dunn are the names which have, in some capacity, played at the highest level.
This does not include G-League players such as Kihei Clark and Armaan Franklin, as well.
Not too shabby for a program which hasn’t shared the recruiting successes of the Dukes, North Carolinas, and Kentuckys of the world. As Bennett mentioned, Virginia has sent the most non-Top-25 recruits to the NBA by a wide margin.
Other Moments/Games:
Virginia’s 2018 ACC Championship win over North Carolina, Ty Jerome’s dagger to help defeat No. 4 Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium that same year, Reece Beekman’s game-winning three-pointer over Duke in 2022, Virginia’s Sweet Sixteen win over Iowa State in 2016, Bennett’s post-UMBC presser, and his excitement after freshman Kihei Clark forced a ten-second violation against VCU in 2018.
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