When Tony Bennett arrived at Virginia for the 2009-10 season, 26 years had elapsed for the reason that Cavaliers’ halcyon days of three straight No. 1 seeds within the NCAA Event underneath Terry Holland within the early Nineteen Eighties.
These Holland groups are eternally synonymous with the enjoying profession of all-time school basketball nice Ralph Sampson, who remains to be the one participant to win three straight Naismith Awards.
Bennett returned the Cavaliers to the bygone glory of that period. However he used a vastly completely different formulation.
As Bennett’s run got here to an abrupt finish Thursday along with his retirement lower than three weeks earlier than the beginning of the 2024-25 season, it is onerous to call one singular, iconic star from his stint with the group. He constructed a national-title successful program and dominant ACC power with only one NBA lottery choose over his 15-year run. He did it with suffocating protection and surgically environment friendly half-court offenses, which dissected opponents at an elite price — significantly between 2013 and 2019.
The Cavaliers received 4 ACC regular-season titles and earned 4 No. 1 seeds within the NCAA Event throughout that six-year span, capped by this system’s first-ever title in 2019.
The preamble
Virginia didn’t win an NCAA Event recreation throughout Bennett’s first 4 seasons and reached the Massive Dance simply as soon as in that point. However he improved the Cavaliers’ win whole in ACC play by two video games annually main as much as this system’s breakout 2013-14 marketing campaign, which was highlighted by a 30-7 file and Candy 16 look.
Whereas his success was not instant, the preamble to Bennett’s UVA tenure provided loads of clues about his potential. He took over at Washington State in 2006 when his father, Dick Bennett, retired from the WSU job in 2006.
Tony had been and assistant underneath his father for a number of seasons, first at Wisconsin after which Washington State after wrapping up his personal enjoying profession within the NBA and abroad. He guided the Cougars to their finest NCAA Event seeds in program historical past in 2007 (No. 3) and 2008 (No. 4), incomes Naismith Coach of the Yr honors for his efforts in 2007.
Getty Photographs
The formulation he used at Wazzou would quickly make its method to the ACC because the Cougars performed suffocating protection whereas working with a few of the slowest tempo within the sport.
Document at Washington StateÂ
| Yr | Document | Convention End | Postseason End |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-07 | 26-8 | 2nd | Spherical of 32 |
| 2007-08 | 26-9 | third | Candy 16 |
| 2008-09 | 17-16 | Seventh | NIT First Spherical |
The breakthrough group
The breakthrough 2013-14 Virginia group got here with a well-recognized roster formulation. Although it was the peak of the one-and-done period marked by the nationwide titles of freshman-oriented groups at Kentucky (2012) and Duke (2015), Virginia operated in a distinct world underneath Bennett.
The group was anchored by four-year program veterans Joe Harris and Malcolm Bogdon. Each have gone on to have fruitful NBA careers as second-round draft picks who outplayed modest recruiting rankings underneath Bennett’s tutelage. Bennett constantly recognized gamers who match his scheme and molded them into multi-year contributors whereas additionally maximizing their skills in a means that made them palatable — although maybe not distinctive — NBA prospects.Â
The 2013-14 group additionally embodied the resilience that may come to outline Bennett’s tenure. The Cavaliers misplaced back-to-back December video games that season — scoring simply 38 factors towards Wisconsin and falling on the highway to Bennett’s alma mater Inexperienced Bay.
Add in a 87-52 drubbing at Tennessee and the Cavaliers had been on tenuous footing and unranked after they entered entered ACC play.
However from there, they went 16-2 towards ACC competitors with the one losses coming by a mixed 10 factors on the highway towards Duke and Maryland. The Cavaliers swept by the ACC Event and secured two double-digit wins within the Massive Dance earlier than a heartbreaking loss towards Michigan State within the Candy 16.
The season established Cavaliers’ identification and proved Bennett’s, slow-paced and defense-oriented type couldn’t solely succeed within the NCAA Event, it may additionally make the Cavs a nationwide energy.Â
Constructing as much as a title
Virginia spent the complete 2014-15 season within the prime 10 of the AP ballot as its protection reached historic ranges of success. Rutgers, Harvard and Georgia Tech every failed to succeed in 30 factors towards the Cavaliers, who completed the season ranked No. 1 nationally in factors allowed per recreation at 51.5.
It was the most effective scoring protection of Bennett’s tenure, which is saying loads for a program that ranked No. 1 nationally in factors per recreation seven instances in eight years. The formulation was clearly profitable, nevertheless it wasn’t foolproof. When the Cavaliers went chilly from past the arc within the first spherical of the 2018 NCAA Event, a historic consequence ensued.
| Yr | Document | Convention End | Postseason End |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-10 | 15-16 | T-Ninth | N/A |
| 2010-11 | 16-15 | T-Seventh | N/A |
| 2011-12 | 22-10 | T-4th | Spherical of 64 |
| 2012-13 | 23-12 | T-4th | NIT Quarterfinal |
| 2013-14 | 30-7 | 1st | Candy 16 |
| 2014-15 | 30-4 | 1st | Spherical of 32 |
| 2015-16 | 29-8 | T-2nd | Elite Eight |
| 2016-17 | 23-11 | T-Fifth | Spherical of 32 |
| 2017-18 | 31-3 | 1st | Spherical of 64 |
| 2018-19 | 35-3 | T-1st | Champion |
No. 16 seed UMBC surprised Virginia 74-54 because the Retrievers turned the primary No. 16 seed in NCAA Event historical past to beat a No. 1 seed. It was a humiliating defeat for the Cavaliers that set the stage for an all-time nice redemption story.Â
Bennett didn’t abandon this system’s defensive mantra within the wake of the stunning 2018 NCAA Event loss. However he did let his offense lean into its energy, which was 3-point capturing.
The 2018-19 Cavaliers tried extra 3-pointers per recreation (21.4) than every other group to that time in Bennett’s tenure. With 42.6% 3-point shooter Kyle Man main the way in which, UVA ranked No. 7 nationally in 3-point share at 39.5%. The outcome was 71.4 factors per recreation, which was essentially the most scored per recreation by any Virginia group earlier than or since.
With a succesful offense to pair with its usually salty protection, Virginia secured the last word measure of redemption and received the 2019 nationwide title, securing Bennett’s legacy as one of many all-time nice program builders.
Previous to his arrival, the Cavaliers had been largely identified for Sampson’s historic run within the Nineteen Eighties. However Bennett ushered in a brand new golden period for this system and launched it to a heights that even the nice Sampson may by no means attain.