Five Pillars, the Honor Code, and 49.7.

October 29, 2024 Filler

The Cast

By The Fillerbuster

10/29/2024

Tony Bennett and the University of Virginia were made for each other.

Tony Bennett suddenly retired recently. The sadness and emptiness I felt immediately for my program was replaced slowly with inspiration to write about my university’s loss. What we gained during his time in Charlottesville was well worth it, to say the least.

During my lifetime, there have been plenty of UVA Men’s Basketball coaches. Although several iterations of teams threatened to make a Final Four or two, that consistency wasn’t present unless you went back to the early 80’s and Ralph Sampson. The program had hills and valleys, where the hills weren’t as high as we preferred. The program teased the fans, one might say.

Then, things changed in 2009. Before I get to that, let me provide a few “givens” to allow the reader to appreciate my theme a little more.

At UVA, you are informed of the Honor Code when you arrive on Grounds as a First Year. The system was founded in 1842, and administered fully by students. This is unique, to say the least, and something all present and former students are proud to be a part of. The Honor Code requires that an individual act honorably in all relations and phases of student life. More specifically, the system rests on the premise that lying, cheating, and stealing are breaches of the spirit of honor and mutual trust and are not to be tolerated within the University community.

The Five Pillars. These pillars are the foundation of the Bennett family coaching, and life, approach. They are the following:

Humility: Know Who We Are
Passion: Do Not Be Lukewarm
Unity: Do Not Divide Our House
Servanthood: Make Teammates Better
Thankfulness: Learn From Each Circumstance

The words might not directly overlap in verbiage, but the transparency in both systems is real and genuine. They are both representing a higher ideal and a more pure way of living. Though independently created, they co-existed during Tony Bennett’s tenure in magical ways, on and off the court.

His history. He was born in Wisconsin, played at Wisconsin-Green Bay, was a 2-time Academic All-American, and also won the odd award of best college senior under 6 feet tall. Although he didn’t attempt enough three’s to qualify for a lot of all-time lists, in his 548 attempts during his college years, he shot a ridiculous 49.7% from deep. That is about 2% better than anyone else…ever. He played briefly in the NBA for Charlotte, and then spent some time overseas. It was overseas when he started to realize that he should be coaching and not playing. It was a good thing that he played in the NBA briefly, as he met his wife, Laurel, at church during that time. He was a team manager on his Dad’s Wisco team that made their Final Four run in 2000. Bo Ryan inherited the program, and he kept Tony. Tony later went to Washington State to be an assistant coach, and then later the head coach from 2006-2009. He turned down high level jobs such as Indiana and LSU, pledging loyalty to the Cougars. But, budgetary restraints for the program started hindering his ceiling, and finally, Virginia came calling. He was about to turn them down also, but Laurel told him that she supported him making this move. The rest is history.

His lone Final Four, and title, was in 2019. It was a magical run that needed…magic. The Purdue miracle was the prayer pass from Clark, the Auburn miracle was Kyle Guy free throws, and the title game needed a little DeAndre Hunter miracle from deep. Critics will say that many of his other top ranked teams didn’t make it to the promised land regularly, but it is March Madness, and I have a feeling more was learned than we can ever imagine during that year after being the first #1 team to lose to a #16 seed, and then regrouping and running the table.

His teams weren’t loaded with top talent. Actually, a little known fact is that the UVA team he inherited in 2009 was the worst team at UVA since 1967. His wins over the next few years were 15, 16, 22, 23, 30, and 30. Not too shabby. Over the years, Kyle Guy was actually his highest recruit (depending on where you look) at #43. KT Harrell didn’t pan out and was #44. Ty Jerome and Justin Anderson were after these guys in rankings, but same ballpark of 50’s on the lists. Kihei Clark, an eternal PG for UVA, was ranked #397 in his recruiting class. Tony took the fits he was looking for, and made those above average guys great. Tony led the nation by a large margin in sending recruits NOT in the top 25 to the NBA. Heck, even Kyle Guy and Tony were made for each other. Guy is Tony’s middle name. Tony should have probably had two titles, but Justin Anderson left early for the NBA. To this day, I believe that 2016, had Anderson stayed for his final year, would have been the best UVA squad ever under Tony. And, actually, the pandemic sort of ruined another run after their title in 2019.

His numbers were consistent without being eye-popping. He won Coach of the Year twice, had 13 straight years with a winning ACC record, and coached 500 total games at a 72% clip.

His philosophy. The Pack Line Defense. He learned it from his father (also a coach), Dick Bennett. Force players to go to the middle of the floor, where more help was. His teams’ pace of play was slow, and they were not a fun team to watch. But, they won. Fans at John Paul Jones Arena would count down the shot clock on every successful defensive possession. UVA teams weren’t sexy, but no one wanted to play them.

He was offered a raise by the university later in his career, but he declined and said to give the extra money to his assistants. What a guy. Terry Holland was always cherished as a UVA hoops coach, but Tony probably won a lot of us over during his time. This story could have gone a lot differently, as most coaches might fold after losing to a #16 seed. His title run after that was amazing, and had critics barking the whole 365 days until the nets were cut down. Tony was important at the university after the football tragedy too. He was truly part of everything UVA represented. Even during the title year, he was always deflecting achievement to others. The man was selfless.

If you want present examples of NBA players he coached, check out the progress of Ryan Dunn and Trey Murphy. These youngsters are making waves. Malcolm Brogdon is still playing, and I think he epitomizes what a UVA player under Tony looks like. Class guy, high floor, low ceiling, efficient, smart, consistent.

Why did he retire? The timing wasn’t optimal, and some thought there might be hidden whispers of secret incidences behind closed doors. It appears that isn’t the case, thankfully. As he did when he took the UVA job, Laurel helped clarify his feelings…even if it wasn’t timely. The game, with NIL, was changing in a way that affected how he did things. NIL isn’t optimal for the true teaching coaches. NIL isn’t optimal for coaches like Tony, who changed young men’s lives and happened to also teach them a little basketball. I understand why he left, and hold no grudges. I am sad, but he gave me plenty of higher hills for many, many years. Initially, I noticed that he didn’t publicly apologize to his team during the press conference, but then I realized that he probably had taken care of that behind closed doors in a way that was beyond classy, humble, and regretful.

His teachings on the court produced a title. His teachings off the court produced better young men taking on the world. The University was here well before Tony. Their brief intersection was a relationship that made it seem that this was in the cards for longer than either side even knew. The Honor Code and the Five Pillars indicate a higher level of living life. The Honor Code and Five Pillars are cut from the same cloth. So, are Tony and the University of Virginia.

Tony Bennett and the University of Virginia were made for each other.

Goodbye, Coach. Please stay involved with the program that loves you so much. Take all of the vacations that you want. Just be around us moving forward. Wahoowa.