Yesterday morning, while I was in the midst of an exclusive interview with newly appointed Virginia men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett in his office at the John Paul Jones Arena, his cell phone rang from his desk a few feet away. As Bennett continued talking about the status of his 2009 recruiting class, he hopped out of his chair to turn his phone off. Picking up the phone, he casually glanced to see who was calling.
“Wally Walker,” Bennett said.
Walker was an all-time great Virginia basketball player, scoring 1,849 career points while leading the Cavaliers to their only ACC Tournament championship. Walker’s number 41 is retired, and he has an area of John Paul Jones Arena, the Wally Walker Virginia Basketball Hall of Fame, named after him.
“You can use this to make you feel good,” Bennett smiled. “I’m ignoring this call for you.”
In the half-hour or so I spent in Bennett’s office yesterday morning, he was witty, insightful and genuinely interested in the life and work of an amateur reporter. He asked me what the best pizza place was around town; I told him Christian’s. He told me he had been to Littlejohn’s and ordered a Philly Chicken (“Woooo! That was good!” he said.) He didn’t just ask me if I was aspiring to be a sportswriter; he asked me what the University offered in terms of journalism. (Answer: next to nothing.) After most every question I asked during the interview, Bennett ended by asking, “Was that OK? Was that what you were looking for?”
The mere fact that Bennett was willing to meet with me was in itself extremely thoughtful. During the two weeks removed from his welcoming press conference, with numerous other tasks on his plate, Bennett has spoken with very few publications. With The CavalieBDaily going out of production at the end of next week before the summer hits, though, Bennett and media relations officials were gracious enough to make the interview happen.
So, my initial impressions of Tony Bennett? Classy, young, excited, down-to-earth and ultra-competitive. Of course, as he put it, “People right now are so friendly — I guess I’ve never lost a game yet.” Nevertheless, he sure seems like a standup guy.
But enough of my thoughts. In the first of a two-part column, here are some tidbits from my interview with Bennett.
Q: How did you get 2009 recruits Tristan Spurlock and Jontel Evans to honor their commitments to come to Virginia?
“I think first of all, the University of Virginia spoke loud and clear to them ... That didn’t change, that was a constant and that certainly worked in our favor.
“But kids are perceptive; you just have to be genuine with them and real. If you’re trying to be phony or selling them something that’s not there, it doesn’t work. I just said, ‘Hey, I never saw you play in person. I’ve watched some tape, I’ve talked to a lot of people. This is what I’m excited about from what I hear, from what I see on tape. Here are the ways I think you can be used in this program. There’s a need here — everyone tells you, we want him, we want him, but there’s a need here. Hopefully you’re still consider us because we want you here.
“But you also tell them, I’m going to hold open hands. I’m not going to force you. This is your decision, you have to make a decision based on the new information — a new staff in place, a new head coach, but everything else is the same, and try to be real with them and not try to pull one over their eyes. That to me doesn’t get you very far in this business.”
Q: You’ve said you want to be flexible in adjusting to the ACC style of basketball. What offensive principles do you want to carry over from Washington State?
“Soundness with the basketball — not being loose with it, turning it over — and trying to get great shots every time down the floor. That’s good offense, whether you run NBA sets, motion, flex, package stuff. That’s what I want to carry with me. The difference between my dad’s teams and when I coached at Washington State were that I ran some more NBA sets, I’d use more pick-and-roll stuff. At times, we’d try to get out and go more, just depending on the situation. Here, you have to have a system. First and foremost, that starts, again, with good decision-making and being sound. It’ll come with that — I think we’ll definitely have some sets and I think at times we’ll use some motion concepts.
“Assessing what you have — trying to give these guys some structure but also some freedom to play because you can’t be robots. Certainly you’ve got to be able to play in the half-court offensively and be tough and sound; at times, you have to be patient but you also have to be able to get out in the open court and go when the opportunities present themselves. Whatever you do, there has to be a large degree of value in the basketball.”
Q: What are your initial impressions on differences between the Pac-10 and the Big 10?
“The ACC seems certainly physical, certainly terrific athletes, but it does seem to be at times more free-flowing, to get out and get up and down. At times you’re going to have to play that way, at times you’re going to have to go, but you also have to look and just say, ‘OK, can we continue to go up and down against North Carolina?’ Opportunistically you have to look for those situations, but at times you’re going to have to be sound and patient and tight about it. Everybody knows that.
“But as far the leagues — as far as Herb Sendek [the former head coach at N.C. State] who’s now in the Pac-10, and Jonny Dawkins [the head coach at Stanford and former assistant coach at Duke], I’ve asked them — not since I’ve taken this job — but I’ve said, ‘What’s the difference between the Pac-10 and the ACC?’ and Herb said, ‘You know, it just depends on the year.’ ... I think year in and year out, this is the best league in America.
“Talking to some people, going on the road in this league is tough. I know every game will be a battle in any major league, but here specifically and on the road with the arenas and the excitement for it, and the packed houses.”
Q: What are some differences between you and your father in your coaching philosophies?
“My experience of having played in the NBA and having been an offensive-minded player — because I’ve played in the NBA and played in the Pan-Am games with USA basketball, because I’ve been under different coaches — just having those experiences has also shaped my philosophy, no question. You have to learn wherever you’re at. I’ve just taken some things from other coaches, my playing experiences, coaching experiences and added those. As far as [my father], he’s certainly had a huge influence, and if I can become half as good a coach as he is, I’ll be so successful because he’s so successful — just ask people around.”
[Editor’s note: Part two of the Q&A will be published in tomorrow’s issue of The Cavalier Daily. In the second part, Bennett discusses his recent assistant coach hirings, how he has related to players so far, what his family has been doing recently and what coaching ideals he brings to Virginia.]
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