UVa hoops gets its man

No, not the singer. The University of Virginia shocked the college basketball world Monday by hiring Washington State University’s Tony Bennett as its new coach.

This past season, the 39-year-old led Washington State to a 16-13 record and a trip to the National Invitational Tournament, following two seasons with 26 wins each. He replaces Dave Leitao, who resigned March 16.

While fans on the East Coast may be unfamiliar with Bennett and his Washington State story, the basketball world hailed Virginia’s move.

“For anybody who doesn’t appreciate the hire, they haven’t see his teams play. ... He’s a great coach,” said former Virginia All-American Wally Walker, formerly president of the now-defunct NBA Seattle SuperSonics. “I’ve seen his teams play a lot and several of my friends are former Washington State players and alums and they’re heartsick over losing him.”

All along, Virginia’s top candidate was believed to be Minnesota coach Tubby Smith.

Others on UVa’s list, according to sources, were Oklahoma’s Jeff Capel, Villanova’s Jay Wright, Michigan’s John Beilein and former Virginia Commonwealth coach Anthony Grant, who has since accepted the head coaching job at Alabama.

In the two weeks since Leitao’s departure, a bevy of candidates were tossed around on blogs and Web sites, but Bennett’s name didn’t surface until Monday, when The Daily Progress broke the story.

According to Jim Sterk, Washington State athletics director, UVa asked for permission to speak with Bennett last Friday. On Monday, Bennett told Sterk and WSU President Elson S. Floyd of his decision to accept Virginia’s offer, then told his players that he was leaving.

Terms of Bennett’s contract with UVa were not released. However, he is expected to get a bump from his current $1 million per year deal with Washington State. He received a $200,000 raise prior to the 2008-09 season and a contract extension through 2015. The WSU agreement also included a $500,000 buyout.

In 2007-08, Washington State went 26-9 and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. Bennett was named the Associated Press national college basketball coach of the year.

A year prior, Bennett led Washington State to a 26-8 record. The Cougars made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

“Tony’s fantastic,” University of Nevada, Las Vegas coach Lon Kruger said. “His teams play really hard. They’re efficient. He does a great job in preparation and they play with a passion and enthusiasm that I think fans everywhere enjoy.”

Bennett has a strong basketball pedigree.

He played point guard for his father, Dick Bennett, at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. While there, he helped lead the team to an NCAA Tournament berth.

Bennett was a second-round pick in the 1992 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets and played three seasons for the team.

He began his college coaching career at the University of Wisconsin as a member of his father’s staff in 1999. In 2003, he followed his father to Washington State as an assistant and was quickly named as his heir apparent.

Bennett’s teams are known for their methodical style. He runs a version of the Princeton offense.

However, Kruger said it would be unfair to pigeonhole Bennett.

“Tony will adjust to his talent — absolutely,” Kruger said. “His teams do a great job of covering defensively and they’re very efficient offensively. I don’t know that they’re consciously slowing it down, but they’re very effective and very efficient and they get the job done.”

The Washington State AD thanked Bennett for his contribution to Cougars basketball for the past three years.

“Dick and Tony Bennett have elevated the men’s basketball program at Washington State to an unprecedented level of success,” Sterk said. “We will begin a national search for a coach immediately with the goal of finding someone with the integrity, experience, and values that Dick and Tony brought to the program.”

There was no comment from UVa about the hiring. No news conference had been scheduled and no information was released about when Bennett may arrive in Charlottesville to be formally introduced.

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