Bennett Ball To The Hall?

Well....maybe. But maybe not.

We all know Tony Bennett is a great coach. Most everyone says so.

For years now Bennett has been anointed for Hall of Fame inclusion.

Certainly that’s the conventional wisdom. But should that conclusion be as automatic as it appears?

Halls of Fame induction, while not exactly a popularity contest, certainly has its subjective side.

Bennett’s built his reputation by consistently mounting stifling team defenses at Charlottesville. This will be the 13^th straight season the Cavaliers impressively lead the ACC in scoring defense. Coaches covet strong defense, mounting a force that requires group effort and cohesion. Think defense and think of UVa and its pack-line scheme. Think also of how painful the prospect of encountering such a defense, or playing at JPJ Arena, might be.

On the other hand Virginia’s statistical profile was characteristically lopsided as February 2024 came to a close. UVa was third nationally in scoring defense and 342nd in scoring. The Cavs were an anemic 14^th in ACC scoring offense, dead last in free throw accuracy, and among the most painfully pedestrian of teams to watch when it has the ball. The last time Virginia paced ACC scoring was in 1983, Ralph Sampson’s senior season.

Virginia routinely applies cloying defensive pressure while displaying a nasty habit of crapping out on offense. UNC’s Dean Smith was regularly criticized for stifling individual scoring; little is made of UVa failing to have the ACC’s top point producer since wing Jeff Lamp finished in 1979.

Twice this season Virginia posted an ACC scoring low with 41 points – first on Nov. 20 against Wisconsin and almost exactly three months later with 41 against Virginia Tech, belying evidence of offensive improvement. Both were decisive losses.

This mirrors the Cavs’ erratic performances in the NCAA tournament. Buttoned-down Bennett forever made his mark by winning a single national championship (2019). But so over the last three decades did Jim Harrick (1995, UCLA), Lute Olson (1997 at Arizona), Tom Izzo (Michigan State, 2000), Jim Boeheim (Syracuse, 2003), Kevin Ollie (UConn, 2014), Scott Drew (Baylor 2022), and Dan Hurley (UConn, 2023). Does that one achievement automatically qualify for HOF inclusion?

When it comes to playing for the highest stakes, Bennett’s Wahoos are both formidable and unpredictable. Of 14 full seasons he’s directed Virginia, his teams advanced past the Sweet 16 just three times, championship included.

Twice, the Cavs failed to make the NCAA field entirely as Bennett launched his UVa program. Two other times, in 2013 and 2022, they went to the NIT and finished 2-1.

Four times they were one-and-done in the NCAAs: in 2012, 2018, 2021 and 2023. Those 8 modest trips span the majority of Bennett’s tenure.

The ’18 result was among the most shocking in tournament history, as Virginia became the first No.1 seed to lose to a No.16, University of Maryland Baltimore County. Bennett’s bunch lost by 26 (71-45) to Florida in 2012, matched a decade later by Miami as the second-largest margin of defeat by an ACC team in NCAA play during this century. Wake reached the nadir in 2010, losing by 30 to top-seed Kentucky.

Last year, seeded fourth in the South Regional, Virginia went out in its NCAA opener by a point against No. 13 Furman.

Over the long haul of the regular season the Cavaliers have finished alone in first or tied for the league lead an impressive 7 times since 2014. Yet when it comes to rising to the occasion during the ACC Tournament, under Bennett Virginia captured two titles, most recently in 2018, with a third championship game appearance in 2016.

Now that we’re approaching tournament time, with exposure on a national stage, the glide will resume toward talk of Hall of Fame immortality.