Lots of summer news this week
A few ACC notes worth mentioning.
First, Tony Bennett and Virginia finally got an extension worked out: Bennett will be in Charlottesville through 2030. You may remember that there was some speculation that perhaps he had had enough of the frustrating changes in college basketball, but that turns out not to be the case, or at least not publicly. Here’s what Coach Smithers Bennett said after signing the extension, via a statement: “My staff and I look forward to adapting to the new landscape of college athletics. We will continue to build one of the best basketball programs on and off the court without compromising the values of our university.”
That’s an artful response to those concerns. Bennett and his team were brilliant in 2019’s title drive but have not won a single NCAA tournament game since.
Meanwhile, down in Atlanta, Georgia Tech coach Damon Stoudamire, fresh off an up and down but promising first year, did something smart: he told Dennis Scott that his jersey would be retired. It’s a bit surprising that nobody else got around to it, but Scott was a spectacular talent.
It’s a cagey move by Stoudamire. Tech has struggled for a long time and could really use a boost. It’d be better to hire a tournament banner, but in the short term, Scott is worthy of this honor and really, it’s overdue.
Finally the 1983 NC State team is doing something interesting: it’s suing the NCAA over using State video from that glorious 1983 season, not least of all Lorenzo Charles’ fantastic winning dunk. The former players allege that the NCAA forced them to relinquish their NIL rights and have abused them since 1983.
It’ll be interesting to see what the NCAA does here. The cartel is on a major losing streak when it comes to lawsuits and at this point, might just roll over again.
