DURHAM – Comparatively speaking, Tony Bennett wasn’t coaching in the ACC for that long.
His 15 years at Virginia is less than half of what Mike Krzyzewski spent at Duke, less than Roy Williams’ North Carolina tenure and equal to his Kansas one, and it’s far less than Jim Boeheim spent at Syracuse.
And then, there’s this nugget from Jon Scheyer to bring it back into perspective.
“You know, he came to Virginia my senior year at Duke,” Scheyer said after Saturday’s exhibition game, referencing the 2009-10 season. “And so, for his 15 seasons, I’ve competed against him 12 out of 15 years as a player or as a coach.”
Bennett’s retirement from Virginia sent shockwaves through the ACC and college basketball. At 55 years old, Bennett stepped away from a program where he won a national championship (2019), six ACC regular-season titles, two tournament championships, and reached the NCAA tournament 10 times in 15 years.
Nothing will ever compare to Duke-UNC games. But remove those from the equation and the Blue Devils’ best test and biggest rival over the past decade in the ACC has been a Virginia program suddenly rocked by Bennett’s decision to retire 20 days before the Cavaliers’ season opener.
Even in Scheyer’s two seasons as coach, two of Duke’s more memorable games have been against Virginia — the blown ending that led to Duke’s overtime loss at Virginia in 2023, followed by Duke beating Virginia four weeks later in the ACC championship game.
“We’ve had some big-time battles against many teams in the league,” Scheyer said. “But no games are tougher than playing Virginia and the teams that he’s had. I expect that, obviously, to continue.”
The baton has been passed to Ron Sanchez, who will lead Virginia on an interim basis this season. The expectation is that if he does well, he’ll have the job fulltime; if not, athletics director Carla Williams will be hitting the reset button on a program that has been as stable a winner as any non-blueblood program in the ACC has been.
In last week’s news conference, Bennett said things like:
– “When I looked at myself, I realized I’m no longer the best coach to lead this program in this current environment.”
– “There’s still a way in this environment. … But it’s complicated. And to admit honestly that I’m not equipped to do this, is humbling. I’m a square peg in a round hole.”
– “I think I was equipped to do the job here the old way. … That’s who I am, and that’s how it was. My staff has buoyed me along to get to this point, but there needs to be change.”
One part of Scheyer’s reaction, he said, was that he was “bummed” that Bennett was retiring.
Another part is understanding.
“I have empathy for how he feels,” Scheyer said. “I think the difference is I started my career in this environment. I think that’s an advantage in a lot of respects.
“But still, I understand how he’s feeling. You always want more family time, you always want more stability. But for me, it’s the environment we’re in. Let’s go, I’m ready to roll.”
