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Q&A: Virginia's Tony Bennett on chances at Final Four
By Jon Rothstein | CBS Sports
October 26, 2015 2:21 pm ET

Tony Bennett has led Virginia to back-to-back ACC regular season titles. The 46-year old head coach is a combined 60-11 over the last two seasons and again should have the Cavaliers primed for a major run in 2015-16. CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein talked with Bennett about last season's run, how Virginia will replace Justin Anderson, and how often Bennett thinks about leading the Cavaliers to the Final Four.

Jon Rothstein, CBS Sports: Nobody ever wants to live in the past, but how much since the end of last season have you thought about what might have happened if Justin Anderson hadn't went down with a finger injury in February?

Tony Bennett: I thought we were playing our best basketball of the year right before he went down. We had a real heartbreaking loss to Duke, but we played well. That was their first game without Rasheed Sulaimon and I thought they really hit some big shots and came away with the victory even though we were up late in the game. Then we went to North Carolina and won and played at a high level and that was two days after the Duke game. It seemed like things were coming together and then our next game against Louisville is the game where Justin got hurt. We played solid basketball the rest of the way without him, but I don't think our ceiling was as high.

Predictions, breakdowns of the upcoming season

I think our guys were playing well and at the end we won a game against Florida State in the ACC Tournament and played against a very hot North Carolina team. We again played solid, but we didn't play as well as we played before. Then in the NCAA Tournament we beat a very good Belmont team and then ran into a hot Michigan State team where they played very well and we probably didn't play at our best. And we did have Justin. Justin was very good against Belmont, but we probably weren't quite the same as we were before he got injured. But that's reality. That's what happens. When teams have special runs and special years it's because everything falls into place health wise and we played good, but not good enough at the time. That's when teams that play their best advance and we probably were solid, but not at our best.

CBS Sports: You've lost to Michigan State in each of the past two NCAA Tournaments. What have the Spartans done in each of those games that maybe allowed them to advance?

Bennett: I think they've been playing some of their best basketball at those times and that's a credit to their players and to Coach Izzo. Two years ago it was a heck of a game in Sweet 16. It was just back and forth. The people who watched that game said that it was a Final Four caliber game. It was really hard fought from tip to finish in Madison Square Garden. And then last year in Charlotte I remember they defended very well and we shot 2-17 from 3-point range and I think we threw one in at the end. We struggled to shoot the ball well and they were very physical and a mirror in some ways of ourselves.

We probably weren't at our best and to beat them in that setting with as well as they were playing we needed to be playing at a very high level. Again that's stuff where you say how can we improve? How can we learn from it? And you take that into the off-season and you're planning to try and be a better team. You're always a different team. We were a different team last year than the year before. I don't know which one was better, but both were good and both accomplished good things. You've just got to keep looking at your personnel and keep adjusting.

CBS Sports: There's been a mantra out there that the way Virginia has won the past few seasons isn't very sexy or appealing. What's your response when you hear people say that?

Bennett: As long as I'm sexy to my wife that's all I care about (laughs). The ACC is such a challenging league. It's such a great league. It's such a high level of basketball. But every team, coach, or program has to look at themselves and say what gives us the best chance to be successful and then you have to play that way. I think at times we play as hard-nosed defensively as we can because we know that gives us a chance. And then offensively we try to play together and we give guys freedom and really just want to do things that are going to give us the best chance to win.

Maybe to some people it's not appealing, but since we've had success and won it's been enjoyable. And I think our fans have embraced us because this has been a style that's been good for us and I think when you watch us mostly it's a style that's pretty solid. I can't control what others think. I can just control what gives us a chance and how we have to play. We'll continue to make little adjustments as the rules change and we get different players. I think more teams are going to play that way because we've had such success over the past couple of years. I think we're a little bit of the poster child for people who don't like this particular style, but that's just the way it goes.

Virginia coach Tony Bennett has the Cavaliers contending for an ACC title again this season. (USATSI)
CBS Sports: You're the son of a coach and a coach's coach. How refreshing has it been to see your team have the success you've had the past few seasons without players who were only in college for a year or two before they went to the NBA?

Bennett: I think when we first got to Virginia people said we can't win here because of certain reasons. Then they said we wouldn't get good enough players. Then we started to win. Then people said if we won that we wouldn't be able to get guys who would be able to get an NBA career afterwards and play professionally. Now that's starting to happen with guys that I've coached at Washington State and the guys we've had here. So you can to go college and get a degree from here and you can win and still reach your dreams. To me that's what this is about. So for us to be able to have some success against such storied programs as we try to build our own has been important.

We've had to do it with guys who weren't ranked as high as others coming into college, but they've just worked and improved. We have a mindset for our players that's just to develop. Whether that takes them two years, three years, or one year -- when they're ready -- they're ready. We want them to chase their dreams at the next level, but they're really honing their skills and their games and really being a part of what the college experience is supposed to be about. To have upperclassmen with that experience -- that's how we've been successful in a lot of ways. That's a good formula, but it's a hard formula nowadays when everyone wants to make the jump.

 

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CBS Sports: Your team bring back several key players from last year's team, but obviously lost a key piece in Justin. Who in your mind will initially fill his role on the wing?

Bennett: Yeah that's a good question. Two years ago we lost Joe Harris and then Akil Mitchell and people asked how we would replace those guys and now they're asking the same thing with Justin. You're kind of in the same spot. I think we've got a couple of guys. I think it could be by committee -- some guys who didn't play as much in their first year -- or some guys who are new. Some guys that have a little bit of experience are Marial Shayok or Devon Hall.

They were both first-year guys last year and then Darius Thompson (Tennessee transfer) sat out. They're all a little different than Justin, but they bring different pieces to how they play. And Evan Nolte was the guy who we kind of plugged in for Justin when Justin was out last year. There's a handful of guys that can play those spots. Whether it's by committee or another way, we'll have to make it work. That's why you have guys and why you try to have a steady influx of guys coming in.

CBS Sports: You also lost another key veteran from last year in Darion Atkins who did a lot of the same things that we saw Akil Mitchell do two seasons ago. Which player or players do you think will be best suited to step in for Darion?

Bennett: Obviously we've got a lot of experience with Mike Tobey and Anthony Gill. Evan Nolte has a lot of experience there too because he played some four for us. And then a guy last year that was an active defender as a freshman and he's not identical to Darion, but he can move and is mobile is Isaiah Wilkins. He gives us that mobility. And then we've got a physical first-year guy that will be a freshman in Jack Salt. He's not like Darion entirely, but he's active and can show on ball screens. I don't know if we have a shot blocker that's as elite as Darion was, but other guys have other strengths so we'll just be a little different looking defensively.

CBS Sports: There's not a lot of sizzle with London Perrantes and Malcolm Brogdon, but there's an awful lot of steak. What's the biggest reason why these two have co-existed so well in the back court over the last two years?

Bennett: I think first and foremost they're both winners. They both win. Their games are complete. London is a classic point guard who thinks team first. He's very calm and poised and makes big plays. And Malcolm is just a do-everything guy. He can figure out what needs to be done and he's just a winner. He can play both ends of the floor. He can play multiple positions on offense and he just finds ways. He's one of the most driven guys I've seen. They've got quite a resume together. They're not putting their head up on the rim and making highlight type plays, but they're very steady and they're guys you want on the floor in big games.

CBS Sports: Your success over the last two years now annually has your program in the conversation with Duke and North Carolina when people talk about the top teams in the ACC. Now that you've achieved that, how often do you think about going a little deeper in March and getting to a Final Four?

Bennett: I think that of course you have those aspirations. Of course you desire those things and think about how you can get there. And then it comes down to getting yourself just as ready as you can. Learn from past experiences and embrace your team. If you look at our non-conference schedule this year we've decided to just play as hard a non-conference schedule as we could to hopefully teach us things about ourselves if we're not ready in certain areas. We're going to learn a lot. We're just going to try and be the best we can all year and hopefully we'll be playing our best basketball at the end because that's obviously very important. A lot of things go into that. We want to absolutely keep pushing and trying to keep moving the bar. That's certainly something that's an aspiration for every program and certainly for ours.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebas...rginias-tony-bennett-on-chances-at-final-four