WSU's Bennett leaving for Virginia
by kirkd on Mar 30, 2009 3:41 PM PDT
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PrintIt appears that the rumors about Tony Bennett leaving WSU for Virginia are true. I'm surprised at the timing and the choice of Virginia when you consider the jobs he was linked to last year and the possible jobs he was being linked to this year. It'll be interesting to hear his reasoning.
Cougars are predictably shocked and furious, and I guess I can't blame them. Tough break for that program and the conference in general.
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Shocked for sure, furious is definitely the initial reaction but we’ll see how it all shakes out. If we hire someone good and all the recruits stay, maybe we won’t be so mad, but that’s hard to see right now.
I think Ken Bone would be a good choice as a replacement; Randy Bennett too. It’s a tough break, but not necessarily a killer for the program. Good coaches are available and waiting for a chance to move up to a more prestigious conference. Just like Virginia plucked WSU, WSU could pluck Portland State or St. Mary’s.
I think what probably sticks in the craw for many WSU fans is all the talk from Bennett in the last couple of years about wanting to stay at WSU long-term and build something lasting. Predictably (and unfortunately) it seems to have just been all hot air.
And that's why it's idiotic
And I know y’all are Huskies, but I’d be pissed if Romar bolted UW for Memphis or somewhere. Quality coaching improves our league, and a better league means more tourney bids.
Can't say I feel too sorry for you guys...
…I mean really, would you feel sorry for us?
Washington Husky Football-1991 National Champions
I hear you. The better the league is overall, the better each team is perceived nationally, and the more respect we’ll get come tournament time in terms of seeding. While I’m not rooting for WSU, I know that the better they are, the more it improves the league which benefits the UW.
I think WSU can bring in a quality coach – the names being mentioned (Ken Bone, Randy Bennett) would seem to be good choices. However, I could see a tough couple of years as the program transitions to a different system, and also recovering from losing Baynes and Rochestie (after losing Weaver and Low last year).
Yeah too bad...
…so sad. I’m really feeling sorry for the cougs….NOT! They hate our guts AND have actively tried to defeat the Husky Stadium project.
Washington Husky Football-1991 National Champions
and if the rest of you DAWGfans...
…don’t think all of them feel the same way as those idiots that testified in Olympia, you’re either nuts or you’re smoking some pretty stout smoke!
Washington Husky Football-1991 National Champions
That's what makes it a rivalry!
It’s just too much fun hating WSU!!! I don’t feel sorry for them at all, they need to realize that they will forever be inferior to the UW.
"Bow Down to Washington"
"Kick the tires and light the fires!"
I think they know that...
…and it just makes them hate us more.
Washington Husky Football-1991 National Champions
Wasn't this same thread played out...
…just a while back and these crimson colored cougs thought Bennett wasn’t going anywhere? Get a clue Pullman IS on the far side of the moon!
Washington Husky Football-1991 National Champions
on the one hand
it’s hard not to admire such a beautifully crafted sucker punch, right in the gaping psychic wound of an inferiority complex.
seriously though, it’s a shame because it weakens the state. It’s better to have 3 good basketball programs then 2, and it raises the level of competition which is only a good thing.
p.s didn’t the Cougars remodel Martin Stadium with only private funds?
Private Funds
So far, although in my mind the student fees are a tax. The cougs also tap the state every year to make up the deficit in the athletic dept. It amounts to about 4.5 million dollars a year.
I think the Husky Stadium project is a much larger undertaking.
Washington Husky Football-1991 National Champions
It all comes down too...
It all comes down to how long somebody wants to live in Pullman. Bennett didn’t consider himself a lifer and once he took a look at the talent returning didn’t want to take the chance of eventually getting stranded there.
Exactly
Tony took the Virginia job because the state is easy to recruit, secondly he can find plenty of talent to run is slow tempo/team defense approach in-state. Virginia? Sounds like a sleeping giant if you ask me. South of hot programs of Georgetwon, Pitt, and Villanova. North of Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest, and NC State. The only school Virginia has to compete with is Maryland and the Terps have seen better years. Taking the Cavelier post makes perfect sense and at the right time.
He didn’t take the Hoosier job because Sampson ran it into the ground. He didn’t take the LSU job because he’d be out of his element in recruiting the deep south. And I agree with John, Tony didn’t want to get stranded in Pullman, Washington. His greatest recruits have all graduated and although this freshmen class looks impressive- it makes perfect sense to get out while your name is still viable for the big time jobs. Two years removed as National Coach of the Year and one year removed from back to back NCAA appearances. Sounds to me as if Tony cashed in. Nobody is staying in Pullman long term Coug fans- not going to happen. Pullman doesn’t offer a big name coach anything. I give Dick most of the credit. Without Dick, Tony wasn’t going to smell a BCS job in quite some time. Still think Dick came out of retirement just to get Tony’s name out there and get his son’s coaching career off and running. Dick did that and now Tony is off and running.
All I saw was purple
Tony Bennett Hero Worshipping
…. the best part of this is that this is the end of the mindless worshipping of TB that has been going on over the last three years. I’m sure he’s a great guy and a decent coach, and his first two years were impressive. However, he was winning with a game plan installed by his father, with players that his father recruited and developed as underclassmen, and with the luxury of not having the glare of a critical fanbase/media looking after him.
He’s never been challenged. He had some nice freshmen this year – but what did his recruiting produce the last three years? Not much.
I’m sure he is a coach with potential, but he hasn’t demonstrated a full repertoire yet. He really blew it by not taking IU last year.
"Greed is Good."
So is Rudy.
He has potential but at this point that's about it
We’ve seen him develop players well but not necessarily win with his own players, like you said. The “mindless worshipping” you mention is entirely due to making the Sweet 16, something most Cougar fans wouldn’t have thought would ever happen for our program. But worshipping is probably the right phrase to use.
Judging from some of the comments / stories coming out of Virginia, there’s already going to be much higher expectations than he ever faced in Pullman. I am not so sure he’ll succeed, though I wouldn’t put it past him.
by johnnycougar on Mar 31, 2009 8:02 PM PDT up reply actions
The future of WSU Basketball
The Bennett’s ressurected a program that was pretty much left for dead. What they did was remarkable and probably one of the best overall sports stories in the Northwest over the past five years.
Six years is a pretty good run and whoever takes over will be in a great position to do well.
They are looking at the right guys….Ken Bone, Don Monson, Ray Giacoletti, and Bill Grier.
I would think that any of those four guys would be able to carry on the work that the Bennett’s started and do as well or better.
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