Immediately following the resignation of Kelvin Sampson on Feb. 22, ESPN.com’s Pat Forde came out with a list of his top five candidates to replace Sampson at the helm of IU’s basketball program. So who was number one on that list? Washington State’s Tony Bennett, a 38 year-old young gun in his second season as a head coach.
Sure, Bennett is young and he’s only coached just over 60 games in his career. But he’s already established himself as a good coach and already helped to turn around a struggling Washington State program. But would he fit at IU? First, let’s take a look at his history.
Coaching History
Tony Bennett has been around basketball his entire life. As the son of legendary coach Dick Bennett, he started playing basketball early in life. After finishing his playing career at Preble High School in Wisconsin, Bennett played in college under his father at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
Tony Bennett may be young, but he's one of the top candidates for the IU coaching job.
At UWGB, Bennett helped lead the Phoenix to an NCAA berth as well as two NIT appearances. He was named conference player of the year twice and earned a starting spot on the 1991 Pan American Games team. By the time his senior year had ended, Bennett held several Mid-Continental Conference records, including career points and career assists. Bennett also still holds the mark as the NCAA’s all-time leader in 3-point shooting percentage (.497).
Bennett was drafted 35th overall in the 1992 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets. He played three years in the league before a foot injury ended his playing career prematurely.
After spending several years trying to make a comeback, Bennett finally made his way to the sidelines in 1999 as an assistant coach for his dad at the University of Wisconsin. Bennett stayed there with his dad until Dick resigned three games into the 2000-2001 season because of “burnout”. Despite his father’s retirement, Bennett remained with the Badgers until 2003.
In 2003, Dick Bennett made a comeback, taking over as the head coach at Washington State University. Tony Bennett followed his father there to work as an assistant for one year and an associate head coach for two. Following the 2005-2006 season, Dick Bennett retired again, but this time, Tony Bennett took over as the Cougars’ head coach.
Tony Bennett’s inaugural season at WSU was among the best in college basketball history. The Cougars posted a 26-8 record and made their first NCAA tournament since 1994. Bennett was named the AP Coach of the Year, the Naismith College Coach of the Year and the Pac-10 Coach of the Year. When the accolades were all dished out, Bennett had won more coaching awards following a single season than anyone in Pac-10 history other than John Wooden.
In his second season as a head coach, Bennett has led the Cougars to a 22-7 record and likely to a second straight NCAA tournament berth.
Fit for Indiana University?
Though Bennett is relatively inexperienced, with less than two seasons of head coaching experience under his belt, he has already proven that he is an extremely talented recruiter and coach. At Wisconsin, he helped recruit Brian Butch, Alando Tucker and Devin Harris. At Washington State, he has helped revitalize a program that was struggling to compete in the Pac-10.
Many have argued that Bennett would be a good fit for IU for several reasons. First of all, Bennett is young, which means that he could be a long-term solution to as a coach for the Hoosiers. The second thing is, as Bud Withers of the Seattle Times points out, Bennett could realistically win a national championship at IU, something he likely can’t do as the head coach of the Cougars.
Like Bruce Pearl, Tony Bennett has ties to the Midwest. He grew up in Wisconsin and worked in the Big Ten for nearly five years, something that could make a transition to IU easier.
But besides the possibility of a championship and the chance to coach at a perennial basketball powerhouse, moving to IU could benefit Bennett financially as well. Bennett is already the highest paid coach at Washington State, making $800,000 annually, but he could easily make double that with the Hoosiers.
Pat Forde also made a good point in his article, pointing out that this would be a good year for Bennett to move, as his two top scorers are seniors and he has five seniors on his roster.
But there are also people who don’t think Bennett should move. Take John McGrath of the News Tribune. As McGrath puts it, “Why would Bennett be so interested in Indiana – seeking its fourth coach in nine years – that he’d renounce his burgeoning legacy at Washington State?... Why would a second-year coach, with an impeccable résumé, take a headfirst dive into hot water? Why would Bennett leave a university that gave him his first chance for a university that’s begging the NCAA for a second chance?”
As with many of the other coaching candidates, Bennett’s decision will likely take into account the NCAA’s penalties on Indiana University. Hoosier fans, of course, will have to wait until at least June until the Kelvin Sampson hearings begin to see what happens. Then, the coaching search will begin.
For more on Tony Bennett:
Player Bio: Tony Bennett :: Men's Basketball
Tony Bennett (coach - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Staying put at WSU better than mess at IU for Tony Bennett | TheNewsTribune.com | Tacoma, WA
ESPN - Five quality candidates that Indiana should consider - Columnist
Bud Withers | WSU's Tony Bennett could have tough choice ahead | Seattle Times Newspaper
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