Yea, bizarre and I think some people on this board have TOO much time on their hands. He's a grown adult and he can quit if he wants, for whatever reason. UVa basketball will survive.
Tony Bennett retires
- Thread starter blazindw
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MChambers
Member
When I retired from practicing law, I gave my firm and my clients many months worth of notice. I felt like I owed it to everyone to allow them to have time to plan a smooth transition. (I was a counseling type of attorney, meaning that I had long-term relationships with my clients, rather than a litigation attorney or a transactional attorney.) I certainly wasn't enjoying practice that much and I knew that I was done, but it never occurred to me to walk away on short notice.
Perhaps that is why Bennett's decision bothers me coming when it does. Of course, it's entirely possible that he's been having discussions with his employer (presumably the UVA athletic director) for some time now and that this is not a total surprise to the University. The athletic director may have told him months ago that he/she wanted Bennett to see how he felt in the fall before deciding.
I think that Bennett is a class act and deserves the benefit of the doubt. I wish him all the best.
As far as his coaching goes, I think he was a very good coach, but not a great coach and I think the times had passed him by, not just with NIL and the transfer rule changes, but also with style of play. I can't imagine that he was going to get many good recruits given how terrible Virginia's offense had become. Also, I really detested watching Virginia basketball, on both ends of the floor. I hope that whichever assistant coach takes over continues the retooling of the offensive approach of the Cavaliers.
Perhaps that is why Bennett's decision bothers me coming when it does. Of course, it's entirely possible that he's been having discussions with his employer (presumably the UVA athletic director) for some time now and that this is not a total surprise to the University. The athletic director may have told him months ago that he/she wanted Bennett to see how he felt in the fall before deciding.
I think that Bennett is a class act and deserves the benefit of the doubt. I wish him all the best.
As far as his coaching goes, I think he was a very good coach, but not a great coach and I think the times had passed him by, not just with NIL and the transfer rule changes, but also with style of play. I can't imagine that he was going to get many good recruits given how terrible Virginia's offense had become. Also, I really detested watching Virginia basketball, on both ends of the floor. I hope that whichever assistant coach takes over continues the retooling of the offensive approach of the Cavaliers.
bundabergdevil
Member
I think this is true. I also think a professional who cared about his kids would offer more of a transition, a la K.
Those feelings can co-exist.
I know for me that level of compartmentalization is a lot easier to write than execute.
It is in the nature of all decisions of the heart to have a degree of self-centeredness. The timing stinks but it also is what it is. I would guess that Tony would have rather made this decision at the end of last season or over the summer but he wasn't there yet nor did he know that he would get to this point.
Given that Tony no longer believes he is the best person for the job, what is the best path forward for the team? You would have me believe that Zombie Tony Bennet is the best path forward. I have worked for people who have checked out and it wasn't a pleasant experience.
It's a crappy situation where the ideal solution is not a possibility.
cbarry
Member
Sorry to have not spoken up earlier, but I also have always had, and continue to have, a very low opinion of Tony Bennett. I honestly do not see what people like about him. He always comes across to me as an arrogant, holier-than-thou SOB. And now, quitting on your team on the eve of the season…. Pretty low class.
Not to mention, he’s just not a great coach. Mediocre, maybe. Except for 1 year when his team got extremely lucky and the other teams choked, he has lost in the first round of the tourney every year for the last 6-7 years.
Matches
Member
I was thinking about it in a similar context. I’m a litigator. I can quit anytime I want, just like my employer can fire me any time they want - but if I quit the day before a big trial or even, say, two weeks before a big trial I think it’d be frowned upon by many. Not that anyone would begrudge me leaving (and if they did, tough, for the reasons others have listed), but I do think my co-workers and the client would feel shafted. Of course I don’t know any of the UVa players or coaches and I don’t speak for any of them, so if they’re good with it, great.
Ultimately this isn’t what anyone is going to remember about Tony Bennett’s career. It’s fodder for this moment. It’s K chastising Dillon Brooks - a bad look or a bad moment in a distinguished career.
SkyBrickey
Member
This is my reaction too. 13 pages on Tony Bennett? I wish him well.
DavidBenAkiva
Member
Agree with everything but the last line. There is always another possibility, another way to handle situations.
AustinDevil
Member
Honestly it's only rancorous because of the desire of a few to police the (not unreasonable) reactions of those who violated no board rules but also expressed negative opinions of Bennett walking away basically as games are starting for the season.
OldPhiKap
Super Moderator
Bennett certainly has the right to abandon his team if he chooses. That does not make the choice correct, laudable, or professional. It's not.
He has left these kids stranded, and done so at a time when they really do not have many good options. He sold them a bill of goods on teamwork, and then slid out the door when the kids were basically trapped. Inexcusable for a so-called "leader" of young men.
As someone who has always respected Bennett, this is just selfish to turn his back on his team. It certainly will be considered by many when assessing his legacy.
Very sad.
He has left these kids stranded, and done so at a time when they really do not have many good options. He sold them a bill of goods on teamwork, and then slid out the door when the kids were basically trapped. Inexcusable for a so-called "leader" of young men.
As someone who has always respected Bennett, this is just selfish to turn his back on his team. It certainly will be considered by many when assessing his legacy.
Very sad.
I’ve never seen him post on either the “smoked meats and bbq”, Duke vs Kentucky or Ymm beer threads. Coincidence?
RoseBowl1942
Member
RoseBowl1942
Member
Also it’s an under-appreciated fact that the Derek Zoolander school was in fact build, and later renamed North Carolina State University. It’s true
chrishoke
Member
Particularly if the cavs have a 1995 Pete Gaudet type year this year and go into a tailspin.
yeah, I mainly viewed him as a very decent chap who employed an amazingly boring (and largely effective) style of play that I won't miss watching unless his heirs continue playing it, which they may well.
But he was criticized for “quitting on his team” by haters once upon a time. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do despite bad timing. I don’t think any better or any worse for Coach Bennet for leaving when he did. But he walked out on a lot of money. If he stayed one more year just to rake in the cash, would that be better? I don’t thick there is a high horse for college athletics to stand on now, if there ever was.
Does anyone here believe that Tony Bennett is a moron? I don't, and for simplicity's sake, I will assume that most here don't as well. Since we have loosely established that Tony is not a moron, he had to be aware of the reaction it would cause and the potential damage it would inflict on his legacy for many people. So with the knowledge that a mountain of poo, self-inflicted though it may be, poised to come crashing down on his head, he still decided to step away now. To me, that speaks volumes about what Tony was feeling and thinking. The easy choice would have been to go to the powers that be at UVA and tell them that this will be his last season and then sleepwalk through the season collecting a paycheck and the adoration of fans. Tony made the hard and unpopular choice. It is easy for us to say we would have handled it differently, but the reality is that I would be shocked if any of our careers were remotely similar to a high major D1 coach. It is easy to say Tony should have sucked it up and stayed for the season. From what I've experienced, silent suffering is a bunch of malarky because suffering doesn't need to be loud to permeate, and Tony sticking around for the kids would have had a cost.
I am just sad for all involved. I don't think the solutions put forth make it any better. They just lipstick the pig.
I am just sad for all involved. I don't think the solutions put forth make it any better. They just lipstick the pig.
Even smart people make bad decisions. He doesn’t have to be a moron to make a moronic decision. He quit on his team. Full stop. If he thought that was the best decision, that’s ok. It doesn’t change the fact that he quit on his team a couple weeks before the season.
DukieTiger
Member
There is one key element missing in all this discussion of the timing of Bennett’s departure. Yes, he left 3 weeks before the start of the season. But we must factor in UVA’s tempo. How does the saying go? 3 weeks at UVA is like 3 months elsewhere.
camion
Member
I made 1603 without even taking the test.
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