Tony Bennett to...

[MUUWUWM]

the University of Virginia

[ChicosBailBonds]

That should tell you a LOT about what he thought of Marquette.


Virginia has been in the dumps for quite some time, is in the ACC where they have been slaughtered.  Had a chance to come back home to Wisconsin and coach for MU and wanted no part of it.  Did he think the Big East was too difficult?  Interesting to say the least.  Or he just changed his mind and felt that he couldn't keep things going at Wazzu (tough place to recruit, too) so he's jumping while he can.

Wisconsin fans can't be thrilled with this as many feel he would be their next guy (obviously it could still happen).

[sailwi]

I don't understand the prince in waiting attitude of UW and Bennett, wasn't there some hard feelings when Bennett senior left and Soderberg wasn't hired.  I would think UW would hire the coach at UW Whitewater, D 3 experience seems to be there mantra.

[MUfan12]

That should tell you a LOT about what he thought of Marquette.

Virginia has been in the dumps for quite some time, is in the ACC where they have been slaughtered.  Had a chance to come back home to Wisconsin and coach for MU and wanted no part of it.  Did he think the Big East was too difficult?  Interesting to say the least.

Wisconsin fans can't be thrilled with this as many feel he would be their next guy (obviously it could still happen).

The ACC ain't a picnic either though.

Could it be that MU wasn't enamored with him? Certainly his style of play is much different.

[bma725]

I don't understand the prince in waiting attitude of UW and Bennett, wasn't there some hard feelings when Bennett senior left and Soderberg wasn't hired.  I would think UW would hire the coach at UW Whitewater, D 3 experience seems to be there mantra.

There were hard feelings with Dick Bennett and the UW admin, but Tony wasn't really a part of that, as he continued to work under Ryan for a few years.  There were supposedly hard feelings between Tony and Bo.

[Norm]

I can't imagine his style of play will be all that loved at Virginia. Time will tell.

[M@RQUETTEW@RRIORS]

That should tell you a LOT about what he thought of Marquette.


Virginia has been in the dumps for quite some time, is in the ACC where they have been slaughtered.  Had a chance to come back home to Wisconsin and coach for MU and wanted no part of it.  Did he think the Big East was too difficult?  Interesting to say the least.  Or he just changed his mind and felt that he couldn't keep things going at Wazzu (tough place to recruit, too) so he's jumping while he can.

Wisconsin fans can't be thrilled with this as many feel he would be their next guy (obviously it could still happen).

Not only that, but many UW fans were hoping Tubby would go to UVA and thus eliminate some of their competition in both coaching and recruiting...

[ChicosBailBonds]

The ACC ain't a picnic either though.

Could it be that MU wasn't enamored with him? Certainly his style of play is much different.

I know it isn't a picnic, that's what I find interesting.  Tells me that he thinks he has a better chance to compete in the ACC with UVA then in the Big East with MU.  Or at least that is one conclusion that someone could draw, though it may be completely inaccurate.  Maybe he just digs Virginia.   

[bma725]

That should tell you a LOT about what he thought of Marquette.


Virginia has been in the dumps for quite some time, is in the ACC where they have been slaughtered.  Had a chance to come back home to Wisconsin and coach for MU and wanted no part of it.  Did he think the Big East was too difficult?  Interesting to say the least.  Or he just changed his mind and felt that he couldn't keep things going at Wazzu (tough place to recruit, too) so he's jumping while he can.

Wisconsin fans can't be thrilled with this as many feel he would be their next guy (obviously it could still happen).

I think you're reading it the wrong way.  He knows that Jeter is Bo Ryan's choice as successor, and UW would likely pick him if he's successful at UWM or anywhere else.  Bennett's hope is that Jeter screws it up beyond belief and eliminates himself from contention.  At the same time, if Bennett goes to MU, any shot of him becoming the UW coach is over.

[Nukem2]

I know it isn't a picnic, that's what I find interesting.  Tells me that he thinks he has a better chance to compete in the ACC with UVA then in the Big East with MU.  Or at least that is one conclusion that someone could draw, though it may be completely inaccurate.  Maybe he just digs Virginia.  

[/b][/color]Why else move across the country.  I think he'll find it very hard in the ACC.  Just look at the litany of good coaches who have gone there recently.  It could end up being hell in paradise for TB.  

[NavinRJohnson]

I suspect $ is no small factor, but also probably safe to assume he has concerns about his ability to sustain success at WSU. Romar has Washington rolling, ASU. USC, Cal, all improved/improving, not to mention UCLA, and Arizona. Not that the ACC will be easy, but there he at least there he is walking into a struggling program, and should have the benefit of time to build. Seems like a pretty good move.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Chicos -- Can we be sure it says something about what Bennett feels about Marquette?

Or does it say something further about the pathetic coaching "search" we conducted that lasted a day and a half and ended with us hiring the first guy who answered his phone? I wonder if Tony Bennett was also recommended by Billy Gillespie?

[ChicosBailBonds]

I think you're reading it the wrong way.  He knows that Jeter is Bo Ryan's choice as successor, and UW would likely pick him if he's successful at UWM or anywhere else.  Bennett's hope is that Jeter screws it up beyond belief and eliminates himself from contention.  At the same time, if Bennett goes to MU, any shot of him becoming the UW coach is over.

I've heard the Jeter to UW-Madison for awhile and I guess I don't quite get it.  He's done an ok job there, but nothing spectacular.  Jeter is a great guy and tight with Bo obviously, I'd love for him to get the gig.  I always figured Tony as more a Marquette guy then UW-Madison guy.  His dad was crapped on a bit by UW and Bennett's dad had fond relationship with MU.

[Blackhat]

Would a guy who doesn't recruit well and plays Bennett ball really go over well with MU?   He'd have to win A LOT just to keep the alumni happy and not bored in the long run.  

But who knows, maybe Bennett doesn't respect the MU program as much as UVA?  Or maybe he really does want the UW job when he is 60.   Maybe Cottingham was that in love with Buzz?  Only a few people know the real deal.  

[bma725]

I've heard the Jeter to UW-Madison for awhile and I guess I don't quite get it.  He's done an ok job there, but nothing spectacular.  Jeter is a great guy and tight with Bo obviously, I'd love for him to get the gig.  I always figured Tony as more a Marquette guy then UW-Madison guy.  His dad was crapped on a bit by UW and Bennett's dad had fond relationship with MU.

What I was trying to say was that if Jeter were successful it's his job over Bennett's, even if Bennett was a bit more successful.  On the other hand if Jeter doesn't turn it around at UWM, Bennett becomes the leading candidate.  But to stay the leading candidate he has to be in a position where he can go to UW, and you can't do that from MU.

I think what he's done as a coach show you all you need to know about how he really feels about UW.  When IU went after him last year, he pulled his name out because of how they treated his sister.  On the other hand, when Dick was upset that Soderberg didn't get the job, Tony stayed at UW for two more years.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Maybe Cottingham was that in love with Buzz?  

There is no way anybody could be more impressed with Buzz Williams than Tony Bennett. It is not humanly possible.

Buzz may turn out to be a good hire, but there is no question it was not an impressive hire. The search was an embarrassment and some of our leading candidates have now been snatched up by other programs while we're stuck with Ernest T. Bass as the face of our university.

[MUBasketball]

I hate this board.

Anyway, did anybody think for a second that maybe Tony Bennett doesn't want to come back to Wisconsin where he dad was an icon??? It has nothing to do with how he viewed the Marquette job. He also had no interest in Indiana or LSU either. He was looking for a great fit...and he found it. Good for him. Nice payday too.

[Blackhat]

There is no way anybody could be more impressed with Buzz Williams than Tony Bennett. It is not humanly possible.

Buzz may turn out to be a good hire, but there is no question it was not an impressive hire. The search was an embarrassment and some of our leading candidates have now been snatched up by other programs while we're stuck with Ernest T. Bass as the face of our university.

From the outside looking in, you're right nobody can say with a straight face that hiring Buzz was safer than Tony B.   But you're dismissing Cottingham having a year to work with Buzz and gauge what he's capable of.  He also pulled in some pretty good recruits, something you can't attribute to Bennett.   Now we could have just whiffed on Bennett but it's also possible Cottingham being an insider may have come to have a trust in Buzz's ability that you weren't capable of having.  

[Blackhat]

I hate this board.

Anyway, did anybody think for a second that maybe Tony Bennett doesn't want to come back to Wisconsin where he dad was an icon??? It has nothing to do with how he viewed the Marquette job. He also had no interest in Indiana or LSU either. He was looking for a great fit...and he found it. Good for him. Nice payday too.

Then leave

[TJ]

Maybe he just changed his mind in the last year.  Maybe last year he thought that WSU was where he wanted to stay for a long time and something changed that made him decide differently when Virginia came callin'.

[Tom Crean's Tanning Bed]

Maybe he just changed his mind in the last year.  Maybe last year he thought that WSU was where he wanted to stay for a long time and something changed that made him decide differently when Virginia came callin'.

Wazzou also took a dive this year too to 16-13 and lost in the first round of the NIT coming off a Sweet 16.  Although the Pac-10 is somewhat in flux right now, and he could possibly have still kept up the success he had in his first two years, perhaps he just decided to strike when the iron was still hot.

[MUBasketball]

Then leave

Don't mind if I do...you'd think this is an anti-MU board anyway.

[Tom Crean's Tanning Bed]

Don't mind if I do...you'd think this is an anti-MU board anyway.

I dunno if I'd say that.  Unfortunately, with this thread, there seems to be a lot of this going on here:

[nyg]

Is that Ernest T. Bass with the club?

[VegasWarrior77]

Wazzou also took a dive this year too to 16-13 and lost in the first round of the NIT coming off a Sweet 16.  Although the Pac-10 is somewhat in flux right now, and he could possibly have still kept up the success he had in his first two years, perhaps he just decided to strike when the iron was still hot.

+1

For the fun of it I've gone over to the Wazzou board a few times this season and Bennett was getting ripped on for the usual things:  recruiting, substitution patterns, play calling, not play calling, NOT developing players...!  Any of this sound familiar???

I think he left while he is still considered a hot young coach.  Recently it seems that the UVA is where coaches go and their careers die!  I give him three years.