CAVALIER ATTITUDE
Bennett: Historic loss won’t change our style
SAN ANTONIO — The symmetry was twisted. The irony was unkind.
At the Final Four, which has eluded Tony Bennett like a shifty running back, he was honored as the Associated Press’ Coach of the Year. In a 15-minute press conference, the Virginia coach was faced almost exclusively with questions about the season’s one low point, the historic NCAA Tournament upset that will be his scarlet letter, that will always be a part of his résumé.
And, surprising to no one, he handled it in his typically classy fashion, just as he did the night Virginia fell to UMBC, the first time a No. 1 seed lost to a No. 16 in 136 contests. He even joked about the all-time upset, saying he thought the award was for NCAA Tournament Coach of the Year.
“I didn’t get that,” Bennett cracked Thursday at the Alamodome. “I wasn’t sure. ... I love the NCAA Tournament, and I hate the NCAA Tournament.”
Bennett, 48, watched film of the game a few days after the crushing defeat. He admitted there were a few adjustments he could’ve made. The loss of versatile wing De’Andre Hunter (broken left wrist), the ACC’s Sixth Man of the Year, hurt against UMBC’s small lineup. But the Retrievers made shots, Virginia didn’t after shooting well virtually all season, and the Cavaliers all of a sudden were facing a big secondhalf deficit they didn’t handle well.
“When that happens in games like that, you’re in trouble,” said Bennett, who won the coaching honor in a landslide, landing 50 of the 65 votes that were submitted before the NCAA Tournament.
Bennett isn’t planning to make any wholesale changes to the way in which he runs his program. He won’t overreact to one game. He’s not going to scrap the pack-line defense that has keyed the Cavaliers renaissance since his arrival nine years ago and has resulted in three ACC regular-season titles in the past five years, and three No. 1 seeds.
Since that loss, he’s been more concerned with making sure his players were mentally OK. So far, he’s received a resoundingly positive response. There have been no signs that loss will negatively impact them. He even received a poignant text message from his starting point guard, Ty Jerome, a New Rochelle native.
“This is now part of our story,” Jerome wrote to his coach, “and we get to respond to it the way we want.”
Recalling the text brought a smile to Bennett’s face.
“If you respond the right way and use it for the right kind of motivation,” he said, “then I think you’ll improve from it and you’ll grow.”