LSU interim coach right fit to deal with turmoil
WASHINGTON – Losing a coach to an indefinite suspension just before the NCAA basketball tournament over an alleged recruiting scandal recorded on an FBI wiretap is problematic.
But if there were a team equipped to handle that kind of turmoil, it’s LSU and interim head coach Tony Benford, who has been the top man at a Division I school before.
Benford, who was the head coach at North Texas for five seasons, was thrust into the interim role when LSU suspended Will Wade.
Amid the controversy, Benford guided LSU to the Sweet 16, and the East Region 3-seed Tigers will play 2seed Michigan State in a regional semifinal Friday.
“Of course previous head coaching experience helps,” Benford said. “It’s kind of tough in an adverse situation like this. But as far as managing a team and managing practices and coaches and players, I’ve been in that position
and making in-game decisions. So that previous experience has helped in that.”
Though it’s under different circumstances, it’s reminiscent of Michigan’s Steve Fisher taking over for Bill Frieder late in the season and leading the Wolverines to a national championship in 1989. The Tigers, who won the Southeastern Conference regular-season title, are talented enough to put together one of those unexpected runs to the Final Four.
It’s been a difficult season for LSU. In September, forward Wayde Sims was shot and killed at a party in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His death has had a profound impact on the team. During last week’s second-round game against Maryland, the score was tied at 44. Sims wore No. 44, and sophomore guard Tremont Waters pointed it out during a timeout.
“Tre just stopped the huddle and said, ‘Coach, look what’s on the scoreboard, guys,’ ” Benford said. “The guys got out and got more focused. … It’s been about Wayde this entire year. And it will be. I told these guys, the rest of their life, they’ll never forget Wayde Sims.”
Benford has a solid resume. Before North Texas, he spent time as an assistant or associate head coach at New Mexico, Arizona State and Marquette. He was dismissed by North Texas in 2017 and joined Wade’s staff at LSU.
He credits Waters and junior guard Skylar Mays for their leadership, saying they have taken ownership and held each other accountable.
“You can have good players, but at some point there’s got to be a buy-in factor,” he said. “And one thing about these guys, we’ve got good-character guys. They trust one another. They love one another. They respect one another. I think that helps.”
Players bought in almost immediately.
“Coach Benford is our actual head coach now,” Waters said. “Everyone is looking towards him, and he’s putting a lot of trust into the players now and just holding each other accountable more because when Coach Wade was the coach, he had more say so.
“I would just say that they’re giving us a lot more freedom to see what we’re going to do, and I would say we’ve stepped up to the challenge.”
Benford said the coaches and players have been in touch with Wade via text, but practice routine, game plans and coaching decisions are up to the staff.
Benford also referred to the remaining staff as co-coaches.
“That’s just Tony being humble,” assistant coach Greg Heiar said. “He’s the head coach. But we’re all hungry and in this together. The assistants will continue to do for Tony what we did for Coach Wade. We work so well together there’s no ego involved from any of the three of us. That’s what he means by cocoaches.”
But Benford said Heiar is ready for a top job and noted that assistant Bill Armstrong has spent more than a decade in the SEC.
“Coach Wade put together a tremendous staff,” Heiar said. “The experience, the camaraderie, the togetherness, and now what we’re going through, it only helps our opportunities.” Besides the Wade controversy itself, it comes with another significant drawback.
“There’s two less eyes and one less mind,” Heiar said. “We’re two eyes down and one mind down so there’s only three of us. There’s four of them on the other team. That’s a difference. You have to make that up somehow. That’s all we’re trying to do.”