CHICAGO – Virginia didn’t need validation.
Not in the minds of its own fans. Not with its own coach Tony Bennett. Not even to silence the dwindling number of naysayers. No, Friday night’s Sweet 16 game with Iowa State was about something much bigger than validation.
Values.
Bennett’s program, coaching philosophy, family ties, and really the very fiber of his character are wrapped up in that single word. And in that sense, Friday’s game was just like any other among the 338 games he’s coached. Just like any other of the 236 played by the Cavaliers over the last 7 years.
Those values are most often represented by the well known 5 pillars. Humility, passion, unity, servanthood, and thankfulness. It extends further than that. Respectfulness, faith, and trust are all in there too. Genuine.
The process, the journey, and ultimately the results are rooted in those values. And make no mistake, the results are important. This is big business when it comes to entertainment and money. The thing is, though, Virginia already had plenty of results. Before Friday night’s game, 88 wins, a pair of ACC Regular Season Championships, and an ACC Tournament title aren’t exactly participation trophies when you get down to it.
After Friday’s victory, of course, the numbers remain impressive. With 89 wins in the past three years, the Cavaliers established a new program record that surpassed even the 88 wins of the Ralph Sampson days. The senior class matched the 1983 group for the most wins in a career with 112 as well. The Hoos also advanced to the Elite 8 for the first time since 1995.
Still, as impressive as those new benchmarks are, one game in a single elimination tournament among the nation’s best teams wouldn’t have changed what’s at the core of this program. That’s the thing about those values. They’re stronger than that.
Maybe even forged in steel from a generation gone by.
“My father, he came to the game,” Bennett said. “He came to the game, which I never know if he’s going to come or not. That’s his first game he’s come to, and he told me – we spent about 15 minutes in my hotel room before we had our pregame meal, and he said on Thursday was 20 years to the day that his father passed away, and I just sat and I thought, what would my dad, your grandfather, tell you going into this game? He was an Italian, a steel worker, not real well educated. He said, you know what your grandfather would tell you? He’d tell you, don’t tiptoe into this one, no tiptoeing and I shared that with our guys.
“I said, do not tiptoe in this game, and I shared that story, and that meant a lot, because you have to go into these games, you can’t tiptoe,” Bennett continued. “You’ve got to go get it in our way, and that was just really cool. It was a sweet time with my father for about 15 minutes, and … it meant a lot to me because he’s had an – you talk about a man who’s poured into my life and it’s overflowed into so many other coaches and so many other people and these biblical pillars that these guys talk about, humility, passion, unity, servanthood, about trying to be the best team, that’s from him, and that’s impacted a lot. I didn’t mean to sound off with that, but I knew going into that game, that was going to be significant, and I just cherish that time, and I’ll have that always.”
That’s why Bennett wanted so fervently for this team to win. It’s why fans love this group so deeply and wanted it too. Not for validation. For embracing the essence of what the Virginia basketball program has become. For taking the foundation of a steel worker’s son and building on it. For playing “in such a way”, for continuing to knock, for following an African proverb together down a long path.
For values.
“They mean a lot to a lot of people, how they conduct themselves, more than just basketball, and if you followed us when we’re around then you’d understand that,” Bennett said. “Of course I’m proud of them and I want them to touch what they can touch. I said it in the press conference the other day, we were 2-3 in the ACC, and I said whatever that line is, I want them to get to it where they can reach their full potential, and where that takes us, it takes us. I’ll hold it with open hands, but we’ve got to get to that line and maximize what we have, and that’s what I love about them on the floor is they’re touching it. They’re getting close to it.”
What a wonderful article, Kris, with the perfect photo as well. Thank you!
I don’t buy it. Tony had to win the Sweet Sixteen game or he would be well below the results expected of a 1 seed. As he was the past two years based on the seeds he had. I love the values, absolutely love them, but to imply that he didn’t need to win games in the tourney to validate them is simply incorrect. He is subject to the same game of expectations and firings as every other coach. Maybe he shouldn’t be, but Mike London was all about values and doing it the right way, but he didn’t win enough, so he’s gone. Even at Virginia. Doesn’t diminish how great it is to have a coach do it the right way, but you have to acknowledge the reality, and validation is the more important part to just about everyone in the dollar-driven revenue sports.
Article points out your complaint – that winning is important – in detail. Winning or losing in ONE game doesn’t change that one way or the other because the overall success is based on the values.
I don’t know, the London thing shows that values without execution doesn’t matter, the overall success is just as based on the fact that Tony can flat out coach. But I don’t want to argue this side too much, am I am thankful all the time that I don’t have to sacrifice my soul to love this team, uncompromised excellence really is the right way to go.