Last season, Virginia coach Tony Bennett quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson to his team. “The hero is not fed on sweets” became the line to ignore that season’s meteoric rise from out of the rankings to the top 10 and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

This summer, he regularly reminded his team to avoid BIRGing, a term he remembered from his days as a psychology student. After winning the ACC titles, he didn’t want them to spend time “basking in reflected glory.”

Earlier this season, Bennett turned to a phrase reminiscent of Muhammad Ali when he encouraged his team to stay away from “prancing and dancing” in a non-conference game. The clear implication: stay focused and get to work.

Bennett has steered clear of those tidbits in recent weeks, though. He said he told his team to stay on the course and asked if they were willing to do the things necessary to keep winning.

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