Virginia head men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett saw his No. 1 overall seed Cavaliers fall in shocking fashion to No. 16 seed UMBC last Friday. Just three days later, Coach Bennett is now in search of a new assistant coach, as Cavalier associate head coach Ron Sanchez has been named the new head coach at Charlotte.
The 49ers officially announced the move earlier this evening.
Niner Nation welcome your new @49ersBasketball coach Ron Sanchez.
Story – https://t.co/c6y8f1vp8b pic.twitter.com/6bePrBurZv— Charlotte 49ers (@Charlotte49ers) March 19, 2018
Congratulations Coach Sanchez! All the best to you and your family in Charlotte. Thanks for helping us build something special. https://t.co/EAQ6ByXdWV
— Virginia Men's Basketball (@UVAMensHoops) March 20, 2018
Sanchez has served as an assistant under Bennett for the last 12 seasons, including three at Washington State and nine at UVA. He was promoted to associate head coach by Bennett prior to the 2015/2016 season.
Coach Bennett has now seen two assistant coaches accept head coaching opportunities since he arrived at Virginia. The first was Ritchie McKay, who departed for Liberty in the spring of 2015 and almost guided the Flames to an NCAA Tournament berth in 2018. Additionally, Cavalier assistant Jason Williford was a finalist for the opening at American in 2013.
Hunter’s Surgery A Success
Redshirt freshman guard/forward De’Andre Hunter underwent surgery on a broken left wrist Monday (March 19). Hunter, the 2018 ACC Sixth Man of the Year, provided an update via Twitter.
Surgery went well
— Dre (@Dr_Dre14) March 19, 2018
When Virginia revealed Hunter’s injury on March 13, it noted that the Philadelphia native is expected to make a full recovery but would be sidelined 10 to 12 weeks.
The 6’7” Hunter played an instrumental role in helping Virginia to ACC regular season and tournament championships this season. The injury occurred during the ACC tournament but wasn’t discovered until an MRI revealed it following the tournament. Hunter played the entire ACC tournament but missed Virginia’s NCAA Tournament opener versus UMBC.
Clark Featured
This feature is a few weeks old, but in case you missed it, check out Southern California Prep Insider’s piece on Virginia Cavalier point guard recruit Kihei Clark below.
Clark, a 5’8” senior, led Taft (Woodland Hills, CA) to a 27-10 overall record this season. One of the highlights was an 81-74 overtime upset win over No. 2 seed Torrey Pines in Round 1 of the Southern Section, Division 1 state playoffs. Clark scored 24 points in victory for the No. 15 seed Torreadors. Taft could not get past Pasadena in Round II, however, falling by 13 points despite a 20-point effort from Clark.
