Virginia basketball head coach Tony Bennett, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl, Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo, and Texas Tech head coach spoke with the media via teleconference on Monday (April 1) ahead of the 2019 Final Four in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
South region-champ UVA and Midwest region-champ Auburn face one another in the first Final Four matchup on Saturday, April 6, at 6:09 ET, with the winner meeting the winner of the Michigan State/Texas Tech matchup next Monday, April 8, for the National Championship. Coach Bennett addressed a variety of topics during the teleconference, including …
(Note: The below quotes are courtesy of the NCAA. Click here to see the full transcript of Coach Bennett’s question and answer session, and click here for Bruce Pearl’s.)
Preparations for and initial impressions of Auburn …
“Well, obviously, you’re into film watching now and getting a feel for them, but Coach Pearl was at Milwaukee when I was at Wisconsin and certainly know of him as a coach and the job he did, and seeing the years he’s had at Auburn, you understand obviously their quickness, their ability, just how scrappy they are and just a really good team, as everyone is when you get to this stage that’s playing good basketball. Just continuing to dive in, and obviously have great respect for what they’ve done,” Bennett said.
“I know they lost one of their key players, but the way they played without him was very impressive against Kentucky, and because of their depth, it seems like they can really absorb different kinds of things — foul trouble or different players,” Bennett added. “They have a wide range of guys.”
On handling his first trip to the Final Four as a head coach. Who might he turn to for advice on handling everything?
“Like I said, I got to do it as a volunteer manager,” Bennett said. “I don’t know how much experience I had in that one. I think, obviously, I’ll visit with my dad, Coach [Bo] Ryan, who I was under for two years at Wisconsin, has been there twice. I think — you know, and I’ve listened to people, and I know, when I’ve either read some things or heard things coaches said, whether first time of often, it seems like it’s the balance of you do have to enjoy it, but you do have to remain focused and prepare well because you can get pulled in so many different obligations with NCAA or CBS that you have to do. It’s probably more in the tournament, every round you go, it’s a little more and a little longer, and of course you do those. But it still always comes down to preparing well with the right kind of focus but also enjoying it in the right way. That’s the advice that I’ve gotten from those people and that I would — I guess I’ve observed or heard over the years and I think would be common sense in these settings.
Refocusing from the joy of reaching the Final Four to competing in the Final Four …
”As far as the emotion of it and turning around, it just — it’s going to the tournament is a big deal,” Bennett said. “Then you advance to the next round, the Sweet 16, and there’s even more excitement and preparation, and I just think it steps up a little bit.
“But it is the same formula, and kind of the previous question I just mentioned, you try to balance both,” Bennett continued. “You get your rest. You prepare well, but as I said, when you have a thankful heart with things and you have a strong desire to do well, that’s a good combination. So I believe that’s the mindset of our young men, is their, of course, excited, they’re thankful for this, but they’re passionate to be as good as they can in this setting.”
Mamadi Diakite’s resurgence in the NCAA Tournament following a subpar ACC Tournament. In two games in Charlotte, Diakite played just 20 total minutes, scored a total of five points on 2-of-7 shooting, had no blocked shots and no rebounds. In four games in the NCAA he is averaging 13 points on 64.9% shooting, nine rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game. And, of course, he delivered this …
5.9 seconds that felt like an eternity.@UVAMensHoops delivered in the clutch to keep its season alive. 👏 #MarchMadness | #FinalFour pic.twitter.com/TkCg2HSqoC
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) April 1, 2019
“At the start of the season, I said Mamadi is an X factor for us,” Bennett said. “I think his talent and his ability were important, and he has improved. He’s newer to the game from when he started playing. He’s matured. He’s had a really good season, really good outing, and I think that was the key to our success.
“Mamadi asked to speak with me after the ACC Tournament, and he said, Coach — and we talked, and he said — I can’t exactly remember the words, but he said, I’m ready. He said, ‘That wasn’t my best. I wasn’t quite where I needed to be or right in that ACC Tournament. I desperately want to do anything, absolutely anything I can to make this team advance. I know what last year was, and he said, This is what I’m so committed to.’
“In his words, it wasn’t like I’m back, but it was more like I’m ready and I understand that I wasn’t what I was in other games. So, again, it was an interesting conversation. And what I think was interesting even more about that is, when we played Gardner-Webb, and they played so well early against us, and Mamadi and all of us, we didn’t get off to a great start, but he showed — he stayed with it, and his maturity — Ty mentioned it on the podium after that. Earlier on, if guys get off to a hard start, it’s hard for them to get out of that. Boy, we got off to a hard start, all of us, but, boy, he really responded, and, again, he has been a catalyst among other players for this run in the tournament.”
Virginia’s increase in offensive efficiency from a year ago. Per Team Rankings, UVA finished no. 50 among all Division 1 schools in offensive efficiency last season. This year’s Hoos are currently no. 4 (Auburn is no. 10).
“Yeah, I think every year you look at your personnel and you say what are things we can do personnel-wise to play into the strengths of this team? And so I think it’s both,” Bennett said. “Predominantly, it’s your personnel. It’s your versatility, how the guys have improved individually. Just how they’ve gotten better to a man and the emergence of players, being able to play a little differently. And then, of course, as I said, you look at what are some things we can maybe add or reintroduce? Some things we’re doing that we did not last year, but we did three years ago, we’re doing more of. And there’s some new things that you use — that you always are studying in the off-season that makes sense.”
“So it’s really been a combination of those two things that — and mainly the players, how they’ve played to, I think, increase the offensive efficiency,” Bennett continued. “I think we’ve had years in the past where we’ve been up there in offensive efficiency, if I’m not mistaken, but this year they’ve been very, very good.”
Legendary Cavalier player Ralph Sampson’s impact on the team …
“He’s great,” Bennett said. “He’s been so good to me since I’ve been here. Obviously, he’s a legend, and what he’s done for Virginia basketball and the game has been terrific. He’s come around our team. You know, he’s related to Braxton Key. He’s come around our team throughout the years. Whenever he’s around or in Charlottesville or doing stuff, he’ll stop by a practice. He does charity stuff. And whenever he’ll come by and say hello to the guys.
“I got to see Ralph a lot in the hotel, and he was just fun through this NCAA Tournament,” Bennett added. “So he’s been great. I didn’t have him come in the locker room and address the team in the tournament, but he’s definitely been at practices. Whenever he’s around and our guys get to talk to him, it’s a real treat because of his — just who he is, the kind of man he is, and his impact on the game of college basketball and, of course, specifically the Virginia basketball and its history.”
Coach Pearl said one of the very first videos he bought was Dick Bennett’s man-to-man defense. Coach Bennett was jokingly asked if he got on his father for publishing instructional videos/books.
“For sure. I was like, ‘Why do you have to do these instructional videos back then?’, Bennett said. “Actually, there’s some — his influence on the game, maybe a lot of people don’t know about it, but in the coaching circles has been huge. My dad, he’s an open book, as they say. He’s so honest. He just wants to help the game because the game’s been so good to him. I have said before, you don’t have to share everything. Obviously, people pick and choose, but he absolutely has influenced a lot of people, my father has, as so many great coaches have. And I’ve been fortunate to be under Coach Ryan. Obviously, he’s had a big influence. But, yeah, certainly, Coach Pearl, I didn’t know that, but I do definitely — I’ve teased my dad about that before.”
