Q&A: Virginia Basketball Coach Tony Bennett

Virginia basketball coach Tony Bennett watches from the sideline.
Virginia basketball coach Tony Bennett opens the season with his team ranked in the top 10 again. ~ Mike Ingalls

Over the past three seasons, the Virginia basketball program has won 89 games. Tony Bennett engineered some major breakthroughs too. The Hoos won the 2014 ACC Tournament Championship and back-to-back ACC Regular Season Championships. They made it the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

Simply put, it’s one of the most successful times in program history.

Understandably, fans bubble over with excitement when thinking about the Wahoos. A heralded new class of players joins the fray this fall as the Cavaliers try to reach even bigger heights. Season tickets are sold out again. The schedule remains packed with the likes of California, West Virginia, Duke, North Carolina, and reigning National Champion Villanova. Plus, Bennett represents Virginia as one of the best young coaches in the entire country.

With the countdown clock dipping below 50 days, it’s the perfect time to catch up with Bennett for my annual interview with Coach Bennett. (Read the previous versions here.) The one-on-one session at the John Paul Jones Arena covered evolving as a coach, four-guard lineups, thoughts on UVA’s ‘sides motion’ offense, and more.

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