Dick Vitale Makes Suggestion For Indiana Basketball Coaching Search
There have been many names thrown out as potential candidates to become the next Indiana basketball coach.
ESPN broadcaster Dick Vitale shared his pick Monday night.
“If Tony Bennett decides to want to coach again Indiana should do whatever it takes to bring him to Bloomington,” Vitale posted on X. “Absolutely the best available as he is a sure future Hall of Famer.”
Bennett, just 55 years old, shocked the college basketball world by announcing his retirement 18 days before the start of the 2024-25 season. At Virginia, he was widely considered one of the sport’s top coaches at the time, winning the 2019 national championship, six ACC regular season titles, four ACC coach of the year awards and two national coach of the year awards.
Bennett said in his retirement press conference that he was no longer the best coach to lead Virginia in this current environment. He cited recent changes to the sport in regard to the transfer portal and NIL as some of the reasons he stepped down.
“I think it’s right for student-athletes to receive revenue. Please don’t mistake me,” Bennett said. “The game and college athletics is not in a healthy spot. It’s not. And there needs to be change, and it’s not going to go back. I think I was equipped to do the job here the old way. That’s who I am.”
“It’s going to be closer to a professional model. There’s got to be collective bargaining. There has to be a restriction on the salary pool. There has to be transfer regulation restrictions. There has to be some limits on the agent involvement to these young guys. … And I worry a lot about the mental health of the student-athletes as all this stuff comes down.”
Bennett coached Virginia from 2010-24 and had a .728 win percentage, going 364-136 overall and 189-82 in ACC play. He led the Cavaliers to 10 NCAA Tournament berths, including a national championship, an Elite Eight run and a Sweet 16 appearance.
Virginia also became the first in history No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament history to lose to a No. 16 seed, falling 74-54 to UMBC in the 2018 tournament. But the Cavaliers got revenge the very next season by winning the national championship.
Bennett previously coached Washington State from 2006-09, going 69-33 with two NCAA Tournament appearances and a Sweet 16 run. Prior to becoming a college head coach, he was an assistant at Washington State and Wisconsin.
He played at Green Bay from 1988-92, before becoming a second-round pick by the Charlotte Hornets in the NBA Draft. Originally from Clintonville, Wis., he’s the son of Dick Bennett, who coached Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Green Bay before leading the Wisconsin Badgers to the 2000 Final Four.
Bennett would be an intriguing choice for the Hoosiers, if he’s motivated to coach again. But he cited issues with the transfer portal and NIL when he retired, and those factors remain largely the same at this time.
