Seth Greenberg is 'SHOCKED' by timing of Tony Bennett's retirement | ACC PM

[@21stcenturydadd]

So ironic that ESPN, that pushes the one and done, skip class, look at them run style, is lamenting a real college coach retiring.

[@Djeurueiwi3j]

Mad respect for Tony. As a MD fan and hating VA, he was a top dog coach. After that 1st round loss, he came back with vengeance to win it all. That is a COACH!

[@hoosfan]

I have mad respect for Tony Bennett and his decision to step away from college basketball and all the ridiculous changes that have ruined the game. Sad for us, happy for you and having the gumption to hold onto your values! All the best....

[@johngarnergarner6724]

No surprise. The timing reminds me of what Dean Smith did when he stepped away. Announcing just before the season starts so the school has to promote his assistant with no time left for a coaching search. But Tony didn't wake up one morning and decide to quit, just like Roy Williams and K didn't just decide to retire. There are problems in college basketball and these guys just didn't want to deal with it. Tony Bennett is only 55. Now the ACC has no coaches left who have won a national championship. At his age hopefully he'll come back to the game in two or three years.

[@cathleanjohnson675]

Sad day for college athletics in general, sadly the Tony Bennett era at UVA is over, what a run it was the likes of which we will probably never see again, the best looking coach in all of sports he will be missed.

[@richardcarrier9536]

Coach Bennett is a class act and has built UVA into a powerhouse. Sad to see you go, Coach. All the best to you. - From a die-hard Syracuse fan.

[@mackbronson6409]

Dean Smith did much the same thing; retired on October 9th 1997 so his hand picked successor Guthridge would be the interim head coach for entire season

[@mark11967AD]

Classy guy. I remember when he first came on the scene at UW-Green Bay. Good luck to you Sir ❤

[@garygable4170]

There are so many great coaches retiring because of NIL and the transfer portal. It's like coaching is not the most important thing anymore.

[@american_cosmic]

I think guys like Gary Williams saw this coming years ago. As a UVA fan, I've seen hints here and there over the past year or two that Tony might be getting tired of this new college sports paradigm, so I while I was surprised when he announced his retirement, I wasn't shocked. He genuinely loves coaching, but he has always stuck to his principles. His retirement is an indictment of college basketball. Dude had 20 more years in him, easily. He could've coached here at UVA for 20 more years, and we would've let him. Such a shame.

[@billychorey]

Longtime uva fan, fan of college sports, taught to not love Virginia Tech, but Mr. Greenberg has changed how I think of VT, and it's so cool to see him be so kind and understanding. Thanks for this.

[@RobbieStacks90]

The only people who want to coach in this NIL climate of college basketball are the ones like John Calipari and Bill Self who have been paying players for years.

[@RadicallyOptimistic]

Why would they want to keep coaching? Their advantage is now neutralized. Maybe they weren’t paying players…

[@Leroy-t3t]

You can't be serious. Anyone Who follows college basketball knows this is a true fact.​@RadicallyOptimistic

[@doc8013]

If that were true wouldn't that mean their jobs became increasingly harder?

[@Leroy-t3t]

@@doc8013 You don't know Jack about college basketball. Everyone knows about those two. You might want to add Arizona to the list as well.

[@randallmadison9910]

​@RadicallyOptimistic Bennett never really got the elite players like Kansas, North Carolina, Kentucky, Duke.

[@otherworld11]

He actually looks relieved - he's a Christian and I bet God has something bigger and better in store for him. Perhaps professional ball?

[@jdhoops4775]

This retirement says a lot about college athletics. Basically, it sucks.

[@Jsimms1324]

Sorry that kids want to go play for schools that offer them more money 🙄

[@MattZ653]

The timing of this news is shocking, no question.

[@ezewade04]

Seth - aka Uncle Fester, hits the nail on the head with this one.

[@hoosfan]

Great comments, Seth. College sports is wayyy out of hand

[@americanidle76]

I’m only surprised that more coaches haven’t moved on. College sports are a mess.

[@davidshepherd5536]

Yes sad...........losing a solid dude who could coach it........too bad for the game

[@carseye1219]

I hope more follow and we blow up this current iteration of men's college hoops, it pales in comparison to the great game it once was. "One & Done's" made it bad enough but NIL made it worse. I recently watched a doc about the '85 GTown/Nova final. I STILL knew all the players. NOBODY gets to know the players anymore. I don't think anyone would care enough to make a doc about anything in college BB today. It sucks. Anybody that saw CBB in the 1980s knows it's ridiculous to even compare it to what goes on today. Aside from March Madness betting, there's NO REASON to watch anymore.

[@GemsofEarth]

Only coach to been a part of something that may never happen again.

[@JyBaller]

How so?

[@youngtdubl]

I. Am. Not. Happy.

[@paul734]

I always disliked UVA because of their "lucky" championships (im a hater lol), but this shows you what NIL is doing to college sports along with the crazy trsnsfer rules.

[@RobbieStacks90]

Tony Bennett did incredible things at UVA. I grew up as a Duke and Seton Hall fan, but I became a fan by necessity of Virginia as a student and now alum. I was a fan of what he did at Wazzu, but what he did in Charlottesville in the wake of Dave Leitao's firing was incredible. Within a couple of years, casual fans were familiar with the pack-line defense and great players like Mike Scott, Malcolm Brogdon, and Joe Harris. The UMBC loss wasn't shocking because I felt Virginia was very overrated. I don't want to say that I predicted UVA would lose as a #1 seed, but I wrote a long post on Operation Sports about how the 1 seeds that year were incredibly weak (that was the year Xavier got a 1 seed by default and lost in the 2nd round), and I didn't see anything special in the Cavaliers; I said they were going to get run out of the building by someone with great athletes. Yes, the record looked good on paper, but without DeAndre Hunter, that was probably the least talented #1 seed I've seen in my life. 2019 was different because Hunter wasn't injured, and Ty Jerome and Kyle Guy developed into special players. Even then, I acknowledge that we got very lucky against Purdue and Auburn, probably saved by the refs in that game. Still, that national championship is something that can never be taken away from the program. It might be the only one UVA wins in a long time in a major sport. TB is a first ballot hall of famer, and I look forward to his induction speech at the basketball hall of fame.

[@chriskay1449]

People were familliar with his defense and his dad ran it for years at Wisconsin and at Washington State.

[@RobbieStacks90]

@@chriskay1449 Yeah, but he proved that a team running the pack-line defense and a slow, half-court tempo on offense could be a perennial top 5 team. Wisconsin under his dad and WSU under him were above average at their peaks, nowhere near the top of college basketball.

[@chriskay1449]

@@RobbieStacks90 Nowhere near the top? They were literally 2 games from winning it all in 2000. They beat the #1 team in the country, Arizona. They whipped LSU and their two NBA draft picks.

[@RobbieStacks90]

@@chriskay1449 I'm guessing you're a Wisconsin fan or alum. Making the Final Four doesn't make you a top team. George Mason made the FF, as did VCU and Wichita St. Wisconsin got handled easily by Michigan St, which was the real #1 team in college hoops once Cincinnati's season fell apart. When I say near the top, I mean that Virginia spent nearly all of the past decade ranked in the top 10 every year playing that style of basketball.

[@chriskay1449]

Shouldn't be shocked, Tony's old man basically pulled the same thing. The only difference is his dad waited until the day after Wisconsin's ACC/Big Ten Challenge win over Maryland at the beginning of the 2000-2021 season..

[@doc8013]

Not sure what this dad did decades ago would have to do with his personal decision today.

[@Golflegend410]

So you just coincidentally forget about Dean Smith?

[@craigbfolksinger]

Im a big fan I Left My Heart in San Francisco GOAT 🐐 song

[@otherworld11]

Worse mistake he made over the last several years was giving so much control of the team to KIHEI CLARK - took all the joy out of this club for 3 years or so.

[@beerman204]

When TV timing and revenue meets amateur college athletic values TV wins...

[@robbysimmons9901]

Why quit now, why not at the end of the year in an orderly way?

[@paxpax23]

Tony Bennett looks like Jay right and he’s doing the same thing as Jay right then I’ve never seen them at same place at the same time, No, he’s a good coach. He just had that real one disappointing season when they lost the first round but hey, if you want to retire, let him retire.

[@useyourthirdeye9083]

I wonder will J. Williford will get a shot at the head coach position.

[@Golflegend410]

I think it most likely goes to Ron Sanchez

[@BrentTnerb2217]

I don't blame him. The same people who think the NCAA is evil and the athletes deserve the world are the same people who think big corporations shouldn't make a profit.

[@swhitaker1003]

Roy Williams said the same thing as Jay Wright

[@Golflegend410]

They were both so smart to get out when they did, especially Jay Wright. No one saw his retirement coming

[@Jbird-sx4zk]

I can't remember who won the championship a few months ago or who was even in the Final 4!...I think players should get paid, but the whole system is out of control, and there is more of a disconnect as a fan you feel with your favorite College Hoops team now. I feel a bit for the current college student, as they won't to get to see like a bunch of guys play for 4 years, grow into a tight knit group, maybe make a run with like 3-4 Seniors who played together for 4 years. There's no loyalty, and really kind of takes away from a lot of the college feel of community, pride, etc. you used to feel.

[@Jbird-sx4zk]

Oh yeah Uconn of course!

[@jasonc4517]

The timing is to get one of his guys the HC position. UVA is lucky he stayed the last two seasons.

[@a1athletes]

Players asked for more money right before season starts and Tony said you know what screw you kid 😂

[@SteveNicholson-bk4tf]

College sports are dead guys..

[@lightningfisher8177]

NIL TRANSFER PORTAL ,MAYBE HEALTH ISSUES FAMILY.

[@herbcanter2114]

It's the new rules .

[@joestarwars5606]

Jay was the best to ever do it. He did it right and did it well in an era of cheaters.

[@herbcanter2114]

100% true .

[@randallmadison9910]

Lol. The bandwagon. When Jay's teams were falling short of expectations, you were talking about his small guard attack was a failure. Fans. Coaches pay no mind to the criticism or the accolades. He knew the game well prior to any championship.

[@sychophantt]

Has to be stage 4 of something

[@Jsimms1324]

He quit on his players right before the season started

[@otherworld11]

OR....UVA has a chance to see if anyone on the staff can step up and be head coach. And we can also be searching for a new coach for the next several months....

[@Jsimms1324]

@@otherworld11 Lol, he quit on his players, plain and simple

[@251to502]

It’s like the saying goes: either adapt or get left behind. Big picture-wise, Bennett felt that he couldn’t keep up with the changing landscape of college basketball and felt it was best that he stepped aside.

[@jackshaftoe1715]

Maybe he just figured it out. How much money do I really need ? Am I sure I'm going to live that long ? Do I need fame ? What is this costing the people I love ? Is this all I am ? Good luck big guy, and good job too.

[@MDK384]

harder to convince good players to commit to your absolutely miserable style of basketball if they don't have to anymore

[@RandyMoore-wq2uu]

Exactly!

[@sylvonbryant2786]

He was at a Diddy party. 😂 Lol

[@tone6835]

How do you know? Can you send me the link of those facts please?..

[@Djeurueiwi3j]

funny

[@Commentleaver-c6x]

I wonder what he did? They’re saying it’s not health related so must be a scandal.

[@MayorWilliesSideChick4prez]

It’s not… Tony Bennet is a class act and a man of faith. He doesn’t want to deal with this NIL culture and kids constantly leaving etc. He’s a real coaches coach. He’s made millions and won a natty; if he hates what college ball has become he doesn’t need to do it.

[@Commentleaver-c6x]

@@MayorWilliesSideChick4prez I hope you’re right but he was just at the acc media day a few days ago and there was no indication he was quitting.

[@MayorWilliesSideChick4prez]

@@Commentleaver-c6x yeah true but who knows. I guess he’s one of my role models and i played d1 ball and still coach so im sort of In his proximity and everyone I know that’s acquainted with him has only the best things to say about him not just as a coach but as a man and solid standup moral person so it would be really devastating to here Tony did something scandalous although I guess you could never know end of the day. Could be he says something about health also but I’ve been hearing for a year or two now he’s been fed up with the new system of college sports as he’s very particular about how he runs his programs and develops men and it’s almost impossible to do that his way anymore. Guess we’ll see today at the press conference what info he offers us.

[@MDK384]

no, he just wanted to force them to give his assistant the job. that's all it is

[@MayorWilliesSideChick4prez]

@@MDK384 no, he was done with how current college ball is with NIL, transfer portal etc. and of course he would want to help get his guy the job lol that’s smart and loyal

[@RandyMoore-wq2uu]

It's amazing how weak these coaches are showing themselves to be now that players have just as much power.

[@Jsimms1324]

“We can’t force them to stay here anymore!!!!” 😭

[@herbcanter2114]

Players should NEVER have much power . They are incredibly lucky to even be in college and the most talented ones get college for free .

[@colleenconger5265]

Ovarian or pancreatic cancer that’s my guess…, prayers for his family….

[@doc8013]

Who has cancer?

[@randallmadison9910]

Conspiracy theories have to stop. Just vulgar.

[@herbcanter2114]

It has nothing to do with health it's the game sucks these days .

[@richardhess2217]

Good Riddance!

[@colleenconger5265]

Ovarian or pancreatic cancer……..

[@Kyleterp1]

If it’s health related, that’s understandable, if not, it’s an awful and selfish move quitting right before the season.