Tony Bennett Showed True Leadership in the Face of Virginia’s Historic Loss
For the last 5 years I spend the first couple of days of the NCAA tourney in Las Vegas with a group of swell guys. We spend about 12 hours watching games each day, laying low end bets and having a lot of laughs. All around it’s a great time.
Like the rest of the CBB world we spent part of Friday in utter shock watching the University of Maryland, Baltimore County Retrievers (UMBC) beat down the Cavaliers in a historic upset. Throughout the 2nd half while we were watching our parlay come to fruition we kept saying, “this is going to happen.” But we secretly thought that UVA would come back. The Retrievers were a 16 seed and the Cavaliers were the overall number 1 seed. Never in the history of the tournament had a 16 beat a 1. Surely the Cavs would pull it out.
Except they didn’t. If that wasn’t shocking enough, the Cavs didn’t get beat by some future accountant going off for 45 points. They lost by 20. They lost to a team that got into the tourney by hitting a game winning shot on the road versus a Vermont team that had lost 1 home game in two years to take the vaunted America East title. A team that lost to Albany by 40 dominated UVA thoroughly. It wasn’t even close.
The story of the Retrievers amazing win is both fun and wonderful. Stories abound telling the tale of their victory. And everyone should follow @UMBCAthletics for entertaining tweets. But this story is not about them. It’s about Virginia and how their coach showed true leadership in the face of an epic, historic loss.
Some background here. Tony Bennett came to UVA in 2009 fresh off a successful 3 year stint at basketball backwater Washington State. He was a successful player at UW-Green Bay under his father, Dick Bennett. After a stint in the NBA he began his coaching career under his father who employed an aggressive “pack style” defense.
When he arrived at Virginia, Bennett took over a program who’s best years were far behind it. In fact in the previous 10 years the Cavs made the tournament only 1 time. They had become an ACC after thought.
Bennett implemented his system and by year 3 the Cavaliers were in the tournament. By year 5 they won their first of back to back ACC titles. The next three years they took 2nd and another ACC title.
This year was a tremendous success. 31 wins and only 2 losses in the regular season. In 21 ACC games (18 in league and 3 in the tourney) his team went 20–1 with 17 of those in the regular season. A feat never accomplished in the history of the ACC. By any measurement the Cavaliers had a historic and successful year.
And it all came crashing down Friday night. UVA was run out of the building by the Retrievers. After the game Bennett did his best coaching job of his terrific career. He did not sugarcoat the situation. He explained the loss was “not even close and we got our butts whipped.” He then added how he talks to his team all the time about dealing with the good and the bad. You should watch the interview here.
Nowhere did he lament the fact the Cavs were at a disadvantage because they lost their 6th man to injury right before the tourney. Or that the Retrievers were lights out from 3 (hitting an enviable 50%). He didn’t blame anyone. Instead he taught. He taught his players (and hopefully those who watched his comments) that life works this way. One week you are cutting down the nets celebrating an ACC championship and the next you are on the other side of an historic loss as the first one seed to lose to a 16. He mentions that when you decide to enter the arena you run the risk of having bad things happen. You can’t just expect the good. You have to face the bad.
What I hear is a person explaining that coming up short, while disappointing, is far better than sitting on the sidelines. In an age where college basketball is dominated by one and done players Bennett is able to take a collection of young men and make them play together. He gets them to understand that what is best for the team is also what is best for them. He teaches unselfishness and mindfulness. In an age where we tend to blame others and look for excuses, he teaches the opposite. In a time where we have leaders in the highest office of the land using caustic language and a “blame everyone first” mentality, he sets the opposite example. Working in a society who has learned to prize the loud and outlandish, what Bennett has been able to do is admirable and deserves recognition. He sets an example for leaders at all levels. He sees the whole picture and the lesson in the disappointments.
I can’t imagine what Bennett saw when he tried to comfort his players in the locker room afterwards. Yes these are men but they are young men. Men who spent their whole lives being defined by their success in basketball. Now they were part of a team that will always be the answer to a trivia question. They will be a punchline. That’s not right or even accurate and it’s a heavy burden for a young person.
We learn as we age that one of the knocks of youth is a lack of perspective. But these young men are fortunate to have a man like Tony Bennett to teach and lead them. To understand that daring greatly and coming up short is a far better outcome than the opposite. To enjoy your moments of success and soldier on through the bad times.
So here is to having more Tony Bennett’s at all levels of leadership. To face disappointment with perspective and the proper framing. We would all benefit from it.
Chad Bell lives in Minneapolis with his wife and 2 children.