After almost a week of meditative silence, the Virginia Cavaliers’ interim head coach, Ron Sanchez, addressed the media Wednesday afternoon. The heir to the Tony Bennett throne preached continuity between the new and the old, commitment to the five pillars, and closeness to the father of modern-day Virginia basketball. Almost sounds religious, doesn’t it?
Sanchez has been an apple on the Bennett family coaching tree since 2003 when both Ron and Tony were assistants under Tony’s father, Dick, at Washington State. And the administration, the alumni, and the fanbase hope that apple hasn’t fallen far from the system that ripened it.
Sanchez, who is no stranger to transition on and off the court having moved from the Dominican Republic to the South Bronx in his youth, acknowledged the delayed gratification that can accompany a coaching change. “They’re used to one type of leadership, and I think having someone new is going to take some time,” he said.
Time is, notably, something that Sanchez and his staff are running out of quickly with the season opener less than two weeks away.
But the longtime understudy may not be entirely alone in this journey — a word that was employed a lot on Wednesday.
“As soon as the opportunity presents itself, I’d love for [Coach Bennett] to be around as much as possible and to be alongside me with this journey,” Sanchez said. This, of course, is something the now-retired future Hall-of-Fame coach alluded to in his retirement press conference last Friday.
Bennett, when deliberating the next chapter of his life outside of coaching, looked to his right multiple times where Athletic Director Carla Williams sat.
“If I can serve this university and help out in any way,” he said. “I care so much about this, and it’s not like I’m just leaving.”
For just a moment, the mood of the presser shifted, and a more light-hearted side of Coach Bennett shone through.
“I think my former players and these [current players] when I’m around them will be like, ‘I like Coach Bennett a lot better not being a coach,’” he joked.
Sanchez, like the rest of us, is more an admirer of da Vinci than of the Mona Lisa. When team introductions were made before each tip inside JPJ, Coach Bennett got the loudest roar.
“I know that this is something that he created and I’m hopeful that he will assist in this journey,” he emphasized.
There’s that j-word again. But let’s be clear, it will be a journey. Just as it’s been since the 2007 AP College Basketball Coach of Year made the transcontinental trip from Pullman to Charlottesville to build “a program that lasts.”
So, what does Coach Bennett have left to give? That remains to be seen. For now, the onus is on Carla Williams to see to it that the beloved architect of Virginia basketball sticks around in some capacity.
