Tony Bennett becomes Virginia basketball's all-time winningest coach
Virginia Cavaliers’ head basketball coach Tony Bennett has done incredible things with their basketball program since he was hired there in the spring of 2009. On Saturday, his Cavaliers took care of business and defeated the Syracuse Orange, 73-66. With the win, Bennett now has the most wins in UVA basketball history with 327. It simply couldn’t have happened to a person more deserving of the honor. Former Virginia great Terry Holland had the previous all-time wins record at 326. He’d previously mentioned of how honored he was that Bennett was going to break his record, because he has so much respect for him.
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He’s taken the Cavalier basketball program to unprecedented heights during his time in Charlottesville. Under his watch, Virginia has won five ACC regular season titles, two ACC tournament crowns, and the 2019 National Championship.
Following today’s win against Syracuse, Bennett took the time to address the home crowd at John Paul Jones Arena.
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Not only does Bennett have the most coaching wins in UVA history at 327, but since he was hired, the only major conference coaches with more wins are Bill Self, John Calipari, and Tom Izzo.
During his first press conference at Virginia, he envisioned building a program “that lasts” and he’s done just that. Bennett has guided the Cavaliers to four 30-win seasons in one of the strongest conferences in college basketball. The national championship team with Ty Jerome, Kyle Guy, and De’Andre Hunter went 35-3 in 2019.
The Cavaliers started hot out of the gates this season with wins over Baylor (86-79), Illinois (70-61), and Michigan (70-68). They’ve lost a couple of hard-fought ACC games to Miami (66-64) and Pittsburgh (68-65). Virginia has looked like a Sweet 16 caliber team this season when they’ve played at their very best and their three-pointers are falling. Their star guard, Reece Beekman, is healthy again after dealing with a number of injuries, and he’ll be critical in the Cavaliers’ potential postseason run this year.
In his 2023 recruiting class, Bennett reeled in two high quality players.
First, there’s guard Elijah Gertrude, out of Hudson Catholic (Jersey City, NJ). He’s one of the most athletic players that Tony Bennett has reeled in during his time in Charlottesville. Not only is Gertrude electrifying on the basketball court, but he’s one of the highest rated prospects that he’s ever landed for the Cavaliers. Then there’s Blake Buchanan, a 6-foot-10, 215-pound center from Lake City (Coeur D’Alene, Idaho). He’s got a smooth looking hook shot that will only get better during his time in Charlottesville. Buchanan chose the Cavaliers over Gonzaga.
There’s no question that as long as Tony Bennett is in Charlottesville, the Cavaliers will be a force to be reckoned with in the ACC, this year, and beyond.