Virginia head coach Tony Bennett walked into the John Paul Jones Arena press room after Saturday’s 49-47 win over Wake Forest as though he had just received a reprimanding from his parents.
And he may have.
No smile, head down, he slowly made his way to the podium to give his postgame comments to the gathered media.
Bennett has been called for just two technical fouls during his tenure as head basketball coach at UVA.
They were assessed about 14 years apart, the last coming in March 2010.
The second T came here Saturday as the Cavaliers battled Wake Forest, horrendous foul shooting and inept officiating, but somehow still found a way to gain a huge ACC win.
Bennett, perhaps the most composed personality in men’s college basketball, does indeed have his breaking point.
Bennett rarely shows anger or disgust on the sidelines, seldom loses his cool, and somehow can keep his wits even amongst a clown-act officiating effort.
Saturday, the three-man clown show of officials was on the wrong end of the moment that Bennett proved he is, well, human.
The officials, who I will not name, because you can easily look them up, were borderline horrendous the entire game.
How?
The officiating crew called a different type of game each time down the floor.
Inconsistency at its best.
Hand-touch fouls on one end, while body slams were ignored on the other.
OK, disclaimer here.
I complain a great deal about the officials; just ask the two colleagues that are forced to sit beside me during the game.
I may be a bit partial to the Orange and Blue, but really, did you watch the game?
Bennett used an early timeout to speak with each individual referee, one by one.
I’m certain he wasn’t asking about how they spent Valentine’s Day, either.
Coach was pissed.
I even said to Jerry Ratcliffe, who drew the short straw, and was assigned the seat next to mine, “Tony’s getting a technical before this one’s over.”
It seemed Bennett’s strong dissertation to the zebras missed its mark, as the inconsistent officiating rolled on.
Bennett’s frustration continued to elevate.
The discrepancy among the three individuals in stripes (calling them officials is disrespectful to that term) finally reached Bennett’s boiling point.
He cursed!
Now keep in mind, it would be a stretch to call his reaction a tirade; he barely left the coaching box.
But despite the relative calmness of the exchange, Bennett received his second technical foul since arriving in Charlottesville.
And what response did Bennett give to the media in the press room when asked about the incident?
He apologized.
Of course he did.
“I said, Call the bleeping foul,” acknowledged Bennett.
He then joked that if they called a tech every time a coach cursed, there would be a lot more techs.
So just what was that “magic” word that brought on the technical?
Likely a word that I use way-too-often, and it isn’t “darn.”
Now, thanks to Tony Bennett, my wife may just give me some slack the next time I drop that bomb.
After all, if Tony Bennett can reach a boiling point, can’t I?
In case you’re wondering, Bennett’s last technical back in 2010 was for throwing his jacket onto the floor while berating an official.
Saturday, thankfully Bennett wasn’t wearing a jacket.
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