UVA basketball coach Tony Bennett, as expected, used the two new full-time assistant positions created by the NCAA on internal candidates, hiring Johnny Carpenter and Isaiah Wilkins.
Virginia Athletics also announced that Bennett has hired recent alum Chase Coleman to his staff as a grad assistant.
“We are thrilled to promote Johnny and Isaiah, and add Chase to our coaching staff,” Bennett said. “Johnny and Isaiah have done an outstanding job working with our guys and are worthy of these promotions. We’re fortunate to keep Chase in our program as a graduate assistant. All three of these guys are outstanding coaches and have impacted our program in many ways.”
Carpenter is a Triple Hoo, with his undergrad degree in foreign affairs coming in 2013 – he served as a team manager in his time on Grounds, from 2010-2013.
He earned a master’s in education while working as a grad assistant with the UVA women’s basketball program in the 2013-2014 season, and added an MBA from Darden earlier this year.
Carpenter was director of player personnel on Bennett’s staff for the past five seasons, focusing on player development, opponent and self-scouting, recruiting and video analysis.
Wilkins, a 2018 UVA, was a four-year contributor on the court, averaging 4.9 points and 4.8 rebounds in 132 career games, before embarking on a brief four-year pro career overseas.
He returned to Virginia in 2021 and served as a grad assistant for the past two years, completing work on a master’s in education this past spring.
Coleman is not at all a surprise hire in the grad assistant role. A four-year member of the basketball program, Coleman’s father, Cliff, is the head coach at Bryant & Stratton, a junior college in Virginia Beach that he led to a 23-7 record in 2022-2023.
Chase Coleman was a backup point guard for Bennett’s teams the past four years, seeing action in 33 games while earning ACC Honor Roll honors four times.
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Chris Graham
