Tony Bennett, on UVA wins record, quotes Terry Holland: ‘Better than I deserve’

Tony Bennett is one win from tying former Virginia coach Terry Holland at 326 wins at UVA. All the same, he’d rather just keep Holland in the top spot in the record books.

“Coach Holland is the best, his family and his daughters, just the way he has represented, you know, basketball and this program and what he’s built,” Bennett said after Virginia’s 66-46 win over Albany on Wednesday, which gave him 325 wins at Virginia.

Holland was 326-173 in his 16 years at Virginia. Bennett is 325-119 in his 14 seasons and counting on Grounds.

Talking with the media after last night’s game, Bennett referenced a quote attributed to Holland by a reporter years ago.

“He said, every time I’d ask him, How are you doing, his response was, better than I deserve. And that’s probably how I feel when you asked me this,” Bennett said. “How has this gone? My coaching career, I didn’t even want to coach, I just wanted to play a lot longer than I did. But, oh, I’ll get into coaching. I’ll try it. And yeah, I’ve had some tough times, but it’s better than I deserve.

“To have the players that I’ve had, the staff and the continuity that I’ve had, and for us to experience a lot of the success that we have, you know, has been probably better than I deserve,” Bennett said.

The first of Bennett’s five pillars, it should be noted here, is humility.

“Part of me almost as wishes that they didn’t keep track of that, or in a way Coach Holland can just keep it,” Bennett said of the wins record.

“I just want these guys that I coach to be as good as they can and see where it takes them,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of good stuff, and I’m grateful, but it’s, I don’t want to say it’s insignificant, but it’s kind of all icing on the cake.

“I never got into coaching to try to break records or anything,” Bennett said. “I just wanted to try to win and see, because I love the game, in terms of wins in the season. But the overall record is a credit to the players and of course, my staff, and that I’ve done this for a long time. And it’s probably been better than I deserve. So, I’ll leave it at that.”