Virginia’s blowout loss to a not good Cal team on Wednesday is your latest reminder that Ron Sanchez, fair or not to him, will not be the head coach of the UVA Basketball program next season.
And his long-time buddy and mentor, Tony Bennett, is the reason why.
Remember that the thinking at the outset of the 2024-2025 season was that for Sanchez to have that clunky interim tag removed after the season, the Cavaliers would at least have to get an NCAA Tournament invite.
As the reality that March Madness will not be in the travel itinerary for UVA Basketball started sinking in, we moved on to thinking that maybe Sanchez should be evaluated based less on the team’s win-loss record and more on how the team developed throughout the season, and on Sanchez’s ability to make in-game coaching moves.
The thinking there: when evaluating a coach, you look at several things, including improvement as the season progresses, the ability to show growth from game to game, and the ability to make adjustments during the game.
None of this is currently taking place.
ICYMI
It’s hard to fault Sanchez, since he didn’t sign up for this.
Ron Sanchez is Tony Bennett’s succession plan, though, as it turns out, Bennett, in handing over the program to Sanchez just weeks before the season started, didn’t do right by his handpicked guy.
It was obvious why Sanchez left his job at Charlotte, but I don’t believe he thought for a second that this was how he would take over the program.
And why would he?
This plan, if you can call it a plan, Bennett quitting his team on the eve of the season, was a disaster-in-the-making from the get-go.
ICYMI
- UVA Basketball: Tony Bennett passes the torch to right-hand man Ron Sanchez
- Tony Bennett steps down as UVA Basketball coach: Why this isn’t a surprise
Bennett’s abrupt departure put Sanchez, his players and the assistant coaches into an almost impossible situation.
For the players left behind, their body language clearly suggests, this is not what we signed up for.
I’m seeing a coaching staff that can’t possibly be expected to make any significant in-game adjustments because, well, what adjustments are they going to make?
Tony Bennett Basketball is what they know.
Problem being, Tony Bennett ain’t around anymore.
So, what do we have now?
Poor guard play, awful defense, and, most importantly, no identity, and we are almost to mid-January.
Sanchez continues trying to talk around the obvious, but the writing is on the wall: this is what we have.
It’s not fair to Ron Sanchez that it’s working out this way, but we have Tony Bennett to thank for that.
Video: Tony Bennett did Ron Sanchez no favors
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