Last week, college basketball lost one of the bigger coaching names in the country when Virginia’s Tony Bennett retired at the age of 55, citing changes to the college sports landscape as his primary reason.
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo has known Bennett for more than 40 years, and they are good friends. Izzo, who brought up the topic of Bennett unprompted, said he spoke with Bennett this week. Izzo went on to talk about Bennett’s decision, calling it a shame.
‘It’s been a good week, other than losing Tony Bennett, I thought that was a shame, personally, but that’s the way it goes I guess right now… I’ve known Tony since he was probably 8-10 years old, I used to work at his dad’s camps when he was at Steven’s Point and I was in college…
I keep telling you guys, if you write this, if you watch his press conference or looked at it, you should never have to ask me or any other coach a question on whether things are right, wrong, or indifferent, you should be able to figure it out yourself. But that to me was one of the sadder days, you know it bothered me when Jay Wright did it … or Roy, of course Nick Saban … but this one, you know, the guy’s 55 years old, he’s just coming off a national championship a few years ago. One of the great guys in our profession. Good person, good coach, good guy, and the way he said it I thought was very well said.
Same thing I feel: everyone should get paid some … but what we got right now is the wild wild west and it’s out of control, and I just hate to lose Tony Bennett, I really do, it bothers me a lot.’
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