UVa hoping it's not same old song

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By Patrick Stevens

CHARLOTTESVILLE | Tony Bennett glanced around his spacious office a few weeks ago and approvingly ran down what distinguished his latest rebuilding project from his last.

The new Virginia basketball coach sits in arguably the best conference in the country, works at one of the top schools in the nation and is far, far closer to a cluster of talent than he ever was when he won at remote Washington State.

"There's a lot of things in place here," Bennett said, a theme he would return to a few more times.

Not to mention that office, a part of the glistening and expansive John Paul Jones Arena that opened three years ago. Yet for all the reasons Virginia should thrive, the Cavaliers have not for nearly a decade and a half.

The program once built upon Ralph Sampson's broad shoulders rarely generated attention in the past 14 years. Sure, there might be an upset here, a buzzer-beater against Duke there. But Virginia has a single NCAA tournament victory in that span, a figure that just for a second prompted Bennett to gulp.

Perhaps it was reflexive. More likely, it was for comedic effect; Washington State's track record wasn't any better before Bennett led the Cougars to a pair of NCAA tournaments and an NIT in three seasons.

Either way, it was appropriate. Bennett is the first to acknowledge he inherited a job requiring a well-thought-out plan and the patience to shepherd it to fruition. There is no quick fix, no easy answers for attempting to accomplish what Pete Gillen and Dave Leitao could not earlier this decade: sustain success in the long term.

Of course, taking shortcuts isn't the meticulous Bennett's approach, anyway.

"There's certainly some great tradition and history here, but we have to make it more recent," said Bennett, who was hired March 31. "There hasn't been consistency in this program. I think when you go to a place that hasn't had consistent success, you have to try to build it for the long haul."

Establishing a brand