The Valley is a wonderful place to live. Unless you’re the men’s basketball coach at Arizona State University.
Can Randy Bennett juice up a high-major, low-ceiling, dead-end program?
Bennett is reportedly in serious discussions to replace Bobby Hurley at ASU. Some scoff at Bennett’s age (he turns 64 in June) and whether he’s coming to the desert for paid retirement. I do not.
The Mesa native is a proven winner even when handicapped by limited resources. He has led St. Mary’s to 12 NCAA Tournament berths in 25 years. He’s built a program fueled by an international pipeline, good enough to challenge the West Coast mid-major dominance of Gonzaga. He was the WCC Coach of the Year four years in a row (2022-25). He would be a home run hire for ASU.
Context matters. While a move to the Big 12 has been a godsend for Kenny Dillingham’s football team, it has been a slippery slope for the basketball program, one already saddled with NIL limitations, a tired and ancient arena, and a budget that’s half of what the University of Arizona basketball spends on a yearly basis.
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But this season, the Big 12 sent eight teams to the NCAA Tournament. Which means ASU needs to be the equivalent of Central Florida, good enough for eighth place in the conference. Bennett can make that happen.
His teams have a distinct flavor. They play painstakingly slow on offense. They are ruthlessly and relentlessly boring. They lull defenses to sleep with motion and backdoor cuts. He also believes in pack-line defense, a man-to-man approach with a heavy emphasis on help from teammates, taking away penetration and forcing the opponent to score from the perimeter. In other words:
He knows exactly what kinds of players he wants, and as a result, he knows exactly what he’s looking for in recruits. He will scheme ASU basketball into a higher state of competitiveness.
Bennett might be the opposite of Dillingham on the scale of youthful exuberance. But he’s also local, deeply connected to the state of Arizona. He starred at Westwood High School. He played for his father, Tom, at Mesa Community College, where the elder Bennett built a stellar program.
Randy Bennett isn’t a hot prospect climbing the ladder or the next big thing in college basketball. His personality is understated. He will not win over an apathetic fan base with words alone.
But he is local, decorated, demanding and highly competent. And to repeat what others have already said:
This is Arizona State basketball, a program that comes with warts and flaws. And when it comes to their current head coaching vacancy, there’s Randy Bennett and everyone else.
Reach Bickley at [email protected]. Listen to Bickley & Marotta weekdays from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station.
Follow @danbickley
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