As Duke basketball is favored to win it all with Cooper Flagg and head coach Jon Scheyer at the helm, the sport will feel different after Tony Bennet announced his retirement from coaching the University of Virginia. As Bennett himself explained the decision, Scheyer was asked about his thoughts of the news and had an emotional reaction after the Blue Devils' exhibition game against Lincoln.
Bennett had been the head coach for the Cavaliers for the last 15 years which included a national championship win in 2019, but people were shocked since the season is right around the corner. Scheyer would say that he was “bummed” to see the news and talked about how teams coached by Bennett were tough according to Andy Katz.
“I was bummed to see that. No. 1, I was a huge fan, ton of respect for for Tony,” Scheyer said. “You know, he came to Virginia my senior year at Duke as a player, and so for his 15 seasons, I've competed against him 12 of the 15 years as a player 0r as a coach. And look, we've had some big time battles against many teams in the league. But no games are tougher than playing Virginia and his teams that he's had, I expect that obviously to continue.”
Duke basketball's Jon Scheyer speaks more on Tony Bennett
Bennett cited many reasons for retiring, whether it be the state of college basketball itself or not having the full mindset to be committed to it. The Duke basketball head coach in Scheyer would speak on other reasons to retire whether it be spending more time with your family, but ended his response by saying that the game will miss him.
“So one, just I felt, I was bummed to see it, you know, because I just, I respect who he is as a person, what he's done for our game, who he is as a coach,” Scheyer said. “Then empathy for how he feels. I think the difference is I started my career, you know, in this environment, I think that's an advantage in a lot of respects, but still, I understand how he's feeling. You know, obviously I think any coach family, you always want more family time. You always want more stability. But again, for me, it's the environment we're in. Let's go, it's a blessing. Like, I'm ready to roll. But, you know, our game misses having a guy like Tony Bennett in it as a coach for sure.”
At any rate, the Duke basketball team start their season on Nov. 4 against Maine.