Virginia men's basketball head coach Tony Bennett speaks at the weekly ACC coaches zoom press conference on Monday, February 26th.
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00:00 What have you or the staff done to try to flush the experience
00:06 of such a bad shooting day?
00:08 Obviously, there's things you want to correct.
00:10 But do you guys worry about kind of the psyche
00:12 of trying to just get that one behind you, it's a bad day,
00:15 forget about it?
00:17 Yeah, we had yesterday off and we'll go to practice here
00:21 in a couple hours.
00:23 We've had a few--
00:24 we haven't shot the ball great.
00:26 Some guys have shot it well, but that
00:27 hasn't been a strength of ours this year.
00:29 So yeah, you do different things.
00:31 You get your shots and you just keep working.
00:34 And that's the extent of it.
00:38 I think it still comes down to, are you getting quality looks?
00:42 We talked about that after the game.
00:43 Are guys getting the reps?
00:45 And of course, you talk about a clean mind or a clear mind
00:49 when you shoot and taking good shots
00:52 and not worrying too much about a miss and moving forward.
00:55 So that said, I don't have any meditation or anything
01:00 like that that we do.
01:02 Maybe we should.
01:03 But again, the numbers are kind of bearing out
01:07 with some things.
01:08 And as you know, they're making it challenging
01:12 on some of our shooters.
01:13 So you just keep working for that.
01:14 And the other guys keep finding ways.
01:17 And then defensively, didn't think you guys were very good
01:20 against Virginia Tech.
01:21 I thought you were very good against Carolina.
01:23 I know it's a loss.
01:24 But were you able to take some things on the defensive end
01:27 to say, hey, if we do this, this is our way?
01:31 Yeah, I mean, against Virginia Tech,
01:33 I think for about first eight minutes, we were solid.
01:36 And then they separated.
01:38 And we struggled.
01:38 And yes, I thought we played both teams.
01:41 It was hard to get real good shots consistently
01:44 in the Carolina game here.
01:47 And of course, our defense kept us in it.
01:49 And as poorly as we shot, we had some chances.
01:52 But yeah, I thought the guys played really hard
01:55 and battled a couple of key breakdowns.
01:59 I gave them layups, two of them.
02:01 Those were hard to come by in that game.
02:03 And we just got sidetracked.
02:06 But no, I think you build on that.
02:07 And of course, when you travel on the road,
02:09 if you don't have your defense, if we
02:11 don't have our defense home or away,
02:12 it's going to be extremely difficult.
02:14 And so that will be something, of course, we'll build on.
02:17 We play a team that's very physical at Boston College.
02:20 It's an older league.
02:23 And you feel that.
02:24 Last year, we were old and experienced.
02:26 And you could lean on it.
02:28 This year, we're a younger team with a couple of newer guys.
02:32 And you feel that.
02:33 So you go through those ups and downs.
02:35 And that's why you're trying to hold on to the good stuff
02:39 as best you can.
02:39 And that's, for us, the defensive end.
02:42 Thank you.
02:43 We'll go next to Jerry DiPaola.
02:46 Good morning, Tony.
02:47 Thanks for your time.
02:48 I'm interested in the perspective of a veteran ACC
02:50 coach.
02:51 What can the league do to prevent a recurrence of what
02:53 happened Saturday at Wake Forest?
02:56 Oh, yeah.
02:59 I mean, I guess we'll leave it up to the league
03:04 to make these good decisions.
03:05 But I haven't really followed.
03:07 Honestly, we had our game.
03:09 And I know that Kyle was injured.
03:13 I hope it's not serious.
03:14 But either you better have great security
03:16 and stop them from storming until the players clear
03:20 the court.
03:21 And I don't know if you have the manpower to do it.
03:23 Or I don't know what other leagues are doing.
03:25 Are they fining them or not?
03:27 I mean, we've been part of a lot of those
03:30 where the court's been stormed on us--
03:32 not this year, but in years past.
03:35 And sometimes it gets a little dicey.
03:38 Thankfully, no one's gotten hurt.
03:40 You've had people say stuff, bump a little bit.
03:42 But you don't want, obviously, that to happen.
03:45 So it's just got to come up.
03:46 I mean, it's their job to get it done, figure it out,
03:51 whether we got to clear the court,
03:52 then let them rush it or do it.
03:54 But sometimes you can't control everything.
03:57 But now that this happened-- and I
03:59 know a lot of coaches have been concerned about this--
04:03 maybe this will be the thing that puts something in place.
04:09 Thank you.
04:10 We'll go next to Jeff Borzello.
04:11 Hey, Tony.
04:14 I actually wanted to ask you about Washington State.
04:17 And I don't expect you to keep tabs on them.
04:19 But they're going to the tournament for the first time
04:21 since you were there.
04:23 It's a different landscape now than it was then.
04:25 But it has the reputation of being a tough job.
04:28 So I just wanted to ask you some of the challenges
04:31 that you face there that the Washington State coach faces
04:34 and why it's considered to be a tough spot to win consistently.
04:38 It's tough anywhere nowadays.
04:40 But I'm so happy.
04:41 Kyle has done such a good job, Kyle Smith.
04:43 And that's exciting.
04:47 I just-- with how Washington State and Oregon State,
04:50 when they had good football years this year,
04:52 how they kind of got left behind in all this conference
04:55 realignment, it was tough to see that.
04:58 Having been there and spent six years
05:00 and knowing what those do.
05:01 So to see those teams have success in football,
05:04 and I don't know the other sports,
05:06 and then in basketball for to see the Cougs have this year,
05:11 I'm so--
05:12 it's fitting and it's right.
05:14 And it is a challenge because it's a place that's remote.
05:19 But I saw when they beat Arizona and they just--
05:23 they're knocking on the door, I think.
05:26 They're first or second in that league.
05:28 So kudos to them and those kids.
05:30 They have-- we had a saying when we were there.
05:33 And someone told me they might use it.
05:35 I don't know if they do or not.
05:36 But we called ourselves the Wheatfield underdogs
05:39 because Pullman is in the middle of the Wheatfields.
05:42 And it's a great place to raise a family.
05:44 Such good people working there.
05:46 But that was the mindset.
05:48 We were the Wheatfield underdogs.
05:49 And I think they've embraced that.
05:50 I haven't watched them play, but a couple of my friends said,
05:53 they play together.
05:54 They play hard.
05:55 And that's how their coach embodies them.
05:57 And again, well-coached.
05:58 And they have some talent, too, from what I understand.
06:01 So really exciting.
06:02 The difficulties are it's remote.
06:05 And there's-- I don't know.
06:08 Budget-wise, all those things, I'm not sure.
06:10 But they're doing a lot with what they have.
06:12 And I know they--
06:13 I hope those fans are supporting those young men
06:15 in the coaching staff.
06:18 Thank you.
06:19 You're welcome.
06:21 I'll go back to Mike Barber.
06:23 Yeah, Tony, if I could ask you a little bit about Quentin Post
06:26 for them, for Boston College.
06:27 At both ends of the floor, he can score inside and outside.
06:31 Good shot blocker.
06:32 What are the elements that he brings
06:34 and the challenges he presents?
06:36 Well, he's like their team.
06:37 He's physical.
06:38 And their whole team plays physical.
06:40 That's something that they've always been excelled at.
06:42 And he's a dual threat.
06:44 I've liked his game very--
06:47 last couple of years.
06:48 His ability, again, he steps out, shoots it.
06:50 And he's real rugged inside.
06:52 Has inside-outside game.
06:53 And those kinds of bigger guys certainly present challenges,
06:58 gets on the glass.
06:59 And they really took it to us last year there.
07:01 I remember that.
07:02 They were tough.
07:04 Good he was.
07:05 And a lot of those guys are back.
07:06 But his ability to do in and out and how hard he posts
07:11 and the screens they set for him and that he sets for others
07:15 is real.
07:16 And so one of our better bigs in this league for sure.
07:21 And since I'm so interested in your psychology today,
07:24 it's a 9 o'clock road game at a place that doesn't draw well.
07:29 You address any of those unusual factors
07:31 in terms of making sure your guys are ready to play?
07:34 I mean, every game is meaningful.
07:36 And so it's just being as ready as you can.
07:39 You have a shoot around.
07:40 You do different things, all that.
07:42 You just-- I don't know if we've had a 9 o'clock game this year.
07:46 No, I don't think so.
07:47 Yeah, 8 o'clock.
07:47 I'm not sure.
07:48 But we've had them in the past.
07:50 But yeah, it's just being as ready as you can,
07:52 knowing you're going to have to be ready to play against them.
07:54 And every game is meaningful.
07:56 And it's quite a privilege to play.
07:59 And you never-- as the season's winding down,
08:02 these opportunities for this team to be together
08:04 are limited.
08:05 So you look at it that way and be as ready as you can.
08:08 And who knows what the environment will be like.
08:12 But it's about what we can do to be as prepared as we can
08:15 and then be good in the game.