College Basketball: Busting Brackets Midseason Awards

Mid-season Coach of the Year

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Tony Bennett, Virginia

There’s no easier decision than tabbing Tony Bennett as the Coach of the Year during a season where he has convinced the nation that his team, one that does not feature a single lottery prospect, might be the group most capable of beating the D-League team known as the Kentucky Wildcats.

Bennett has the Cavaliers getting it done the old-fashioned way — with a defense so suffocating that opposing teams look like they’re running offensive sets inside of an incinerator. The Cavs have just enough athleticism, just enough size, and just enough outside shooting to be molded into a juggernaut under Bennett’s direction. Virginia’s emergence as a perennial power (yea, this team is going to be good until Bennett leaves) has served as further indication that the biggest stars in college basketball will always roam the sidelines instead of the paint or the perimeter.

For even more prospective, consider this. Virginia has only one (ESPN) top 50 recruit on its entire roster. That would be Justin Anderson, and he was ranked #49. Bennett has struck gold with prospects that were believed to be nothing more than complimentary pieces, but these perfect compliments to Bennett’s philosophy have created a team that has value greater than the sum of its parts. For all of his success in living room’s across the country, would anyone expect John Calipari to be undefeated with Virginia’s roster?

Next: Mid-season Most Valuable Player