Busting Brackets
Fansided

ACC Basketball: Top 10 head coaches of the century (2000-20)

By Joey Loose

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - FEBRUARY 27: Head coach Tony Bennett of the Virginia Cavaliers and head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels shake hands before North Carolina's game against the Virginia Cavaliers at John Paul Jones Arena on February 27, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Chet Strange/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - FEBRUARY 27: Head coach Tony Bennett of the Virginia Cavaliers and head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels shake hands before North Carolina's game against the Virginia Cavaliers at John Paul Jones Arena on February 27, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Chet Strange/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
9 of 11
Next
ACC
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – DECEMBER 29: Head coach Tony Bennett of the Virginia Cavaliers (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images) /

3. Tony Bennett – Virginia (2009-2020)

If you consider the success that Bennett has had at Virginia, it’s quite difficult to put it all in words. After an impressive coaching performance at Washington State, Bennett was hired in 2009, with Virginia in the midst of a relative lull in success. They had floated near the bottom of the league, watching Duke, North Carolina and others win game after game, but that would all change very soon.

Since 2013, Virginia has been a juggernaut, and not only in the ACC. The Cavaliers are 104-24 in ACC play during that time span, winning four regular-season titles. While the team was upset by 16-seed UMBC in 2018, the resilience to respond by winning the program’s first national championship in 2019 was an incredibly remarkable story. Bennett’s teams play slow offense and firm defense and the results are more than apparent.

The 2019 title validated all of Bennett’s success with the Cavaliers, especially after the team had faltered several times in the NCAA Tournament. Even as they completely reloaded their talent, they still tied for second place this past season in the ACC. Calling Bennett one of the best current coaches in college basketball is no mistake and it’ll be interesting to see how his young group of talent responds in the near future.