Bennett says he unloaded on team in practice; Beekman: ‘It was a reality check’

By Jerry Ratcliffe

CHARLOTTE — We’ve heard from various inside sources for the past month or so that Tony Bennett really likes his new Virginia basketball team, which features 10 new players, including three freshmen recruits, four transfers and some walk-ons.

Because he sees so much potential with this team, Bennett admittedly lost his cool in practice on Tuesday in order to get their attention. For those who haven’t had the luxury of watching a UVA practice, they are intense because Bennett wants his players focused during their sessions. If they’re not giving him what he expects, he lets them know, and Tuesday, he unleashed on them.

“Yesterday was not a good practice, and I had a bad practice,” Bennett told a small group of media during Wednesday’s breakout session at the ACC Basketball Tip Off event in downtown Charlotte. “I lost my cool.

“They’ve tried really hard, they’ve been pretty intense and their effort has been good. I thought maybe that waned yesterday and that’s why I let them know about it.”

Fans, who have seen Bennett get tagged with only one technical foul — and that came during his first season 15 years ago — are accustomed to a calmer version of their basketball coach. When his players stray from their responsibilities in practice, that’s when the competitive nature in Bennett comes out.

“We push our guys hard in practice and we get ornery, or I get ornery,” Bennett said. “We make practice uncomfortable and hard. Sometimes I do it [get on his players] in the right way and sometimes I do it the wrong way, and I did it the wrong way.

“Some of our guys probably hadn’t seen that side of me, and that’s okay. You’re going to make mistakes. You’re going to be in those settings, but there has to be a tenacity and effort that’s acceptable, and so practices are a time that really demand push, challenge and to get them out of their comfort zone.”

Coaches have their ways of grabbing the attention of their players and certainly Bennett is no different, so when he explodes on his team, they know there’s a good reason.

“I just believe that if you can control that, it should be in the locker room or in the huddles, but they’ve got to know that you’re with them and you’re encouraging them,” Bennett said. “It has to be kind of a balance of both.”

Senior point guard Reece Beekman, the leader of this team, said Bennett’s outburst was well-deserved and well-intended, so the players appreciated their coach’s fire.

“If [practice] gets to where it was yesterday, like we didn’t get it together, it’s a reality check that I feel like once in a while the team and the new guys who are still kind of feeling things out, need that,” Beekman said. “It was to get us in check and take us to a point where we need to be.”

Coming later Thursday: Exactly why Tony Bennett likes this basketball team