Doug Gottlieb speaks to head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers, Tony Bennett whose team was recently crowned as the NCAA's National Champion with a victory over Texas Tech. Bennett shares why Doug deserves a little bit of credit for Virginia's achievement:
Gottlieb: [Texas Tech] changed their lineup; they went to a small ball lineup, and it caused you to change. Was that part of your plan to play [Kihei Clark] that much in the championship game or was that a decision you made as the game went on?
Bennett: I felt that as the game went on. And I'm going to give you some credit. We had a conversation; we go back so many years, our fathers were both legendary coaches who poured so much into us. After last year's UMBC game, you and I talked, and you challenged me and encouraged me that everyone would grow from this game:
...can you find ways when the tournament comes to play differently? Even through the year to try different things whether it's offensively or defensively or lineup-wise...
And I remembered that conversation and I knew we had to do that because you know obviously we were good last year and De'Andre Hunter allowed us to play small, and then when De'Andre got hurt in the NCAA Tournament, before that we didn't have that four-guard lineup. This year when Braxton Key got eligible, I knew that at times we were going to be able to play Key as a 5 and Dre as a 4 or vice versa in a real small lineup and against Purdue we had to go big with [Jack} Salt and Mamadi [Diakite] so you kind of challenged me and we added some things, and I really tried to think hard about that, and I thought that in Tournament runs, you need to be able to have the versatility to mix things up offensively or defensively. We used the offense against Texas Tech in the championship game that we had hardly used all year because they ran a different kind defense with the way they forced them aside and the way they switched and so you have to have those things ready in those situations. I might've just gotten you a head coaching job, Doug. So I want a piece of that. Alright?
Gottlieb: That's fine. You can collect a percent...
Hear the conversation below.
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