It's been called boring plenty of times. It's been described as overly physical as well. One of the nation's highest profile coaches even implied it wasn't real basketball.
But whatever you want to call it, Bennettball is a proven winner—whether Roy Williams likes it or not. Wisconsin coach Dick Bennett proved it in 2000 and his son Tony is proving it again this year.
It was seven years ago that Dick Bennett guided his Cinderella Badgers to the Final Four using a style of play affectionately—or perhaps disparagingly, depending on whom you ask—labeled as Bennettball. Known for having little talent but lots of heart, the Badgers scraped and clawed their way past the likes of Louisiana State and top-seeded Arizona, locking down defensively against more talented opponents that had no idea just how intense a war with the Badgers could be.
Badger fans fell in love with Bennettball, but outside the state, it had plenty of critics. The Badgers drew little respect during the season, failing to crack the polls for even one week in their Final Four season. And after the Badgers' loss to eventual champion Michigan State in the national semifinals, a particularly ""ugly"" game in which UW trailed 19-17 at halftime, the critics had a field day. Roy Williams, then coaching at Kansas and apparently bitter the brute-like Badgers were in the Final Four instead of his ""skilled"" Jayhawaks, led the crusade.
Williams' comments implied the Badgers had few basketball skills, and they instead relied on the weight room to win games. After becoming head of the NCAA rules committee, he pushed for stronger enforcement of the rulebook as part of an effort to clean up the game and eliminate rough play.
When Bennett retired early in the next season, it looked as if Bennettball may be gone for good. But several years later, intrigued by the possibility of resurrecting a downtrodden program, he took the reigns at Washington State.
Implementing the same style of play he used all his life at UW, UW-Stevens Point and UW-Green Bay, Bennett quickly had the program pointed in the right direction. When he left after revitalizing the program in three seasons, he made sure the team was in good hands—with his son and longtime assistant coach, Tony Bennett.
Tony is just 37 years old, but as one of the nation's youngest coaches, he's already being mentioned as a top candidate for the National Coach of the Year Award. The Green Bay native and former UW assistant is only halfway through his first season as a head coach, but his name has already come up in rumors regarding the coaching vacancy at Minnesota. Those are the kinds of things that tend to happen when you have your team in the national rankings for the first time in 24 years.
At 17-4, the younger Bennett's Cougars have already guaranteed themselves their first winning record in 11 years. The Cougars won just 11 games all of last season, and their six conference victories so far this year already top last year's four. Barring a major meltdown, they should be a lock to make the NCAA tournament for the first time in 13 seasons.
Even more impressively, the Cougars haven't just been beating up on cupcakes. They've beaten then-No. 18 Gonzaga and dismantled arch-rival Washington. They also defeated then-No. 7 Arizona and gave No. 1 UCLA a scare earlier this year in a three-point loss on the road. Last week they took No. 7 Oregon to overtime.
Just as Badger fans fell in love with the elder Bennett's teams, WSU fans are doing the same with Tony's team. The Cougars' attendance this year is up 50 percent, thanks in large part to the team's three sell-outs already this season. Considering the team is tied for third place in the best country in the land, it's not surprising the fans have taken notice. What is surprising, however, is that the national media is equally excited.
Dick Bennett's Badger teams were prime targets for media critics, even after they went to the Final Four. But Tony Bennett's Cougars have quickly become media darlings. Tony's teams are built on the same principles—teamwork, tenacity, fundamentals and defensA-e—that his father's teams were, but they've drawn nothing but praise from analysts everywhere. One cnnsi.com writer has even predicted that the Cougars will find their way to the Elite Eight. It seems that what was considered ugly just seven years ago is now being considered refreshing.
Certainly there are differences between the 2000 Badgers and this year's Cougars, though the similarities are more striking. WSU does have some talented offensive players in Derrick Low and Kyle Weaver, but at 14.6 and 11.3 points per game respectively, they aren't superstars. There is no doubt that teams like UCLA and Arizona, teams the Cougars either beat or hung right with, have far more ""skilled"" basketball players. And just like his dad's teams, Tony's Cougars rank third-last in the Pac-10 in scoring but first in defense. In fact, the Cougars are allowing fewer than 60 points per game.
Just like his dad, Tony Bennett's team isn't winning any style points, but it's still winning games. It's winning with grit, hustle and teamwork, and this time the nation is watching and cheering. It's great to see this type of effort earning the recognition it deserves, and it's great to see Bennettball is still alive and well.
