[jetpilot]

A question for BGR BBN fans:  If you could pull the trigger on this trade right now , would you do it?

HOF'er John Calipari  for two-time Naismith COTY , two-time AP COTY, 2019 National Champ , Tony Bennett of UVA?

Calipari for Bennett... anyone ?

Absolutely not.

Bennett is a good coach but he works better at rebuilding a once competitive program like Virginia or turning a football school into a competitor than he does for a program like Kentucky, Kansas, or North Carolina. Recruiting is one of the biggest draws for those types of jobs, and I just can't see many top recruits wanting to play his style of basketball. I don't think that changes anytime soon either. He's had 11 players drafted, with four of those from his 2019 team & the best of those (Klay Thompson) being one of the oldest.

Here are the results of his past seven seasons:

2018 - #1 seed, upset by #16
2019 - National Champ
2020 - COVID (20-7, #42 KenPom)
2021 - #4 seed, upset by #13
2022 - NIT
2023 - #4 seed, upset by #13
2024 - #10 seed, lost in play-in

Honestly, if he doesn't find a way to reinvent himself or return to form at Virginia, he might be out in a few years. If so, he probably fits better stylistically in the Big Ten, but I also wouldn't really be shocked if he wound up at a Georgia or Texas A&M-type SEC program that wants to be seen as making a splashy hire either.

Yeah, as good a coach as Tony "I've gone from Riches to Rags" Bennett is, very few UK fans would trade the Legend for him.

Tony has gone from riches to rags and has won a championship 5 years after Cal last did. Big red nose, big shoes. Nobody wants Bennett or Cal.