- Dick Bennett
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Dick Bennett Sport(s) Basketball Biographical details Born April 20, 1943 Place of birth Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA Playing career 1962–1965 Ripon College (WI) Coaching career (HC unless noted) 1976–1985
1985–1995
1995–2001
2003–2006UW-Stevens Point
UW-Green Bay
Wisconsin
Washington StateAccomplishments and honors Championships NCAA Regional Championships – Final Four (2000)
Mid-Continent Conference Regular Season Championship (1992, 1994)
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Regular Season Championship (1982, 1983, 1984, 1985)Awards Wisconsin State University Conference Coach of the Year (1982, 1985)
NAIA Coach of the Year (1984)
Mid-Continent Conference Coach of the Year (1990, 1992)
NABC District 11 Coach of the Year (1992, 1994)
Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame (2007)Dick Bennett (born April 20, 1943, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American college basketball coach who is best known for revitalizing the Wisconsin Badgers basketball program. He is the father of current Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Bennett and current Northern Illinois women's basketball head coach Kathi Bennett.
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Coaching career
Bennett had enormous success at each level of collegiate coaching in Wisconsin. In the mid-1970s, he led Eau Claire Memorial High School to the state title game. In the mid-1980s, he led the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point to an NAIA title game. In the early 1990s he brought UW–Green Bay to its first three NCAA tournament appearances. And in 2000, after five years in Madison, he took the Badgers to the Final Four.
High school
Prior to collegiate coaching, Bennett was a successful high school coach for eleven years, winning 168 games and leading Eau Claire Memorial to a runner-up finish at the State tournament during the 1975–76 season.[1]
UW–Stevens Point
Bennett began his collegiate coaching career at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point in 1976, where he won 173 games in nine seasons.[2] He was named NAIA Coach of the Year after leading the 1983–84 squad to a 28–4 record and national runner-up finish. That team featured former NBA All-Star Terry Porter and former Saint Louis University head coach Brad Soderberg. In 2009, the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point renamed its basketball court Bennett Court to honor both Dick Bennett and his brother Jack Bennett.
UW–Green Bay
In 1985, Bennett moved to the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay. The Phoenix posted a 4–24 record the year before Bennett arrived, but had reached the second round of the NIT tournament by 1990.
Bennett's son Tony became the star of the team during the early 1990s. A guard who played several seasons in the NBA, Tony Bennett led the team to its first NCAA tournament berth in 1991, where the Phoenix lost to Michigan State in the first round. The following year, the UW–GB rolled to a 25–5 and won its first regular season conference title, but lost in the conference tournament. After Tony Bennett's departure in 1992, the 1993–94 team won the conference title and tournament on its way to the NCAA tournament. There, the 12th-seeded Phoenix defeated 5th-ranked California, whose roster included Jason Kidd and Lamond Murray. In Bennett's final year with the Phoenix, his team returned to the NCAA Tournament where they lost to Big Ten champion Purdue.
Wisconsin Badgers
In 1995, Bennett replaced Stan Van Gundy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison as the head coach of the men's basketball team. In Bennett's first year, the Badgers earned a bid in the NIT. Over the next four seasons Bennett coached Wisconsin to three NCAA tournament appearances including the Final Four (1999–2000). The Badgers had played in a total of three NCAA tournaments in the 97 years before his arrival. Bennett also coached Wisconsin to its first ever 20-win season in 1998–99. Bennett resigned three games into the 2000–01 season citing burnout – he said he "simply was drained".[3] During his tenure at Wisconsin he was 94–68 (.580) from 1995–2000.
Washington State Cougars
After two years off, Bennett was hired at Washington State University on March 29, 2003. He faced a daunting rebuilding project. Making strong defense a cornerstone, he started building around veterans Thomas Kelati and Jeff Varem and brought in what arguably was the greatest recruiting class in school history in 2004 (Kyle Weaver, Derrick Low, Robbie Cowgill, Chris Henry, Daven Harmeling and Josh Akognon). Bennett stayed three seasons at WSU. The team didn't post a winning record, but they did secure wins over teams they traditionally could never beat, UCLA, Arizona and Stanford. Bennett retired following the 2005–06 season and handed the program to his son and top assistant, Tony Bennett. Tony proceeded to guide the Cougars to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and a Sweet 16 showing in 2007.[4]
Coaching Awards
1982 Wisconsin State University Conference Coach of the Year
1985 Wisconsin State University Conference Coach of the Year
1985 NAIA District IV Coach of the Year
1985 NAIA Area IV Coach of the Year
1990 Mid-Continent Conference Coach of the Year
1992 Mid-Continent Conference Coach of the Year
1992 NABC District 11 Coach of the Year
1994 Basketball Times Midwest Coach of the Year
1994 NABC District 11 Coach of the Year[5] 2007 Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame[6]Legacy
Bennett recruited players who were willing to place teamwork and discipline ahead of personal statistics. His players excelled in the classroom as well as on the court. While few NBA players emerged from his programs, most of his players have gone on to success in other careers, including coaching. He was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.
Background and family
Bennett went to high school in Clintonville, Wisconsin, and graduated from Ripon College. His daughter Kathi Bennett is currently head women's basketball coach at Northern Illinois and is a former head women's basketball coach at Indiana University. His son Tony Bennett, previously the head assistant coach, was hired as WSU head coach after his father's retirement. Two years later, he accepted his current position as head coach at Virginia. His brother Jack Bennett recently retired as head coach at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point after winning back-to-back Division III national titles in 2004 and 2005. Another brother, Tom Bennett, died of AIDS-related complications at age 38 in January 1996.
Head coaching record
NAIA Division I
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason UW–Stevens Point (Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1976–1985) 1976–1977 UW–Stevens Point 9–17 4–12 9th 1977–1978 UW–Stevens Point 12–14 8–8 T–5th 1978–1979 UW–Stevens Point 14–12 9–7 T–3rd 1979–1980 UW–Stevens Point 18–10 13–3 2nd 1980–1981 UW–Stevens Point 19–8 11–5 3rd 1981–1982 UW–Stevens Point 22–6 13–3 T–1st 1982–1983 UW–Stevens Point 26–4 15–1 1st NAIA Participant 1983–1984 UW–Stevens Point 28–4 14–2 T–1st NAIA Runner–up 1984–1985 UW–Stevens Point 25–5 14–2 1st NAIA Participant UW–Stevens Point: 173–80 101–43 Total: 173–80 National Champion Conference Regular Season Champion Conference Tournament Champion
Conference Regular Season & Conference Tournament Champion Conference Division ChampionNCAA Division I
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason UW–Green Bay (Mid-Continent Conference) (1985–1994) 1985–1986 UW–Green Bay 5–23 3–11 T–7th 1986–1987 UW–Green Bay 15–14 8–6 4th 1987–1988 UW–Green Bay 18–9 9–5 3rd 1988–1989 UW–Green Bay 14–14 6–6 4th 1989–1990 UW–Green Bay 24–8 9–3 2nd NIT 2nd round 1990–1991 UW–Green Bay 24–7 13–3 2nd NCAA 1st round 1991–1992 UW–Green Bay 25–5 14–2 1st NIT 1st round 1992–1993 UW–Green Bay 13–14 9–7 T–4th 1993–1994 UW–Green Bay 27–7 15–3 1st NCAA 2nd round UW–Green Bay (Midwestern Collegiate Conference) (1994–1995) 1994–1995 UW–Green Bay 22–8 11–4 T–2nd NCAA 1st round UW–Green Bay: 187–109 97–50 Wisconsin (Big Ten Conference) (1995–2001) 1995–1996 Wisconsin 17–15 7–9 8th NIT 2nd round 1996–1997 Wisconsin 18–10 10–6 T–4th NCAA 1st round 1997–1998 Wisconsin 12–19 3–13 T–9th 1998–1999 Wisconsin 22–10 9–7 T3rd NCAA 1st round 1999–2000 Wisconsin 22–14 8–8 6th NCAA Final Four 2000–2001 Wisconsin 2–1 Wisconsin: 93–69 37–43 Washington State (Pacific-10 Conference) (2003–2006) 2003–2004 Washington State 13–16 7–11 T–7th 2004–2005 Washington State 12–16 7–11 T–6th 2005–2006 Washington State 11–17 4–14 10th Washington State: 36–49 18–36 Total: 316–227 National Champion Conference Regular Season Champion Conference Tournament Champion
Conference Regular Season & Conference Tournament Champion Conference Division ChampionReferences
- ^ *Profile at Washington State
- ^ "UW–Stevens Point To Honor Bennetts". http://www.wiacsports.com/mbasket/BennettCourt.html. Retrieved March 31, 2009.
- ^ AP (2000-11-30). "Wisconsin's Bennett Steps Down". CBS Sports. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/11/30/sports/main253623.shtml.
- ^ AP (2006-02-28). "Bennett: First goal met". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. http://www.jsonline.com/story/?id=404866.
- ^ Profile at Washington State
- ^ http://www.badgerstategames.org/hall_fame/members_byyear
Green Bay Phoenix men's basketball head coaches Dave Buss (1969–1982) • Dick Lien (1982–1985) • Dick Bennett (1985–1995) • Mike Heideman (1995–2002) • Tod Kowalczyk (2002–2010) • Brian Wardle (2010– )
Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball head coaches James C. Elsom (1898–1904) • Emmett Angell (1904–1908) • Haskell Noyes (1908–1911) • Walter Meanwell (1911–1917) • Guy Lowman (1917–1920) • Walter Meanwell (1920–1934) • Harold E. Foster (1934–1959) • John Erickson (1959–1968) • John Powless (1968–1976) • Bill Cofield (1976–1982) • Steve Yoder (1982–1992) • Stu Jackson (1992–1994) • Stan Van Gundy (1994–1995) • Dick Bennett (1995–2000) • Brad Soderberg # (2000–2001) • Bo Ryan (2001– )
Pound sign (#) denotes interim head coach.Washington State Cougars men's basketball head coaches John B. Evans (1901–1903) • James N. Ashmore (1904–1905) • Everett Sweeley (1905–1907) • John R. Bender (1907–1908) • Fred Bohler (1908–1926) • Karl Schlademan (1926–1928) • Jack Friel (1928–1958) • Marv Harshman (1958–1971) • Bob Greenwood (1971–1972) • George Raveling (1972–1983) • Len Stevens (1983–1987) • Kelvin Sampson (1987–1994) • Kevin Eastman (1994–1999) • Paul Graham (1999–2003) • Dick Bennett (2003–2006) • Tony Bennett (2006–2009) • Ken Bone (2009– )
Categories:- 1943 births
- American basketball coaches
- American basketball players
- Basketball players from Pennsylvania
- College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
- College men's basketball players in the United States
- Living people
- People from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Ripon College (Wisconsin) alumni
- University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point faculty
- Green Bay Phoenix men's basketball coaches
- Washington State Cougars men's basketball coaches
- Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball coaches
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