Arizona State Basketball 2026-27 - Bennett Hired

[SeattleCardinal]

So who will the new coach be?

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[SeattleCardinal]

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[Dback Jon]

Wow

 

[jf-08]

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He's intriguing, but he's also 63.

 

[SeattleCardinal]

He's intriguing, but he's also 63.

That's certainly a concern, although there are some coaches like Rick Pitino, Kelvin Sampson, and Tom Izzo that have shown it is possible to coach in their late 60s/early 70s. It would be nice to see a guy like Bennett rebuild the program and then hand it over to a younger coach. I have no idea if he would be a viable possibility as Bennett's assistant in Tempe and head coach in waiting, but this St. Mary's coach (and Arizona native) seems to have a good reputation:

Mickey McConnell - Men's Basketball Coach - SMC California Athletics

McConnell enters his seventh season on the coaching staff of the Gaels after returning to Saint Mary's in the summer of 2019. He previously played under Rand...

smcgaels.com

It's possible that McConnell would get the St. Mary's HC job, I guess.

 

[Mainstreet]

He's intriguing, but he's also 63.

There is that local connection. Also, ASU needs to lay the foundation for their program going forward.

 

[SeattleCardinal]

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[SeattleCardinal]

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[AZJ]

Local connection is cool but I am worried about the age factor and how many more years he has in him. Maybe if he's looking to stabilize us and then transition to the next guy.

I also kinda can't help but wonder why he'd leave St Mary's at this point. He's been with them forever and Gonzaga is moving to the Pac12. St Mary's could well run the WCC in the foreseeable future. Is it worth it to leave that to possibly struggle in the loaded Big XII? I guess we'll see.

 

[RON_IN_OC]

Local connection is cool but I am worried about the age factor and how many more years he has in him. Maybe if he's looking to stabilize us and then transition to the next guy.

I also kinda can't help but wonder why he'd leave St Mary's at this point. He's been with them forever and Gonzaga is moving to the Pac12. St Mary's could well run the WCC in the foreseeable future. Is it worth it to leave that to possibly struggle in the loaded Big XII? I guess we'll see.

Some guys just don't want to ever think, what might have been. Even at 63, if he's in good health and still has an itch, by all means he should scratch it.

 

[jf-08]

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[AZJ]

Well, it is official. Randy Bennett is the next HC for Devils basketball.

BREAKING: Randy Bennett will be hired as ASU's new basketball head coach

The Arizona-born and St. Mary's head coach will replace Bobby Hurley to lead the Sun Devils' basketball program

www.on3.com

 

[jf-08]

Arizona State is finalizing a five-year deal with Saint Mary's... - ESPN

Read the breaking news story from the ESPN contributor Pete Thamel

www.espn.com

 

[Brian in Mesa]

I was hoping for a much younger HC, but at least he has local connections. Eh.

 

[Dback Jon]

Local connection is cool but I am worried about the age factor and how many more years he has in him. Maybe if he's looking to stabilize us and then transition to the next guy.

I also kinda can't help but wonder why he'd leave St Mary's at this point. He's been with them forever and Gonzaga is moving to the Pac12. St Mary's could well run the WCC in the foreseeable future. Is it worth it to leave that to possibly struggle in the loaded Big XII? I guess we'll see.

Same age as Curt Cignetti...

 

[AZJ]

Same age as Curt Cignetti...

Fair.

If he comes out and says "Google me", I'm all in!

 

[Raindog]

Probably a good hire. In this day and age, recruiting doesn't matter nearly as much as retention (i.e, paying NIL) and actual command of basketball tutoring and in-game strategy.

Hurley was a good recruiter, and had almost no skill in the other two areas. Bennett certainly has the latter skill set. If he can actually get the funding to keep guys in the program (a big if), he has a good chance to maybe turn around ASU's fortunes.

 

[jf-08]

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[RON_IN_OC]

Fair.

If he comes out and says "Google me", I'm all in!

If he says Lougle Me, even better.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

If he says Lougle Me, even better.

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[Mainstreet]

Addressing the age question, look at the coaches now coaching in the Sweet Sixteen.

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[Mainstreet]

It will be nice to see a defensive team at ASU.

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[ASUCHRIS]

Sounds like he understands ASU, and can coach up teams. I'm not thrilled with his offensive style, but I can deal with it if it means we win and get to the tourney.

 

[Mainstreet]

An excellent podcast that puts into perspective the hire of Randy Bennett.

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[AZJ]

It will be nice to see a defensive team at ASU.

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I love the idea of us taking high-percentage shots.

It was immensely frustrating watching Bobby's teams just jacking everything up as shots continued to miss.