Bennett’s future remains in Pullman

Tony Bennett had heard enough.

Enough of the rumors about LSU, Cal, Marquette, wherever. Enough of the phone ringing at his San Antonio hotel room. Enough of the contacts with recruits, friends, assistants, asking if he was leaving.

So he met with athletic director Jim Sterk and assistant A.D. Anne McCoy on Tuesday, talked about the future of men’s basketball at WSU, reiterated he wanted to be a part of that future, and, in concert with those two, decided to release a statement.

Yes, the statement didn’t say any more than Bennett is staying at WSU. It didn’t say any more than he is honoring his contract. It didn’t say any more about a new contract. But he hopes it will quiet down all the talk around the country – and, on the surface, it seems to have done just that.

The talk, and the resulting intrusions into his personal time, bugs Bennett. Yes, he talked with Indiana, listened to the Hoosiers’ spiel, thought about it, then said no. But that was it. LSU asked, he may have listened, may have even talked a little, but it went nowhere. Cal may have asked, I’m not sure, but I’m sure if the Bears did, he said he didn’t want to talk. That’s how he’s handled it.

But just because there are openings and just because his name is mentioned as a possible fit for that opening, he was forced to deal with the fallout. So he has tried to put an end to it.

And he may not have. What happens if Bill Self takes T. Boone Pickens’ multimillion dollar offer and returns to his alma mater, Oklahoma State? Think Bennett’s name won’t be linked to Kansas by somebody? Even if the school has no interest in him – the Bennett style may not be a good fit in Lawrence – and Bennett has no interest in Kansas, someone might hear from somebody that the Jayhawks have talked with a person connected to Bennett and there are ongoing conversations. All bull of course, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be taken seriously and then have to be refuted, denied, blasted out of the water.

It’s a vicious circle born out of the money college coaches make today and the vagabond existence most of them lead.

But Bennett is about as far from a vagabond as you can find. The money? Well, he is still shocked anyone would want to pay him nearly a million dollars a year to do his job. And those two elements are what most in the national media, who try to play kingmaker, don’t understand. They think Bennett is like everyone else, ready to jump at a “better job” that offers more money and a chance to win the national championship.

They don’t get a guy who thinks about his family first, second, third, ad infinitum. They don’t get a guy who is more than satisfied with the money he’s earning. They don’t get a guy who wants to win a national title, but at this point in his life welcomes the challenge of trying to win one with a certain type of player, players he can attract to Pullman. He’s different than the coaches they are used to dealing with, so they try to shove him into the coach-form they are used to. And it doesn’t work.

Not too long ago Bennett was talking with a local sportswriter about the ceiling at WSU (OK, it was me). How far WSU could go in basketball? The local guy mentioned Arizona. How no one thought you could win a national title in Tucson before Lute Olson showed up in 1984. Heck, the year before Olson took over, the Wildcats were 4-24. But, through patience and faith in his system, Olson has built a nationally recognized program in the Southwest. A national-title winning program.

If it could happen there, could it happen in Pullman? Maybe.

With his statement Tuesday, Bennett is saying he’s willing to try to find out.