ASU’s Randy Bennett named ‘best coaching hire’ by CBS Sports’ polling of Division I coaches

Arizona State’s hiring of Randy Bennett to replace Bobby Hurley as the men’s basketball coach was recognized nationally. CBS Sports named the Sun Devils’ decision the best hire of the offseason, based on 100 Division I coaches it spoke with.

Bennett earned 32% of the votes for the best hire, beating out Cincinnati’s hire of Jerrod Calhoun by 2%. Calhoun earned 30% of the votes, and no other coach earned half as many as Bennett did.

Here’s a list of the top eight hires, based on CBS Sports’ polling of Division I coaches:

1. Randy Bennett (Arizona State): 32%
2. Jerrod Calhoun (Cincinnati): 30%
3. Michael Malone (North Carolina): 16%
4. Bryan Hodgson (Providence): 8%
5. Will Wade (LSU): 3%
6. Justin Gainey (NC State): 3%
7. Casey Alexander (Kansas State): 2%
8. Luke Murray (Boston College): 2%

Bennett’s ability to build a proven program and the way his team carries themselves is what stood out to other coaches.

“Proven program-builder. Has won for a long time. Stayed in the region. Really impressive pickup,” one coach told CBS Sports.

“His teams always play winning basketball. Old-school fundamentals. … His teams play with no ego and tremendous spirit. Also, his deliberate style/tempo makes them difficult to play against,” another coach said.

Bennett coached Saint Mary’s for the last 25 seasons and the Gaels had more than 10 losses eight times over that span. The 64-year-old coach led his squad to the NCAA Tournament each of the last five years and 12 times during his tenure at Saint Mary’s.

ASU hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2022-23 and hasn’t been better than one game over .500 since it joined the Big 12.

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