Randy Bennett doesn’t want NIL to be ASU’s motivation, says Diop’s ‘number was too high’
Randy Bennett shared his vision for roster building that runs counter to modern NIL when he was formally introduced Thursday, crediting his staff for getting the tenure started right while he dealt with a health situation.
Watch: Randy Bennett introduced as ASU men's basketball coach | 40 mins
TEMPE — Randy Bennett will mold the Arizona State men’s basketball program he now leads into one built on retention.
Much of his formal introduction on Thursday centered around finding players who want to “be part of something bigger than themselves” rather than players looking out for their own best interests.
“They’re still out there, but how you recruit them, who you recruit, all that stuff’s a factor,” Bennett said.
It’s a massive component for the Sun Devils’ top transfer portal addition, Paulius Murauskas — as well as their top departure, Massamba Diop.
“A lot of people think decisions in the transfer portal are only about money, but for me it is about people,” Murauskas wrote on social media. “I believe in relationships, loyalty and love. … I followed my heart and chose the place where I trust the people and feel valued not just as a player, but as a person.
“Money is important, but the people in your life matter more.”
Then there’s Diop, who headed for Gonzaga after a standout freshman season at ASU. Bennett said it starkly: “His number was too high.”
Retention has not been a recent trademark of the program. Going into Bobby Hurley’s final season, there was only one scholarship player returning in Trevor Best, who joined the team in the middle of the prior year.
This season will include two holdovers from that final Hurley squad: guard Bryce Ford and wing Vijay Wallace, the latter of whom did not play due to a preseason exhibition injury.
ASU has been a top-five seed in the NCAA Tournament only three times, and two were in back-to-back seasons as the 1970s turned into the 80s. Bennett remembers these teams fondly and wants to get the program back to that level of success.
He sees retention as a fast track to that because of how development can compound. The way the roster is set up at this point, all players will have the chance to return with no eligibility set to run out.
“NIL is here, and we’re going to be competitive in that space,” ASU athletic director Graham Rossini said. “Do we live at the top end of that? No. Is that going to be our playbook? No. We feel like we’ve got a number of attributes to recruit athletes to ASU and not just lead with the financial outcome.
“Lead about the student-athlete experience, lean into the education, lean into the place to live, lean into the network that you get by becoming a Sun Devil and playing that long game.”
Rossini named Jordyn Tyson as an example who stuck around when he saw what his coaches could do for him rather than bolting off for more money.
The athletic director said a lack of transparency makes it hard to see where ASU stacks up in NIL compared to other teams. He’s instead gone to Bennett and asked what’s needed to field a competitive roster in the Big 12.
Randy Bennett credits staff for weathering health issue
There were 45 days between Bennett taking the job and his introduction on Thursday.
He spent 10 days in the hospital and another two weeks after that unable to work, relying on his associate head coaches Rick Croy, David Patrick and Joe Rahon for help. Croy and Patrick arrived with previous experience in the top role at other stops.
“They carried me for the first two weeks of this job,” Bennett said. “Rick, David and Joe were here right away. We didn’t have a team, so it was interesting. We had to go build a team.”
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Bennett said his first day back in the office was April 6, one day before the transfer portal opened.
Other ASU notes
— Bennett’s contract remains unsigned at this point, as first reported by azcentral. Rossini said he doesn’t find it unusual and that the sides are “working through some final legal red lines.” The Arizona Board of Regents has already approved the contract.
— On the injury front, Ford recently underwent hip surgery and will miss most of the offseason but could be back to practicing by October.
— Bennett’s first nonconference slate at ASU will include matchups against UCLA, Oklahoma, Oregon State and Tulsa, along with an appearance in the Acrisure Series in Palm Springs.
— Recently-announced staff member Drew Seidenberger will serve as a liaison between Bennett and Rossini. Bennett described it as a general manager-type role for Seidenberger, who had a previous connection with the AD from when he was in the Pac-12 office the previous seven years. He has also helped piece together the nonconference schedule.
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Comments
7 Comments
So, focus much less on the NIL $'s and more on the getting the right people who want to be here because of the culture, the environment, the education. That is noble and admirable and maybe that worked at St. Mary's and other programs of that size but this is the Big 12 and I see lots of mediocre-to-wretched seasons ahead if they stick to this mantra and as long as there are no guardrails on the NIL and xfer portal. "College athletes" in the revenue generating sports are all about the money now. Period.
Bennett's whining about NIL is not attractive, nor will that whine likely enable him to attract the top recruits ASU will need to be competitive in the Big 12. Fact is, Bennett was forced to wildly overpay to sign Paulius Murauskas, who signed with ASU because they offered him the most money. How much of an overpay was Murauskas? Ask Louisville and Kentucky.
The other reality is that Bennett's health or lack thereof, is being very effectively used by opponents to caution recruits from ASU. Compared to how Bennett looked a year ago, while he was constantly smiling, he still looked like crap at the presser, like a guy who is battling a serious disease.
If not for a late season injury, from which he's still recovering, Bryce Ford likely would have left too. Same thing with Vijay Wallace. Not being able to retain Diop, the best talent from last year's squad, means that Bennett was a complete and total fail in retaining any of Hurley's players, which does tend to add weight to opponents claim that Bennett has MAJOR health issues.
So far, I am not impressed by Bennett
In today's age of professional college sports claiming someone's NIL price is too high lacks substance without the details. Gonzaga certainly didn't find the price too high so it remains to be seen whether it was worth it for them and we will never know if it would have been worth it for us. Doesn't give me confidence for more than continued mediocracy for ASU with or without this new coach.