For Bennetts, coaching is all in the family

It didn't necessarily have to be doctor, lawyer or corporate CEO. But Dick Bennett was kind of hoping it wouldn't be coach.

Bennett, the legendary men's college basketball coach who turned mid-major Wisconsin-Green Bay into a force in the early 1990s and then led Wisconsin to the Final Four in 2000, was never keen on the idea of his children following in his footsteps when it came time for them to choose a career.

“No, I didn't want that. I wanted them to go into something else,” said the now-retired 71-year-old Bennett. “I love the game. And I always wanted to be a basketball coach. It was great for me. But I also know the pitfalls and that it's so much harder today at all levels.”

Bennett never told his kids they weren't allowed to go into coaching, and as it turns out, it might not have made a difference.

Two of his three children, Kathi and Tony, seemed destined from a young age, hooked on the game they grew up watching and playing day after day as they tagged along with their dad.

“I'd have birthdays at the gym sometimes,” Kathi Bennett said with a laugh. “I'd be watching my dad's practice, and his players would sing ‘Happy Birthday' to me.”

Now, Kathi's own players can do that.

She and brother Tony may be the only brother-sister coaching duo in Division I basketball and also the children of a Division I coach.

Kathi is the head women's coach at Northern Illinois, a team that has won four of its last five games, is one of the hottest teams in the MAC and is intent on making some noise at the league tournament in March.

Tony, meanwhile, has built a powerhouse as the head men's coach at Virginia. The Cavaliers are currently 22-1 and ranked second in the nation by the Associated Press.

Both are known for a strong commitment to defense, just like their dad was.

“I'm just thrilled for Tony and the way he's got his guys playing at such a high level,” said Kathi Bennett, whose injury-plagued team is 10-11 but playing some of its best basketball right now. “He's his own man now, but I know he still calls dad before every game. Tony gets so much (advice and insight) from him.”

Dick Bennett gets out to the East Coast at least once or twice a year to watch Tony coach. He gets to Kathi's games at Northern Illinois more often since he lives nearby with his wife Anne in central Wisconsin, where he golfs as often as possible and holds basketball clinics for local kids in the summers.

“I really enjoy watching Kathi coach,” Dick Bennett said. “I always used to say that she was the best coach in our family because she has this way of doing more with less than any coach I've ever seen. She's really good at molding players and molding a team.

“It's harder for me to watch Tony coach because, I don't know, I think it's just that the anxiety level is so high. I'll have flashbacks to my own 40 years in the game.”

Bennett, who coached high school basketball for years before making stops at Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Wisconsin-Green Bay, Wisconsin and Washington State, retired in 2006 after 38 years.

His kids are still going strong, though, and cheering each other on.

“It's not like they're competing with each other (for wins, coaching success), although they have been competitive with each other in the past,” Dick Bennett said of Kathi and Tony with a laugh. “I think the maddest I've ever seen Kathi was when Tony beat her for the first time in 1-on-1 when they were kids. She was a really, really good player and she couldn't believe that he actually beat her.

“But other than that, they've always gotten along really well, they really love each other and they're always pulling for each other.”

pbabcock@dailyherald.com

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