Before this year, his best years were with a team his dad built. Until 2 years ago, his career was on a keno Davis like trajectory.
I'm not saying he's bad, but sustained top level competitiveness is certainly something be has not demonstrated so far.
Fair points, you're correct that he's yet to truly demonstrate sustained high-level success. But I posted this in another thread sometime a few days ago: consider the state of the Virginia program Bennett inherited (a total mess - our previous coach was not good, to put it lightly), and take a look at his teams' records in the 5 seasons he's been at the helm:
2010: 15-16 (5-11)
2011: 16-15 (7-9)
2012: 22-10 (9-7) - NCAA Tournament appearance
2013: 23-12 (11-7) - NIT quarterfinals
2014: 24-5 (15-1) - NCAA Tournament lock
There's a steady pattern of improvement there. It's taken Bennett some time to find the right mix of players as guys from the previous regime have transferred and graduated, but the steady continuity of the process is why many UVA fans believe he is building a program that will be here to stay as a competitor in a top-notch ACC conference. What's also encouraging is that many players, even those he did not recruit, have demonstrated noticeable improvement under the coaching of Bennett and his staff. Joe Harris and Akil Mitchell, this year's two scholarship seniors and the only two remaining members of Bennett's first recruiting class, are prime examples. Harris has transformed from a one-dimensional outside shooter who was often beaten on defense as a first-year into one of the team's smartest and most versatile offensive players and a very sound defender. Mitchell, an unheralded project player with raw skills and 3/4 tweener size coming out of high school, has built on his plus athleticism and hustle to become one of the best post defenders in the ACC and has dramatically expanded his offensive capabilities since his first year. You may take year-to-year player development for granted, but try rooting for a program that hasn't had anything close to your level of coaching for many years, and you'll see how refreshing it is to have a coach that can bring out that growth in his players.
It's player examples like this, plus the team improvements - both statistical and record-wise - that have UVA fans feeling confident that after several decades of coaching struggles, we finally have our man. You aren't wrong, he still has much to prove if he is to build UVA into a year-in-year-out ACC contender, but right now we're happy as a fanbase to have most signs pointing in that direction.
