Cavaliers taking shape on the court

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Tony Bennett has been running basketball practices at U.Va. for a week now. In that time, and since workouts started this fall, the players have learned a few things about him.

The 40-year-old coach is a big fan of the movie "Rocky," and says he wants to install a "bulldog mentality" among this year's Cavaliers. He's old enough that he's taken up golf, but young enough that he carries around an iPod. He also remembers what it's like to be a player, and plans drills accordingly.

But above all, the players have learned this: They will play strong defense this year.

"You mess up and take a bad shot on offense, he might get mad," guard Jontel Evans said. "But you give up a play on defense, and oh, maaaan."

Evans gives a head shake, indicating that a defensive lapse is the most serious type in the eyes of the coach.

Bennett is weeks away from his first game as head coach at Virginia and refuses to place unrealistic expectations on this year's squad. He's rebuilding the mentality of the program from the fundamentals up, emphasizing ball control and defense.

"As a younger coach, I wanted to do about 12 things really well," he said. "But that's impossible. You can't. So I hope in time you'll look at this team and say that that's what they hang their hat on -- they control the ball well, and they defend well."

The rebuilding program will be instituted with players from a 10-18 season last year, the last for coach Dave Leitao.

Players say they're welcoming Bennett's approach so far. He's coming off a successful stint at Washington State, and will look to implement his defensive-minded strategy in Charlottesville.

Bennett remains the NCAA leader in career 3-point percentage, and said that he still tries to think like a player when planning drills.

"I try to think, as a player, what did I like? What did I understand? If you do drills for the sake of doing drills, it doesn't work," he said. "Whatever you do has to fit into the big picture."

That's why he takes time to explain to his players the overall goals of each drill and practice.

The coaches were allowed to work with small groups of players during the fall and last Friday began work with the whole team. Bennett said that he's focusing more on fundamentals and technique at the start, and that he'll build into plays and other skill development.

"If we have short-term success, that's great, but we're building for the long haul," he said. "I'm realistic. There's some ground to cover and some work to do."

It remains to be seen if that attitude can stick through an entire season in the ACC, but for now, the players are buying in and ready to participate -- and they're starting to take pride in playing defense.

"We might not score a lot of points," guard Tristan Spurlock said. "But I don't think any team is going to be able to score a lot of points against us."