Arizona State basketball coach Randy Bennett is diving into his ‘dream job’ following health issue
TEMPE, Ariz. — Randy Bennett was thrilled to be introduced as the next coach at Arizona State, his hometown school and the only place that could lure him away from a 25-year career at Saint Mary’s. A health issue interrupted, sending him to the hospital and pushing back his introductory news conference to five weeks after he was hired.
“Sorry about the pump fake on the first one,” Bennett said. “I should do much better on this one. ” Bennett had said no to overtures from bigger programs for years, comfortable with his family and his place in the basketball world at Saint Mary’s.
When Arizona State came calling after the firing of Bobby Hurley, the job was too good to pass up for a coach who grew up in the Phoenix area and watched the Sun Devils in their heyday. The 63-year-old coach has settled into his “dream job” — after a bit of a scare. Hired on March 23, Bennett started feeling ill shortly after arriving in Phoenix.
Arizona State’s trainer took him to the hospital and he spent the next 10 days dealing with and recovering from an undisclosed medical issue. “Thank God for Mayo Clinic,” Bennett said. “I don’t know where I’d be without them.
It threw me off a bit, but the last thing I needed to be doing was stressing out about the portal, the job. Now I’m catching my stride, working longer days. We’ve gotten a lot done in five weeks.