Legendary NBA Coach Praises Arizona State's Randy Bennett

The freshly minted ASU head man continues to receive praise from across the basketball world.

Mar 18, 2026; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Saint Mary's Gaels head coach Randy Bennett gives an interview prior to a practice session ahead of the first round of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | William Purnell-Imagn Images

TEMPE -- The new era of Arizona State men's basketball is set to be officially ushered in with the introductory press conference for freshly hired head coach Randy Bennett on Wednesday evening.

Bennett is a future hall-of-fame coach that spent 25 seasons at mid-major power Saint Mary's - his track record speaks for itself, even drawing praise from a fellow Bay Area coach in Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.

Kerr Gives High Praise to Bennett

The fellow hall-of-fame caliber coach heaped praise on Bennett despite the multi-time NBA championship winner being an alum of the University of Arizona.

From Ron Kroichick of the San Fransisco Chronicle.

Mar 18, 2026; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Saint Mary's Gaels head coach Randy Bennett speaks to reporters during a practice session ahead of the first round of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | William Purnell-Imagn Images

“He’s a great basketball coach. When you have that kind of success for that long at a place like St. Mary’s, you’ve figured out a lot of ways to be successful. He just wins, and he’s won there forever. It’s a huge loss for St. Mary’s, obviously.”

While Bennett and Kerr come from different basketball backgrounds (Kerr jumped right into the NBA with a win-now roster), both have found a high level of success due to an unbreakable set of principles that both live by.

Mar 21, 2025; Cleveland, OH, USA; St. Mary's Gaels head coach Randy Bennett reacts in the first half against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Concerns still exist (age, NIL efforts) - although many of them are likely to be put to rest when the consensus from around the coaching world is positive.

Can Bennett Take Anything From Kerr's Success in NBA?

It's very doubtful that Bennett will draw anything from Kerr's approach to the offensive side of the ball - at least schematically. Kerr's offense is predicated on being one that spaces-and-paces, while Bennett prefers methodical offenses that limit mistakes and maximize the shot clock.

While Bennett may not take Kerr's offensive approach to heart, there is something in Kerr's journey to taking the Warriors to a championship level.

Mar 11, 2026; Kansas City, MO, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils guard Maurice Odum (5) drives to the basket during the first half against the Iowa State Cyclones at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | William Purnell-Imagn Images

While Golden State was already a strong team as mentioned above, Kerr's leadership took the operation to another level, which culminated in four championships.

Arizona State's positioning in the realm of college basketball isn't exactly a parallel of what the Warriors were over a decade ago, but former coach Bobby Hurley did manage to uncover some life within the program over his 11 seasons in the post. Bennett has a real opportunity to expand on the moments of greatness that Hurley managed to unearth, and to aid in taking ASU to a level that they have been striving to reach for roughly four decades.