Tony Bennett’s retirement is yet another sign of college basketball’s brain drain [Video]

In what is normally a time of optimism and celebration for the start of college basketball, Tony Bennett instantly deflated the mood last week. 

Bennett’s sudden retirement so close to the start of the season shocked everybody— not just because of the announcement, but also because of the timing. Bailing on the University of Virginia before the season opener next month invites criticism, as it should. 

Bennett said, “The game and college athletics are not in a healthy spot. I think I was equipped to do the job the old way.” 

That quote is honest but also self-serving. It implies that the old way was better. The old way made coaches like him millionaires while denying fair compensation for exploited labor. If you want to argue that the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction, we can have that conservation. NIL (name, image, and likeness) money and the transfer portal have made the sport …