KANSAS CITY, MO — Arizona State men's basketball coach Randy Bennett stood in the corridor of T-Mobile Center here Tuesday, Oct. 20, talking to a reporter. Veteran Baylor coach Scott Drew wandered by and asked Bennett where a certain interview area was located.
"You're asking the wrong guy," Bennett said quickly.
Coaches and selected players gathered for the annual Big 12 Media Days in Kansas City. Bennett is a veteran in basketball circles, with 25 years at Saint Mary's, but now he is one of the three new coaches in the Big 12, considered the premier conference when it comes to men's basketball.
"This is what it's all about, competing against the best," Bennett said. "That's one thing I was looking forward to in coming here. You have to be ready
to play every game. There are no days off.
"It will be a challenge, but I'm excited about it."
This marked Bennett's first Big 12 media day appearance, so he doesn't exactly have the lay of the land at T-Mobile Center where the annual festivities are held. ASU was one of eight schools whose men's and women's team coaches and selected players did multiple interviews and promotional video and photo shoots on the first of two days here.
Defending conference champion Arizona is one of the eight featured on the second day of the event.
Of course, Bennett is excited for his first season in Tempe. As a longtime Valley resident, he's always been an ASU fan and now hopes to lead the program back to prominence. The Sun Devils are coming off a 17-16 showing in the last of Bobby Hurley's 11 years at the helm.
The school's last NCAA Tournament appearance came in 2023.
It doesn't get much better than coaching your hometown team. Bennett's father, Tom, a former coach at Mesa Community College, is a frequent visitor to practice.
"I grew up in Mesa, which is 10 minutes away from Arizona State, where I lived," Randy Bennett said. "I grew up as a Sun Devil. That's who I rooted for. I knew which team in the state that I was rooting for the whole time. So just how many guys get a chance to coach in their hometown at the big school?
"I've always thought it could be a great job. I still think it can be."
Only two holdovers from last year's team remain, and the Sun Devils were picked 12th in the preseason coaches' poll, the same spot they finished last season, but Bennett likes the players he's brought in. Outsiders have a wide range of opinions, though. The Lindy's preseason publication pegged ASU fifth, behind Arizona, Houston, Kansas, and Iowa State, all tournament qualifiers a year ago.
"I think we're going to be pretty good," Bennett said. "Granted, we haven't gone out there and played a game yet, but I think we're going to compete."
Sophomore guard Dillan Shaw and senior forward Paulius Murauskas, both of whom played under Bennett at Saint Mary's, came to the event with the coach, as did senior guard Emmanuel Innocenti, a native of the Ivory Coast who grew up in Italy. Innocenti played at Gonzaga, so he played against Bennett's previous school.
All were quick to sing Bennett's praises.
"I think it was right move for me because Coach is really great coach," said Murauskas, a first-team preseason all-conference selection. "I really trust him. I think I really improved from my freshman to sophomore season, from sophomore to junior season. I just got better. I just really trust his coaching and all the coaching staff."
Innocenti, noted more as a tenacious defender than a scorer, also had no doubt as to where he wanted to play.
"Coach is a winner," he said. "He had a lot of success at Saint Mary's. I like how his teams play; they're consistent for 40 minutes, play for each other, dominate the boards. It fit my game."
The Sun Devils make their official debut against East Tennessee State at 8 p.m. on Nov. 2 at Desert Financial Arena. They have an exhibition game at New Mexico on Oct. 25 at The Pit in Albuquerque.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Now home, Randy Bennett aims to crank up success with ASU basketball
