One year after Arizona State went 24-4 and was ranked as high as No. 3 nationally, the Sun Devils fired men's basketball head coach Ned Wulk. That was 1983.
Wulk had won an ASU record (by far) 406 games, went 39-15 against rival Arizona and coached the Sun Devils to Pac-10 records of 16-2 and 15-3 in two of his last three seasons.
What was the Sun Devil administration thinking? They thought Wulk was too old and the game was passing him by. He was 62.
Last week, ASU hired Randy Bennett, who will be 64 in June. Times change.
Saint Mary's head coach Randy Bennett reacts during the first half of a game against Gonzaga, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, in Spokane, Wash.
Houston coach Kelvin Sampson, 70, has gone 190-31 the last six years. Gonzaga's Mark Few, 63, who dominated Bennett in their year-to-year rivalry in the West Coast Conference, has shown no signs of slippage. Since 2020, Few's Zags have gone 174-31.
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Bennett won't be the oldest coach in the Big 12. He's the same age as Colorado's Tad Boyle and Kansas' Bill Self. If he can give ASU five good years — three or four trips to the NCAA Tournament — he will be worth his compensation. He knows what it is to fight like an underdog; in 24 years as Gonzaga's rival in the WCC, Saint Mary's went 7-12 in NCAA Tournament games. Gonzaga went 45-26.
Therefore, Bennett isn't likely to be intimidated by the Big 12's roster of elite coaches, from Sampson and Self to T.J. Otzelberger and Tommy Lloyd. If he can change the ho-hum image of ASU basketball before he turns 70, Bennett should be termed a success.
Former Tucson coach's coaching tree continues to grow | Greg Hansen
