
The list of midseason national coach of the year contenders is remarkably diverse. One coach was still an assistant when the school year began. Another was a fixture on every “hot seat” list this past summer. A third inherited a roster without a single player who averaged more than four points per game last season. There’s a coach who’s unbeaten with nine McDonald’s All-Americans and a coach who’s unbeaten without any. There’s also a coach who’s contending in his league despite only six scholarship players and nobody taller than 6-foot-6. Below is a look at my list of midseason coach of the year candidates. Feel free to quibble with my order in the comments section or let me know who I missed. 1. Tony Bennett, Virginia With Joe Harris and Akil Mitchell graduating from a team that came from nowhere to win the ACC and earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, Virginia entered the season facing skepticism over whether it could be as good as last year. All the Cavaliers have done since then is reel off 19 straight victories and emerge as an even better team this season. Defensively, the formula has been the same as always under Bennett as Virginia has used its packline defense to wall off the paint, force contested jump shots and limit opponents to meager 34.1 percent shooting. What’s different about the Cavs this season is that while they’re still very structured and slow-paced, they have an offense that is among the more efficient nationally. Four of Virginia’s top five scorers shoot 50 percent or higher from the field including forward Justin Anderson, who is enjoying a breakout junior season. 2. Larry Krystkowiak, Utah To fully