Wisconsin’s Bennett Retires

Rebuilding basketball programs for 36 years finally got the best of Dick Bennett.

The defensive tactician who guided Wisconsin to an NCAA Final Four appearance last season is retiring because of burnout.

“I just simply was drained. I just simply could not keep up and it began to bother me,” Bennett said Thursday at a news conference, where he was flanked by his wife, Anne, and Wisconsin Athletic Director Pat Richter. “I don’t want to go out cynical.”

Bennett, 57, said his health was fine but that he began to notice he wasn’t paying attention to details. He said he knew then it was time to say goodbye.

Assistant Brad Soderberg, who played for Bennett at Wisconsin Stevens Point in the early 1980s, was hired as acting coach for the remainder of the season. His first game is Saturday, when the No. 23 Badgers (2-1) play Xavier.

Bennett came to Wisconsin in 1995 after twice being passed over for the job. Before that, he spent nine years at Wisconsin Stevens Point and 10 seasons at Wisconsin Green Bay.

“I have been blessed to be able to do the thing I’ve always wanted to do, in the state I always wanted to do it and I ended up at the place I always wanted to be,” he said.