Associated Press

Ritchie McKay met Dick Bennett when he was an assistant at Bradley in 1992.

The connection that brought Ritchie McKay to Virginia as Tony Bennett's top assistant actually began with Bennett's father, Dick.

McKay was 26 when he got his first Division I coaching job as an assistant on Jim Molinari's 1991-92 staff at Bradley.

At the time, Dick Bennett was the head coach at Wisconsin-Green Bay, where his 1990-91 team nearly knocked off Michigan State before losing 60-58 in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Wisconsin-Green Bay, nicknamed the Phoenix, went 24-7 in 1990-91 and followed that with a 25-5 season in 1991-92, when it played in the NIT.

Tony Bennett played on those teams and remains UWGB's all-time scoring leader with 2,285 points between 1989-92.

"His dad served as a mentor of mine," said McKay, head coach at Liberty for the past two seasons. "I believe in Coach [Dick] Bennett very strongly. I know him a little better, probably, than I know Tony."

McKay has a younger brother, Orlando, who played wide receiver at the University of Washington and was drafted by the Packers in 1992.

"I was going up to Packers' training camp," McKay said. "I called [Dick Bennett] ahead of time and asked if I could spend five minutes with him, and he ended up spending about two hours with me.

"He was the most humble, helpful, selfless individual I had seen since my dad. I grew such an admiration for his person [and] his coaching ability. I was such a huge fan of the Phoenix and Tony and some of those guys.

"Since then, he's [Dick Bennett] been somebody I've always called for help and advice, and he's been very willing to do that for me."

McKay isn't the first person to give up a Division I head-coaching job and join Virginia's staff as an assistant. In 1982, Dave Odom resigned after three seasons as the head coach at East Carolina and went to work for Terry Holland at UVa.

Odom was at Virginia for seven years before becoming the head coach at Wake Forest, where he became a three-time ACC coach of the year.

Odom was 40 when he went to UVa; McKay turns 44 later this month.

"I almost had to hide out at the Final Four because I was getting so many questions," said McKay, who has been a head coach of five Division I programs, including Portland State, Colorado State, Oregon State and New Mexico.

"People were perplexed by the move in some cases, and others were very congratulatory. It had to be a little bit of a perfect storm, it being the University of Virginia, it being Tony Bennett and my relationship with Coach [Dick Bennett].

"It would take something that special to get me to leave a job I really loved. There was not a day I spent at Liberty when I thought about coaching anywhere else."

McKay said he had spoken with Tony Bennett prior to Bennett's decision to take UVa's offer, and Bennett mentioned the possibility of McKay joining him.

"I thought that was just two buddies talking, Tony being Tony," McKay said. "I thought about it and [decided] it couldn't be right. We couldn't do it."

On the day that Bennett decided to accept Virginia's offer, he flew across the country March 30 and met with McKay. During dinner with their two wives, Bennett let McKay know that he would like him to come to UVa.

"When we left, we let him know that we would tell him the next day," McKay said. "I got up at 5:01 and my wife [Julie] and I started praying and talking about it. It was something we felt we should do."

Much has been made of Bennett's background in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest and the need for an assistant or assistants with Virginia ties. McKay was the head coach at Liberty for only two seasons, so there is some debate whether he qualifies.

"Good question," McKay said. "I think I'm familiar with it. I'm not sure if I know everyone in the state, but I definitely have an idea of some of the best coaches.

"It is a talent-rich state. If we do a good job, Virginia basketball hopefully will get back on the national scene relative to where it was at its peak."