"We stayed the course; at least until we got the program where we thought it would be a lot better than it was, and it would likely continue that way … we achieved a level of respect and we changed the culture in terms of what fans expected and how we would do things.'' Bennett confided that he would do one thing
over again, if he had the chance. He would not have retired three games into the 2000-01 season; a move predicated on burnout; a move which put his trusted assistant, Brad Soderberg, on the firing line as the interim head coach. Given a re-do, Bennett said, "I would have stayed
that one extra year, and who knows what would have happened … if I would have stayed that would have basically saved Brad Soderberg in Division I
basketball, there's no question. And I think about that often. "I felt that I needed to do it (retire) then; I was
kind of at my wit's end. I felt that if I stayed I might hurt the kids because I could feel the fuse was lit. I thought this was the best thing to do and hope- fully it would work out for Brad — and it did, and it didn't.'' Bennett has never been able to say enough good
things about those players who helped carry the Badgers to the Final Four. "It was such a remark- able experience for a group of guys, none of whom were recognized individually (on the All-Big Ten teams),'' he said. That was their achievement, not his, he reiter- ated; an inscription for his hall of fame plaque.
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