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Virginia Men's Basketball Announces Coaching Staff Changes

UVA has promoted Johnny Carpenter and Isaiah Wilkins to assistant coaches and added Chase Coleman as a graduate assistant

Matt Newton

Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics
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Virginia men's basketball head coach Tony Bennett announced a series of changes to the UVA coaching staff on Wednesday afternoon, changes that included Johnny Carpenter and Isaiah Wilkins being promoted to assistant coaches and Chase Coleman being added to the staff as a graduate assistant. 

“We are thrilled to promote Johnny and Isaiah, and add Chase to our coaching staff,” Tony Bennett said in a press release. “Johnny and Isaiah have done an outstanding job working with our guys and are worthy of these promotions. We’re fortunate to keep Chase in our program as a graduate assistant. All three of these guys are outstanding coaches and have impacted our program in many ways.”

All three of these names should be quite familiar for followers of the UVA men's basketball program. Johnny Carpenter just finished his eighth season at Virginia, spending the last five seasons as the team's director of player personnel. While primarily focused on player development, scouting, recruiting, and video analysis, Carpenter has also continued his education at UVA for the last decade. A 2013 graduate of the University of Virginia, Carpenter earned his master's degree in higher education administration in 2014 and just completed his MBA from Virginia's Darden School of Business in 2023. 

Isaiah Wilkins enjoyed a decorated playing career at Virginia from 2015-2018, leading the Cavaliers to a 113-26 record over those four seasons as well as four NCAA Tournament appearances, two ACC regular season titles, and an ACC Tournament Championship. The 2018 ACC Defensive Player of the Year played a three-year professional career which included stints in the NBA G League and professional leagues in Germany, Poland, and New Zealand before returning to Grounds in 2021 to become a graduate assistant on the UVA coaching staff. After two seasons in that role, Wilkins has been promoted to assistant coach. 

Finally, Chase Coleman joins the Virginia coaching staff just a few months after concluding his four-year playing career at UVA. A former walk-on from Norfolk, Virginia, Coleman appeared in 33 games over the course of his career, which was capped by a memorable Senior Day game in which Coleman knocked down a three-pointer at the end of his final game at John Paul Jones Arena. A four-time ACC Honor Roll member and two-time recipient of the Sidney Young Memorial Award for Excellence, Coleman has always had aspirations to become a basketball coach. Now, just a few months after his playing days as a Cavalier came to an end, Coleman's coaching career officially begins in the same place. 

This has been a busy offseason for the Virginia men's basketball coaching staff. In April, UVA lost assistant coach Kyle Getter, who left after five seasons to become the associate head coach at Notre Dame. In early June, it was announced that Ron Sanchez would be returning to Virginia after spending the last five seasons as the head coach at Charlotte. Sanchez spent 12 seasons on Tony Bennett's coaching staff previously, including three seasons at Washington State and then the first nine seasons of Bennett's tenure at UVA. Sanchez now returns to Virginia as associate head coach. 

In summary, Virginia has experienced some significant coaching staff changes this offseason, but between the promotions of Johnny Carpenter and Isaiah Wilkins, the addition of Chase Coleman, and the return of Ron Sanchez, the outcome of all of these changes is a coaching staff filled with even more familiar faces than before and individuals who will be able to play key roles in maintaining the principles and the standard of excellence in the Virginia men's basketball program. 

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.

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