Virginia Basketball Assistant Coach Johnny Carpenter Leaving the Program

Matt Newton | Aug 2, 2024

Virginia men's basketball assistant coach Johnny Carpenter is leaving the program after nine seasons working with the Cavaliers. / Virginia Athletics

Tony Bennett is losing a long-standing member of his Virginia men's basketball coaching staff, as assistant coach Johnny Carpenter is apparently leaving the program. Carpenter, who has been working with the Cavaliers in various capacities since 2015, revealed the news in an Instagram post on Friday morning.

"Not an easy goodbye to make... Thank You UVA!" Carpenter wrote. "There are not enough words to express my gratitude for everything this special university and basketball program has done for me. From the bottom of the ACC to the top of the country - From Student-Manager to Assistant Coach. Thank you to everyone who helped me living out my dreams and for supporting me in this new chapter. Family Forever."

Virginia confirmed the news with a thank you post on the official UVA men's basketball Instagram account and also hinted at where Carpenter may be headed for the next chapter of his coaching career, as the Memphis Grizzlies were tagged in the post.

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Carpenter is a triple Hoo, graduating from UVA with a degree in foreign affairs in 2013 and adding a master's in higher education in 2014 and an MBA from the Darden School of Business in 2023. After serving as a student manager for the Virginia men's basketball team during his days as an undergrad from 2010-2013 and then moving into a graduate assistant role for the UVA women's basketball team for the 2013-2014 season, Carpenter spent one season in the NBA as an assistant video coordinator for the Dallas Mavericks.

Other than that one year, Carpenter has spent the last 14 years at the University of Virginia. He returned to Charlottesville and joined Tony Bennett's staff as the basketball technology assistant, a role he filled from 2015-2018. Carpenter then served as director of player personnel and assisted with scouting, recruiting, and video analysis for the next five seasons before being promoted to assistant coach at the end of the 2022-2023 season. Now, after one season as an assistant coach, it seems Carpenter has landed a gig in the NBA.

Carpenter also spent time coaching Slovakia's U18 and U16 national teams in FIBA Euro Cup play in 2018 and 2019 and served as a training camp coach for the Indiana Pacers in 2022.

What this means for Virginia is that Tony Bennett has a vacancy to fill on his coaching staff with just a few months remaining before the start of the 2024-2025 college basketball season.