Former Virginia players react to Hoos making 2019 Final Four

Tony Bennett is taking the Virginia Cavaliers to the 2019 Final Four on the 10th anniversary of his hiring at UVA. The day is sweet validation for the coach and his vision for the Virginia program. And members of Bennett’s prior teams weighed in to celebrate with their coach.

Jontel Evans was a freshman during Bennett’s first season in 2010 and was a key part of the Hoos’ return to the postseason in 2012 for the first time in five years.

Mike Scott was first-team All-ACC his senior season in 2011-12. His surge toward conference player of the year introduced fans—even if not all the Tobacco Road journalists—to the proper perspective of pace-adjusted statistics.

Jerome Meyinsse was a senior on that same 2010 squad—there for the beginning but not able to reap the joy of seasons that followed.

Justin Anderson was the first counter-argument to “Virginia doesn't have any athletes,” and now plays for the Atlanta Hawks.

When Bennett’s Hoos won the ACC Tournament in 2014—their first conference tournament title since 1976—Akil Mitchell was a key defensive cog

London Perrantes personified the Bennett era: a lightly recruited point guard who bought into the team mentality and helmed the team from his first year in 2014 through 2017.

That team-first approach has followed through to Twitter, where these guys stay connected through the years.