Dick Bennett got over a case of coaching burnout that caused him to leave Wisconsin early in the 2001 season, and has taken on the challenge of reviving a program that hasn't had a winning record in seven years.
Bennett, who replaced the fired Paul Graham, said he returned because he missed the game and the interaction with players.
"I am very thankful to be back in the game I love," said Bennett, who has a 453-258 career record. "Our profession is not so much the destination, but the journey. I found that I missed the journey."
The Cougars will journey to Fairbanks, Alaska, to open the season at the Top of the World Classic on Nov. 20. Making the trip a little easier will be the presence of senior Marcus Moore, who led the team in scoring, rebounds and steals last season.
Moore flirted with entering the NBA draft, but decided to withdraw his name and return to school. The 6-foot-6 guard is among 30 candidates on the 2003-2004 Naismith Men's College Basketball Player of the Year preseason list.
Bennett acknowledged that convincing Moore, who averaged 18 points per game on just 35 percent shooting, to buy into his slow, deliberate offensive scheme is among his biggest challenges.
"Marcus Moore is necessary to give us that one threat or offensive credibility that will require some preparation by our opponents," Bennett said.
"But he has to overcome a considerable number of habits that he has developed over the years that sometimes get in the way," Bennett said. "He's been getting by with his skills."
Moore also averaged 5.4 rebounds and 1.66 steals per game last season, but missed nine games with ankle surgery.
One disappointment has been the possible loss of transfer Jeff Varem to NCAA eligibility issues. The 6-foot-6 guard from Nigeria played two years at Vincennes, averaging 15 points and nearly 9 rebounds per game last season.
Bennett said he had no idea when Varem would be cleared to play.
Varem would have likely been a starter, along with Moore, Chris Schlatter (7 ppg, 3 rpg), Thomas Kelati (10 ppg, 3 rpg), and Shami Gill (6 ppg, 4 rpg).
The door is now open for Justin Bellegarde, Ezenwa Ukeagu and Anthony Grant to earn some playing time, Bennett said.
Graham was 31-79 in his four seasons, including 7-20 last year. His teams won just nine Pacific 10 games over four seasons, and attendance fell to just 2,300 per game last year.
Bennett has been careful not to promise too much to those who remember his quick turnarounds of Wisconsin-Green Bay and Wisconsin. He left Wisconsin eight months after leading the Badgers to the Final Four.
"There is a major rebuilding job that needs to be done," Bennett said. "I'm very excited about the challenge, but also very realistic. I've entered into these things before. Perhaps this is the biggest challenge, and yet, I've been quite impressed with the young men I've dealt with."
He is helped by a lackluster non-conference schedule that includes Southern Utah, Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne, Texas Christian, Montana and Idaho.
Bennett's goal is to make trips to remote, frozen Pullman as difficult as possible for visiting teams.
"I want to compete and make it hard on our opponent every night," Bennett said.