Arizona legend Steve Kerr made it clear that he hates Arizona State after the Sun Devils hired Randy Bennett as their new head coach. Bennett and Kerr have shared the Bay Area as head coaches since the Golden State Warriors hired the Arizona Ring of Honoree in 2015.
Kerr has led Golden State to four NBA Championships and six finals appearances during his 11 seasons as head coach. A Mesa native, Bennett won 589 games and lost 228 in 25 seasons as the head coach at St. Mary's in Moraga, California. Bennett played at Mesa Community College and UC-Diego.
Bennett was an assistant for 15 years under coaches that included Tim Floyd and former Arizona assistant coach Lorenzo Romar. In relation to Bennett, Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Kerr said, "I haven't spoken with him yet, nor will I because I hate ASU."
In addition to the Arizona rivarly with Arizona State, Kerr has added incentive for his hatred of the Sun Devils. Arizona State fans taunted Kerr before a game in 1988 in Tempe about his father. Malcolm Kerr was assassinated in 1984 when he was the President of American University in Beirut.
More from Kerr on Bennett: “He’s a great basketball coach. When you have that kind of success for that long at a place like St. Mary’s, you’ve figured out a lot of ways to be successful. He just wins, and he’s won there forever. It’s a huge loss for St. Mary’s, obviously.”
— Ron Kroichick (@ronkroichick) March 24, 2026
Steve Kerr praises Randy Bennett
As he always does, Kerr took the high road by praising Bennett. Kerr stated about Bennett. “He’s a great basketball coach. When you have that kind of success for that long at a place like St. Mary’s, you’ve figured out a lot of ways to be successful. He just wins, and he’s won there forever. It’s a huge loss for St. Mary’s, obviously.”
Kerr also said about Bennett, "I imagine it’s something different, a life change, and it makes some sense — get re-energized and try something new." Kerr knows about trying something different. Since the end of his playing career, Kerr has been an analyst for college basketball and the NBA, the Phoenix Suns General Manager and the Warriors' head coach.
The hiring of Bennett gives Arizona State a proven head coach with a history of success in building a program into one of the best mid-majors nationally. Bennett will also reunite with Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd as rivals. Lloyd was an assistant at Gonzaga for 20 years while Bennett was at St. Mary's. That was the top West Coast Conference Rivalry.