New Arizona State coach Randy Bennett had to reschedule his introductory news conference Monday as he's dealing with an undisclosed medical issue.
"Last week, when I arrived in Arizona, a health situation surfaced that I'm working through right now," Bennett said Monday in a statement released by the university. "I'm in good hands, we feel good about the plan, and I'm incredibly appreciative of the care I've received from the team at Mayo Clinic. Everything is under control, and I will be back at full strength very soon."
Bennett, 63, initially was scheduled to be introduced last week, but that also was postponed after athletic director Graham Rossini said the Sun Devils' new coach was "feeling under the weather, dealing with an illness."
Despite him still not being available, Bennett is still working to shore up his staff, adding Cal Baptist head coach Rick Croy on Monday to be one of his associate head coaches.
Croy will join Joe Rahon, who was part of Bennett's staff at Saint Mary's, in that role at Arizona State.
Croy spent the past 13 years at Cal Baptist, leading the Lancers to a school-record 25 wins this season, their first Western Athletic Conference tournament title and a No. 13 seed in the NCAA tournament. He previously spent three seasons at St. Mary's as the lead assistant to Bennett.
Rahon played under Bennett for two seasons and started his coaching career as a graduate assistant for the Gaels. He coached at Saint Mary's for five seasons, the last as associate head coach.
"What I want people to know is that nothing about our momentum has changed," Bennett said in a statement. "We are moving forward and I am excited to announce two of our associate head coaches, a duo I have a ton of trust in and who truly want to be at ASU. They both bring great experience, strong relationships, and real energy as our program continues to grow."
Bennett was hired March 23 to replace Bobby Hurley, who was fired after 11 seasons. Bennett coached Saint Mary's for 25 years and repeatedly turned down opportunities at larger schools, but the opportunity to coach near where he grew up was too much to pass up.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
