March 23, 20241 yr Interesting read... "Why was Rick Barnes fired at Texas? How former Longhorns coach came to Tennessee basketball" https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/college/university-of-tennessee/mens-basketball/2024/03/23/rick-barnes-fired-texas-tennessee-basketball-march-madness-vols-record/73069697007/ From article: Why was Rick Barnes fired from Texas? In short — and this speaks more true to today's college athletics landscape — Barnes' firing at Texas came down to winning. Barnes, who came to Texas following four seasons at Clemson, led the Longhorns to the NCAA tournament on 16 different occasions and three Big 12 regular-season titles. He became the program's all-time winningest coach and brought the Longhorns to the school's first Final Four in over 50 years in 2003, his fifth season at the helm. Despite all that, one thing was missing: consistent postseason success. And when you coach at a program like Texas, where you have the expectations to win not only on the court but also in recruiting with 5-star recruits and have all the resources to win, that becomes the top priority. Barnes had not won the Big 12 tournament title nor led the Longhorns past the Elite Eight after that 2003 season. It looked like Barnes would return to the Longhorns sidelines after Texas lost to Butler in the first round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament. Barnes said in his farewell news conference that he was told that by then-Texas athletic director Steve Patterson, but things changed. There were reports, which Barnes confirmed at that news conference, that he could have held onto his job if he fired his entire coaching staff, but Barnes didn't do that. "I couldn't do that. That would be me saying this is about me," Barnes said. "I've been carried by a lot of people here. We're in this together." Edited March 23, 20241 yr by LTtxfan
March 24, 20241 yr Welp, if Texas is gonna lose, would rather it be to Rick than anyone else. Stings less. Well done, Mr. Barnes.
March 24, 20241 yr tennessee vs creighton looks like the best matchup of the S16 to this point. Edited March 24, 20241 yr by shadow_operative
March 24, 20241 yr 3 minutes ago, shadow_operative said: tennessee vs creighton looks like the best matchup of the S16 to this point. iowa state/illinois should be fantastic as well. think purdue/gonzaga would be really good too if it happens.
March 24, 20241 yr 3rd trip to the Sweet 16 in the last five years for Barnes. even more surprising, their fans have come around to actually liking him/realizing they are fortunate to have him.
March 24, 20241 yr Popular Post Hard to hate Barnes. He is the best coach in our program's history. I don't fault Patterson for forcing him to make staff changes. We were underachieving given the program's resources. But it speaks to Barnes' character that he left on his own terms, took personal responsibility and refused to fire his staff. I guess I'll pull for him to win the whole damn thing.
March 26, 20241 yr tennessee opens at -2.5. neither barnes nor mcdermott have great tourney records. as usual this game will almost certainly come down to creighton’s three point shooting. knecht and ziegler cannot play like they did against us if tennessee wants to win.
March 26, 20241 yr 13 hours ago, shadow_operative said: tennessee opens at -2.5. neither barnes nor mcdermott have great tourney records.
March 27, 20241 yr from second team all-mwc last year (16.5 ppg) to a consensus all american and naismith finalist this year. really nice job identifying and developing talent by Barnes. very few coaches who identify and develop underrated talent as well as rick barnes.
March 29, 20241 yr watch this and tell me you aren’t rooting for tennessee tomorrow. Edited March 29, 20241 yr by shadow_operative
March 29, 20241 yr 11 hours ago, shadow_operative said: watch this and tell me you aren’t rooting for Tennessee tomorrow. I haven't watched it. I will though. But I'm not rooting for Tennessee. I think the world of Barnes. I still want him to lose.
March 29, 20241 yr I know it’s not cool in these parts but I’m rooting for both Bama & UTenn to pop their FF cherries.
March 29, 20241 yr I root for those who I believe do it the "right" way and deserve good things. Barnes deserves at least one more FF on the resume and I will root for him to get it. I won't root for a future conference opponent to win it all, but a loss in the title game would be just fine and a career high for the man.
March 29, 20241 yr Barnes is 5-0 all-time against Creighton’s head coach, Greg McDermott. https://www.rockytopinsider.com/2024/03/28/by-the-numbers-tennessees-match-up-with-creighton-in-the-sweet-sixteen/
March 30, 20241 yr really happy for coach barnes. that was a really good win. and now, either rick barnes or matt painter is going to the final four. i’m rooting for rick in his rematch with the boilermakers.
March 31, 20241 yr 48 minutes ago, Braff Zacklin said: Hope he gets No.10 this afternoon. If they will let them play we can beat Purdue. I don’t know how much you’ve watched of Purdue but their big guy gets a lot of calls. Purdue coach yesterday was already planting the seeds.
March 31, 20241 yr Out of the teams left, I'm probably rooting for NC State to keep their improbable heater going, but Barnes would be my second choice.
March 31, 20241 yr 5 hours ago, Clintonaldo said: If they will let them play we can beat Purdue. I don’t know how much you’ve watched of Purdue but their big guy gets a lot of calls. Purdue coach yesterday was already planting the seeds. Also they beat us by 4 to start the year and they shot 48 free throws.
March 31, 20241 yr Well I was hoping another ut would beat purdue in NCAA tournament... not today. Damn. 😒 But we'll always have panama... Spoiler
March 31, 20241 yr the university of Texas hasn’t had a coach who was truly beloved by his players since rick barnes, and that’s something that i really miss about him.
April 1, 20241 yr Just my opinion: Not a good late stretch offensively for Tennessee... too much get the ball to Knecht and let him jack it up. Wish vols would have been more patient and worked to get to the foul line more down the stretch. Sucks that Purdue won today.
April 1, 20241 yr 2 hours ago, shadow_operative said: the university of Texas hasn’t had a coach who was truly beloved by his players since rick barnes, and that’s something that i really miss about him. The players seem to love Rodney Terry as well, oh the most familiar Horn basketball player of all-time seems fond of him too. Rick was a good coach, like I mentioned earlier both parties needed fresh starts. Rick rebooted his career and who knows what the future holds for Texas. With several portal additions and the incoming class Texas could very well make some noise next season, especially downgrading competition. https://www.heartlandcollegesports.com/2024/03/26/dylan-disu-says-rodney-terry-saved-basketball-for-him/ Edited April 1, 20241 yr by Chad
April 1, 20241 yr Barnes is a good coach that's probably undervalued by some but just seems like he has a ceiling in March due to offensive deficiencies on all his teams. I was starting to wonder if this might be the team for Barnes to do something special with a player like Knecht who can often bail you out on the offensive end.
April 1, 20241 yr People won't say it but the best moves for Shaka and Barnes were getting out of the Big 12. That's helped them stack wins and get higher seeds which = easier match ups in the early rounds. Edited April 1, 20241 yr by Rickylovesweed
April 1, 20241 yr 3 hours ago, shadow_operative said: the university of Texas hasn’t had a coach who was truly beloved by his players since rick barnes, and that’s something that i really miss about him.
April 1, 20241 yr it’s not a diss on rodney terry to talk about the special love that barnes’s players had for their coach who was here for 16 years in an era where you recruited guys at 16, signed them at 18, and stayed with them until 21-22. as was posted in S16 thread only one of our top 6 players this year started his career at Texas. that’s not the same for tennessee who had 4/5 starters recruited by barnes and in the program for 4-5 years, just like he did at Texas. that’s what i’m talking about. that kind of love. the kind of love that takes place when you’re with a guy from boyhood through his transition into manhood. we haven’t had that here since barnes was here, that’s just a fact. maybe RT will be here long enough for that to be the case with him, but until then, rick barnes remains a one-of-a-kind coach in the annals of UT Hoops history, and i miss the continuity of his program, as well as the family feeling that we had for the majority of his career here. Edited April 1, 20241 yr by shadow_operative
April 1, 20241 yr 2 hours ago, shadow_operative said: it’s not a diss on rodney terry to talk about the special love that barnes’s players had for their coach who was here for 16 years in an era where you recruited guys at 16, signed them at 18, and stayed with them until 21-22. as was posted in S16 thread only one of our top 6 players this year started his career at Texas. that’s not the same for tennessee who had 4/5 starters recruited by barnes and in the program for 4-5 years, just like he did at Texas. that’s what i’m talking about. that kind of love. the kind of love that takes place when you’re with a guy from boyhood through his transition into manhood. we haven’t had that here since barnes was here, that’s just a fact. maybe RT will be here long enough for that to be the case with him, but until then, rick barnes remains a one-of-a-kind coach in the annals of UT Hoops history, and i miss the continuity of his program, as well as the family feeling that we had for the majority of his career here. who else besides Knecht is gone this year? Rick will be 70 at the start of next season, and he's definitely old school and into the program/family aspect. Wouldnt surprise me if he hangs it up soon a la Saban. I think a few of his key guys are back, but I'm wondering if next season will be it?
April 1, 20241 yr rick has previously expressed that he plans to continue coaching into the foreseeable future. as for who all the vols lose they lose a lot: JJJ, Zeigler, and Knecht. the transfer portal will once again be a huge factor in how competitive tennessee is next year.
April 1, 20241 yr 8 minutes ago, shadow_operative said: rick has previously expressed that he plans to continue coaching into the foreseeable future. as for who all the vols lose they lose a lot: JJJ, Zeigler, and Knecht. the transfer portal will once again be a huge factor in how competitive tennessee is next year. Pretty sure Zeigler can come back (I wandered over to a Tenn board after my post https://www.volnation.com/forum/threads/who-is-on-the-team-next-year.362803/). I guess my comment on Barnes retirement is based on the sport itself changing rapidly. Saban was telling everyone he was good through 2030, and lasted about a year. If Barnes cant keep that same type of continuity, I could just see him saying fuck it. If the over/under was 2.5 seasons, I'd probably take the under.
April 1, 20241 yr barnes is definitely one of the last if a dying breed, along with the likes of izzo and sampson. i think the key for all three of them is recruiting the exactly type of player who thrives for them, namely your more raw/athletic types which enough skill to grow on. if he can keep bringing in 3-4-5 year players who fit his program dna tjen i can see him sticking around another 5-7 years.
April 1, 20241 yr Rick's last shot at returning to Final Four sure seemed like this year's team. Sucks that they had to play Purdue in their "Elite 8" matchup. It's crazy to think Texas was also just in "Elite 8" last season... both programs may really struggle getting to another Sweet 16 anytime soon. Damn 😒
June 27, 20241 yr Cart girl at a course I play had TN cup and gear. Chatted with her a bit and she’s a sports management manager who works with the basketball team. She had nothing but good things to say about Barnes. Said he’s one of the funniest guys she’s met.
June 30, 20241 yr you have to make at least 9/10 shots from 7 different spots. this guy is the first/only guy to do it since KD. he got it on his second try. video on the second slide. Edited June 30, 20241 yr by Derka
October 18, 20241 yr 2023: 2nd team All Big Sky Conference for 12-22 Northern Colorado 2024: 1st Team All American, 1st round draft pick Rick Barnes is as good as *anyone* in college basketball over the last 25 years at taking the royal iveys, isaiah taylor’s, grant williams, admiral schofields, and dalton knecht’s of the world and making them better than anyone could have ever imagined. he’s an elite talent developer and he doesn’t get enough credit for it.
November 6, 20241 yr would be a big loss, and sounds like a tough situation regardless of the outcome.
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