Rick Barnes Resurgence & Shaka Smart & Who’s Laughing Now?!?!

[EBonz30]

It’s really amazing to see how the last few years have gone for these two coaches & for the Texas Basketball program in general.

Just about all of America thought Shaka was a Slam Dunk hire for Texas & obviously that has anything been but the case.

On the other side Rick Barnes had the narrative that he recruits great players, but can’t win the big games & his teams always come up short of expectations & maximizing their potential.

I can confidently say now that I was wrong about both the coaches in where I underrated Barnes & overrated Smart, it will be interesting to see how it all plays out over the next few years. I believe Tennessee has a real shot to cut down the nets come March.

 

[jibsey]

This is the 4th year for Barnes in Tennessee. Let’s all keep that in my mind in our support for Danny Hurley, but getting players has something to do with it. Maybe they have less competition for players in the mid south than we do in the northeast.

 

[Dove]

Barnes had a meh first two seasons at UT as he got things rolling there. Last season brought a 1st place finish but he did not escape the first weekend of NCAA play. So, he still hasn't won anything.

This season he chugs on.

 

[billybud]

This is the 4th year for Barnes in Tennessee. Let’s all keep that in my mind in our support for Danny Hurley, but getting players has something to do with it. Maybe they have less competition for players in the mid south than we do in the northeast.

I dunno....with Louisville, Memphis, Kentucky all in with top 15 ranked classes, Alabama at #17...and with Duke, UNC, et al, looking for a cherry to pick...I'd say that they feel some recruiting competition.

 

[Walker11]

This is the 4th year for Barnes in Tennessee. Let’s all keep that in my mind in our support for Danny Hurley, but getting players has something to do with it. Maybe they have less competition for players in the mid south than we do in the northeast.

You will be very surprised if you look at their recruiting rankings. They have done a great job scouting and developing and have benefitted from being older and more experienced than everyone else.

 

[methodology]

Not a true believer in Tennessee this year. Watched them couple times and they just seem to be missing something (3 pt shooting?). Very good team but I think Michigan st, duke, virginia, Gonzaga are the cream of the crop this year

 

[Rocktheworld]

Egg

 

[navery12]

Not a true believer in Tennessee this year. Watched them couple times and they just seem to be missing something (3 pt shooting?). Very good team but I think Michigan st, duke, virginia, Gonzaga are the cream of the crop this year

But Tennessee has one thing that none of those other teams has, the best player in the country

 

[Waquoit]

I'm supposed to give two figs about Rick Barnes?

 

[UConnStats]

Shaka hasn’t had a great team yet at Texas, but he’s on his way to making the tournament for the 3rd time in 4 years, and his two tournament losses were on a heave by a good Northern Illinois team and last year in OT to a great Nevada team.

Texas got greedy when they fired Rick Barnes. They sucked in 2013, but besides that we’re always good. But he stopped making the sweet 16, so he was basically fired for that. I guess it’s fair to do that, but people forget that Rick Barnes always had his teams looking good in the regular season. He’s a good coach.

 

[zls44]

I'd take Shaka five times over Rick Barnes. This year changes nothing.

 

[pj]

Texas is #29 in Kenpom and we're #89, so I'm not going to knock Shaka.

Rick Barnes is a good coach, but he's in a much tougher recruiting ground than we are. The South is football territory, the northeast is basketball. Tennessee has ACC, SEC, and Big Ten basketball powerhouses nearby, we have only a few decaying outposts of the ACC, Rutgers, and Big East schools nearby. Much bigger talent pool with less competition up here. Hurley should pass Barnes pretty quickly.

 

[intlzncster]

It’s really amazing to see how the last few years have gone for these two coaches & for the Texas Basketball program in general.

Just about all of America thought Shaka was a Slam Dunk hire for Texas & obviously that has anything been but the case.

On the other side Rick Barnes had the narrative that he recruits great players, but can’t win the big games & his teams always come up short of expectations & maximizing their potential.

I can confidently say now that I was wrong about both the coaches in where I underrated Barnes & overrated Smart, it will be interesting to see how it all plays out over the next few years. I believe Tennessee has a real shot to cut down the nets come March.

Barnes has had a lot of great teams over the years.

But as you say "[doesn't] win the big games & his teams always come up short of expectations".

That has not been proved wrong yet. Give him time. Wait til the dance when he chokes in the S16 or E8.

 

[pj]

Barnes has had a lot of great teams over the years.

But as you say "[doesn't] win the big games & his teams always come up short of expectations".

That has not been proved wrong yet. Give him time. Wait til the dance when he chokes in the S16 or E8.

The same thing was said about Jim Calhoun in the 1990s -- his teams were great in the regular season but couldn't make the Final Four. Until the breakthrough in 1999.

If you can make all the steps before the last one, and you are not dead yet, you still have time to figure out how to take the last and final step.

 

[JMick]

The same thing was said about Jim Calhoun in the 1990s -- his teams were great in the regular season but couldn't make the Final Four. Until the breakthrough in 1999.

If you can make all the steps before the last one, and you are not dead yet, you still have time to figure out how to take the last and final step.

Rick Barnes has been coaching since 1988

 

[zls44]

The same thing was said about Jim Calhoun in the 1990s -- his teams were great in the regular season but couldn't make the Final Four. Until the breakthrough in 1999.

If you can make all the steps before the last one, and you are not dead yet, you still have time to figure out how to take the last and final step.

Did JC ever say (paraphrased) he didn't care about winning championships and only cared about putting kids in the NBA like Barnes did?

Rick Barnes will never win a thing because he does not want to. He is a loser.

 

[pj]

Rick Barnes has been coaching since 1988

Jim Calhoun began coaching in 1968, college coaching in 1972. Championship 31 years after start of coaching career, which would translate to -- are you ready? -- 2019 for Rick Barnes.

Not predicting anything for Barnes, there's only one Jim Calhoun. But saying "he hasn't done it" is not proof that "he can't do it."

 

[intlzncster]

Jim Calhoun began coaching in 1968, college coaching in 1972. Championship 31 years after start of coaching career, which would translate to -- are you ready? -- 2019 for Rick Barnes.

D1 HC coaching pre-championship:

• JC - 27 yrs (age 57)
• RB - 32 yrs (age 64)

So he's behind JC at the moment. And JC was late to the game on the championship score. There's a reason the narrative developed when it did.

It's certainly possible for Barnes, but the thing that gives me pause is that Barnes is not a good in-game coach. That's a huge hindrance in the biggest moments.

Finally, Barnes is not remotely on JC's level, so he shouldn't be given the same benefit of the doubt.

 

[billybud]

Barnes... 1st year at Tennessee...15-19

..................2nd year........................16-16
..................3rd year.........................26-9
..................now................................17-1

Looks like progress...

 

[JimHurley]

Rick Barnes went 15-19 in his first season at Tennessee, and 16-16 in his second. Now he coaches the #1 team in the country. People criticizing Hurley, look no further. Rebuilds take time

 

[selles]

The same thing was said about Jim Calhoun in the 1990s -- his teams were great in the regular season but couldn't make the Final Four. Until the breakthrough in 1999.

If you can make all the steps before the last one, and you are not dead yet, you still have time to figure out how to take the last and final step.

The names JC and Rick Barnes should never be mentioned in the same breath.

Rick Barnes is a good but not great coach. We know this by now. He was a good but not great coach at Providence, he was a good but not great coach at Clemson, he was a good but not great coach at Texas, and he will end up being a good but not great coach at Tennessee.

 

[superjohn]

I used to rip on Barnes for always flaming out early but his track record now speaks for itself, he's won pretty much everywhere and is obviously a fine coach. He's also one of the nicest guy's in the business.

 

[pj]

Rick Barnes is a good but not great coach. We know this by now. He was a good but not great coach at Providence, he was a good but not great coach at Clemson, he was a good but not great coach at Texas, and he will end up being a good but not great coach at Tennessee.

He may be a great coach who just can't recruit at the level you need to in order to win championships.

As we've been learning about the crookedness of college recruiting, that's not necessarily a knock on a coach.

 

[Lynyrd]

Pretty much a guarantee that Tennessee stumbles and Texas makes it to the F4 lol

 

[intlzncster]

He may be a great coach who just can't recruit at the level you need to in order to win championships.

As we've been learning about the crookedness of college recruiting, that's not necessarily a knock on a coach.

Kevin Durant? TJ Ford? And all the rest? Dude has always gotten talent.

He's a very good coach. And he very well may win the big one. But as of this moment, he's had a history of flaming out. Hope he has success. Not really with TN cause I don't like them, but that's a different story.