Rick Barnes is 7-2 in the NCAAT the last three years but

#5
#5
Oldblood said:
Is a final four appearance the only thing that will completely bury the “regular season Rick”
attitude that so many have?
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It is, but many just don't like him and have their minds made up on that, sadly. Achieving a F4 will only force them to move the target. That vocal minority will never be happy because they prefer voicing their powerless negative energy. It's all they know.
 
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#6
#6
Barnes has not only won at a very high level consistently but has done so with great class. He perhaps is a better person than a coach. And for that I am grateful. This has been a great run for Vol basketball, Final Four would just be the cherry on top. If don't make it still have one helluva hot fudge sundae to enjoy.
 
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#8
#8
Oldblood said:
Is a final four appearance the only thing that will completely bury the “regular season Rick”
attitude that so many have?
Click to expand...

no because they lack an understanding of how difficult it is to advance in the tournament. Just look at the close games yesterday, Auburn, St Johns (Gets beat), Wisconsin (gets beat).... its one of the more difficult things in sports... Getting to Omaha and getting to the final series might be more difficult than getting to a final four. Houston had to fight hard to hold off Gonzaga.
 
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#12
#12
I think he needs one final four at Tenn. to really cement his legacy. I get that Tenn has never been and isn't a natural blue blood, so expecting it to just happen might not be fair...but I also think when you have a top 10, or even top 20, team over and over, you gotta at least capitalize on it once eventually. It's not like Tenn is limping into the tournament every year. It sucks cause the tournament is really hard to win, but you gotta make deep runs to really establish a legacy.
 
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#13
#13
LittleCat said:
I think he needs one final four at Tenn. to really cement his legacy. I get that Tenn has never been and isn't a natural blue blood, so expecting it to just happen might not be fair...but I also think when you have a top 10, or even top 20, team over and over, you gotta at least capitalize on it once eventually. It's not like Tenn is limping into the tournament every year. It sucks cause the tournament is really hard to win, but you gotta make deep runs to really establish a legacy.
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I think one of the things that makes it tough is that when we've had the teams to make that Final Four run we haven't really gotten lucky in terms of the draw. Last year's squad was good enough and if we'd gotten Alabama's draw we'd have made it. But we didn't. We got Purdue and Edey, and that was going to be tough for anyone other than UCONN. This year if we manage to get past the Sweet 16 it's likely to be Houston, who is also elite. That makes it a taller order than drawing, say, Clemson.

The one year I really felt we could've made it under Barnes was 2018 when we were upset by Loyola. If we'd avoided that upset we really did have a favorable path.
 
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#14
#14
Maybe just me but if we make two straight EEs, that seems pretty big for a program that before last year had made one EE that was a bit more flukey than last year.

He’s gotten us consistently good, better than any other coach. We make the EE and against Houston that would be 2 years in a row we would be legit FF/NC contenders and imo proved it in the NCAAT. No one else has had us legit NC contenders 2 seasons in a row.
 
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#15
#15
cncchris33 said:
It is, but many just don't like him and have their minds made up on that, sadly. Achieving a F4 will only force them to move the target. That vocal minority will never be happy because they prefer voicing their powerless negative energy. It's all they know.
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I have seen a lot of the anti Barnes noise drop off after last year's EE run.
 
#16
#16
Kicker82 said:
I believe Florida and duke are a step above everyone else. If we end up making the final four and lose to duke, there is no shame at all in that.
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Florida has the talent to win it all. I hope they don"t. lol U Conn might give Florida all they want.
 
Last edited:
#17
#17
Oldblood said:
Is a final four appearance the only thing that will completely bury the “regular season Rick”
attitude that so many have?
Click to expand...
Most likely. Dean Smith had a cloud over his resume until he finally won the natty. He was a frequent visitor to the final four but his critics said he could not win the big game.
 
#19
#19
cncchris33 said:
It is, but many just don't like him and have their minds made up on that, sadly. Achieving a F4 will only force them to move the target. That vocal minority will never be happy because they prefer voicing their powerless negative energy. It's all they know.
Click to expand...
This, and that incudes some in national media beyond Knoxville.
 
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#20
#20
Hoggervol said:
I've been waiting all year for Igor to step up. Sadly, still waiting,,,,,,,
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Then you haven’t paid close attention as he’s played very well in numerous games this season. Unfortunately, he’s been in a bit of a funk in the last 5-6 games but he’s not stunk the whole season
 
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#22
#22
vols 30 said:
Houston on that same level with Duke and Florida this year? Imo, they are.
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I don't believe they are. I was super excited to see our bracket. They could prove me wrong, but Duke and Florida were the ones I hoped to avoid. I am not a fan of Kentucky in our bracket, but I think Houston, Kentucky is more desirable than your local high school and Florida or Duke.
 
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#23
#23
Oldblood said:
Is a final four appearance the only thing that will completely bury the “regular season Rick”
attitude that so many have?
Click to expand...

It is very difficult to get to the Final Four. It is "usually" reserved for the "Blue Bloods" of college basketball. The Vols have had some good teams but they aren't a "Blue Blood" yet. By almost any metric, CRB's tenure at U-T has been a resounding success. He has taught teams how to win the right way.
 
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