Rick Barnes: Year One

Killing some time at work so I went back and looked at some of the posts following Barnes first year at UT. Most folks gave him C's or D's although many acknlowledgedd the s-show he walked in to. Just thought it was an interesting look back now that we have one of the top basketball programs in the country on a consistant basis.

I had to quote LittleCat who said at the time Butch Jones deserves more trust than Barnes in terms of building a program.

I don't even understand what I was trying to say
 
Post the link that proves Barnes "lied to us". If he said we "want" to push the ball and will probably shoot a lot of threes, that's not a lie. That's tipping off the fans what they want to do... but as circumstances change and he learns more about what he has to work with any coach would be a fool to not adjust. I'd like to see the link where CRB promises to deliver those things.
C+/B-
Interesting to revisit this thread and as usual TGO you are a voice of reason in a room full of negative Nancy’s. They had no one taller than 6’7” with any experience. Heck if I’m not mistaken Kyle only had one year of high school ball under his belt. Then Hubbs never really seemed to turn the corner. Then Punter got hurt which I think kept them from being a .500 team.
 
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a D- for recruiting? Phillips/Schofield/Alexander/Turner all look like they're going to have pretty solid careers here if they put in the work.

Bone/Williams/Fulk/Parker/Johnson aren't here yet, but there seems to be some potentially exciting pieces in there. An inside scorer, a white guy, a wing with a ton of length, a freak athlete, and a true PG.
3 great kids and VFLs in this group! Wow
 
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Oh it definitely was stupid, and even crazier was that Barnes took those alleged no-talent nothings all the way to #1 in the country for a month straight. Tony finally had to get on board, or just risk looking even more foolish by doubling down.

Once Barnes landed JJJ, it was 5* after 5*. Keon Johnson, Jaden Springer, Kennedy Chandler, Julian Phillips...and the funny thing is, we had some of our leanest years with those kids (aside from the transition years). Barnes has proven that his sweet spot is the top-125 kids who come in, develop, adopt the culture, and find success in year 2, 3, and 4. This team is littered with those kinds of kids.
I like getting to know the players and watching them develop and hopefully get their degrees. The players he and the coaching staff goes after all seem to be terrific young men as well. Or at the very least an incredibly high %.
 
I remember a lot of posters here accused him of coming to Tennessee just to collect a paycheck until retirement. Search paycheck in this forum and you’ll find dozens upon dozens of examples.
The posters you are describing eat tofu sandwiches and drink white claws. Essentially, a barrel of fkn wimps.
 
This stuff is da bomb.


The old student center had a great tofu option at an Asian place. The current spots in the new student union are run really poorly. The cafeteria in the new Stokely dorm is super - but I haven’t been there since pre-pandemic. All you can eat for about $15-$20.
 
Philly can definitely be negative at times but he is a good caller esp when he is drunk. Poli Joe should be banned from every radio station in Knoxville. No idea why shows takes his calls. I change the station when he calls in.
Haha...I thought we were talkin' Fulmer....or are we?
 
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Lying for ratings is low class whether he’s a journalist or an entertainment guy.
I’m not sure what lies he told. Maybe he did lie, IDK. However, being misinformed and sharing that wrong information isn’t the same as lying. I’ve known him to be an honest guy for the 30 years I’ve known him, but you clearly know something I don’t. Being wrong isn’t necessarily lying. I get that there’s a lot of people that don’t like the guy, and that’s fine. Doesn’t bother me. I’m just not aware of him lying for ratings. I’d think if he were really willing to get in the dirt, his career may have gone beyond what it has. I’ve known him to be an honest guy, even if very wrong or misinformed at times.
 
I loved Moore’s hustle and effort! Wonder how he’s doing ?
I liked Armani's game as well. A quick google search says he has had a lengthy and adventuresome pro basketball career with stops in Poland, Germany, New Zealand, back to Poland and Germany and now Iceland. I don't know what those leagues pay, but good for him for having a career playing basketball.

I found it interesting that at 6'4 he is # 7 in UT history with 131 blocked shots averaging over 1 block per game. His 128 appearances for UT basketball rank 6th all time.

 
Much easier to trust and believe in Butch. The recruiting, the general history of UT. I don't anybody thought UT would never come back. It was a matter of when, not if. UT basketball has had a long period of time without a ton of success. Bruce brought it to the fans, and the fans want it back.
Yikes
 
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Tony Basilio propagated that quite a bit if I remember correctly. He may not have been the only media member pushing the “Barnes is here to collect a retirement check” agenda, but I distinctly remember him pushing it in his blog numerous times. Or it may have been one of his contributors. Either way, I remember seeing that belief pushed in his blog more than once.
There it is.. you hit the nail on the head.

most posters do not think for themselves.. some talking head or Twitter post says it and that's what it is from then on. People who only follow the teams in boxscores and watercooler talk chiming in. Sadly this is the world we live in where everyone has an opinion on everything and wants theirs heard. I can respect a person who follows a team and has a bad take...or disagrees with me. the ones that are like this person sucks because I saw 3 threads saying he sucks or someone said it on twitter...🤮 oops i mean X
 
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I liked Armani's game as well. A quick google search says he has had a lengthy and adventuresome pro basketball career with stops in Poland, Germany, New Zealand, back to Poland and Germany and now Iceland. I don't know what those leagues pay, but good for him for having a career playing basketball.

I found it interesting that at 6'4 he is # 7 in UT history with 131 blocked shots averaging over 1 block per game. His 128 appearances for UT basketball rank 6th all time.

Thanks for info Leanna. Yeah he was hyper athletic and rebounded well for his size. He did it all his senior year. Pretty sure he played or guarded 1-4 positions. Think about how small Josiah looks at times playing the PF spot this year and Armani played PF quite a bit his last couple of years
Hope he is well
 
Thanks for info Leanna. Yeah he was hyper athletic and rebounded well for his size. He did it all his senior year. Pretty sure he played or guarded 1-4 positions. Think about how small Josiah looks at times playing the PF spot this year and Armani played PF quite a bit his last couple of years
Hope he is well
IIRC, he was recruited to be a PG. That didn’t work out and he succeeded in a new role
 

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