The Official Rick Barnes discussion thread

[Freak]

You guys who want to discuss Barnes, Barnes retiring, Barnes record in March, etc. etc., please do so in this thread so we can keep the game threads focused on... the game.

[We had a thread like this before but it vanished when a bunch of threads were mistakenly mega-merged.]

 

[IndianaVol]

Thanks Freak.
I'll start with my two cents...
I absolutely love CRB and what he's done for Tennessee, but the bill of goods we bought from Texas has proven true.

Great recruiter, good coach, teams excel during the season, doesn't go very deep in the tournaments.

Do we accept that and let him coach here as long as he maintains the current standard?
Or is it time to consider the next coach?

 

[cwbytruckers]

I’m one for a change. I like Barnes but his system without shooters can’t work.

 

[SGMVols]

Thanks Freak.
I'll start with my two cents...
I absolutely love CRB and what he's done for Tennessee, but the bill of goods we bought from Texas has proven true.

Great recruiter, good coach, teams excel during the season, doesn't go very deep in the tournaments.

Do we accept that and let him coach here as long as he maintains the current standard?
Or is it time to consider the next coach?

He is 100% going to be allowed to stay as long as he wants.

He has earned that.

Also, we’ve been a lot more successful with Barnes than Texas has been without him.

 

[SGMVols]

I’m one for a change. I like Barnes but his system without shooters can’t work.

We’ve won 80% of our games this year as a program that has historically won 61%

 

[VolGee4]

Thanks Freak.
I'll start with my two cents...
I absolutely love CRB and what he's done for Tennessee, but the bill of goods we bought from Texas has proven true.

Great recruiter, good coach, teams excel during the season, doesn't go very deep in the tournaments.

Do we accept that and let him coach here as long as he maintains the current standard?
Or is it time to consider the next coach?

He just made an EE for the second time in school history. Yet here we are having this discussion after the 5th regular season loss in 25 games? People will one day clamor for him when he’s gone.

 

[Freak]

It's amazing how the expectations for our program have changed. Suddenly 20 wins by early February and a likely 2-seed in the tournament, just isn't enough anymore. I remember way too many seasons in my lifetime that I'd love to be where we sit right now.

 

[Freak]

He just made an EE for the second time in school history. Yet here we are having this discussion after the 5th regular season loss in 25 games? People will one day clamor for him when he’s gone.

Is absurd, right?

 

[VolGee4]

It's amazing how the expectations for our program have changed. Suddenly 20 wins by early February and a likely 2-seed in the tournament, just isn't enough anymore. I remember way too many seasons in my lifetime that I'd love to be where we sit right now.

Barnes is a victim of his own success.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

I have no problem with Barnes being our coach and appreciate what has done, which has been fairly remarkable given the expectations of the program before he got here.

Truth is I have simply grown exhausted with our offense. I just have. He is arguably the best defensive minded coach in college basketball history, but outside of a generational talent in Dalton Knecht his teams simply struggle to do the most important thing which is score points.

If Rick would like to stay and coach until he is 100, that is more than fine by me, but he has to find a way to score. I truly don’t care if we have to sacrifice defense for offense. I don’t see this program getting that elusive Final Four if the best we can do is just inside the Top 40 on offense year after year. Find some shooters. Change the system. I’m not the coach so I won’t pretend to know the solution.

I don’t think it’s fixable this year. We are who we are 25 games into the season. It’s just not all that fun to watch us struggle this much on offense.

 

[SugarVols]

This team has been at times maddening and fun to watch. My biggest complaint is the roster mgt / lack of depth this year. And we need some impact freshman not just rely on the hit or miss portal.

 

[Hulavol]

Here’s my one only post in this thread:

Rick Barnes is the best thing that has ever happened to UT men’s hoops, and I hope he stays here for another decade.

 

[The Original Fade]

I’m one for a change. I like Barnes but his system without shooters can’t work.

Is there a system out there that works without shooters?

 

[Creeker]

I think some criticism is fair, no coach is perfect, but the idea we should move on from Barnes is pretty crazy. He has us competitive every year, we’ve had an EE run, in the tournament basically every year, SEC POY winners, ranked #1 multiple times. Barnes has been extremely successful here and should retire a Vol when he’s ready. Now, if you want to say, leaving 2 scholarships open was questionable this year, etc that’s a type of fair criticism, one I bet that Barnes evaluates himself too.

 

[Anti-shunshinepumper]

Wow, I didn't think this even needed a thread. I mean I'm fine with it being one, I just didn't think that many people are unsatisfied in respect.
I know there have been a few far outters that would like to see Barnes go, but I'd like to think any sensible Tennessee Basketball fan knows we're lucky to have him.
He may or may not be able to get over the hump in March, but he consistently gets us there with a real chance at winning, too. Once a team gets to the tourney they always has a chance to get hot from there.
I honestly feel we got hosed in that Purdue game last year with Edey getting away with all the fouls. IMO it was egregious. We win that game and we in final four where anything can happen.
That all said, I also don't see or have a problem with criticizing Barnes as a coach.
It just kinds comes with the territory of being a head coach, but as far as where he has this team, I'm completely satisfied.
Would have been more satisfied beating those blue b@stards tonight, tho.

 

[iVolSoHard]

My critique of Barnes this season is that we have a team full of role players and none of those roles apparently include creating their own shot.

The coaching staff needs to look at how they're developing players and stop relying on the portal to find an offensive spark every season and hoping that it works out well.

Yes, I know that we're currently a top 5 team but this team with its many deficiencies is getting exposed quite a bit during the SEC schedule.

 

[WestTennesseeFox]

The grass is not always greener post Barnes.

 

[SGMVols]

The grass is not always greener post Barnes.

Just ask Texas.

 

[SGMVols]

My critique of Barnes this season is that we have a team full of role players and none of those roles apparently include creating their own shot.

The coaching staff needs to look at how they're developing players and stop relying on the portal to find an offensive spark every season and hoping that it works out well.

Yes, I know that we're currently a top 5 team but this team with its many deficiencies is getting exposed quite a bit during the SEC schedule.

Other than Duke, because they get 6 McDonald’s All Americans every year, what team at the top of the rankings right now isn’t built mostly through the portal?

 

[Vol in Buckeye Land]

I for one am a little frustrated with Barnes. I think his system must be flawed. I doubt that he’ll ever win a championship.

I also think that if he’s coaching at UT until he’s in a wheelchair, we’d be lucky to have him, as we’ve been lucky to have him thus far in his tenure. Any talk of “moving on” is ludicrous. You “move on” exactly and precisely when he decides to move on from coaching the game of basketball. The man has fundamentally altered what Tennessee men’s basketball is. All these teams that can’t quite get over the hump in March are still performing spectacularly well relative to the program’s historic standard.

I just hope the change he’s wrought is permanent, ie that he hasn’t only managed to grow prize pumpkins where there were weeds, but that the soil composition has been altered so the next coach will be able to grow prize pumpkins too. Forgive the metaphor.

 

[Special Ed]

I've just grown tired of the same ol' same ol'; better than expected results leading up to March followed by a March meltdown ending in an earlier than necessary or expected exit from the Big Dance. There's nothing to indicate that this season is not going to end the exact same way.
I don't see any way to alter expectations other than Barnes leaving the program and he and his staff being replaced by whatever program-changing / improving staff Danny White can dredge up for us. I have faith in White that he won't disappoint when the time for regime change is upon us.

 

[orangemadam]

I am a Barnes supporter. My view:

This is a typical Barnes team. An average Barnes team. This team most likely will be like
the average Barnes team, looking impressive in spurts the first two weekends in the
tourney. They most likely will make the SS, where they will be defeated by a lower
seeded team (8 or 9 seed) because of their inconsistent offense. Be happy with the 20-25 win seasons.

He is not on the same level as Pearl as far as coaching ability. Pearl has some personality
defects (as we all do, even us born-again Christians), and despite his lower moral standards,
he recruits better, motivates better, plans better (doesn't act better)

I am happy with this season because I don't expect a championship, just exciting basketball.

 

[BernardKingGOAT]

I am a Barnes supporter. My view:

This is a typical Barnes team. An average Barnes team. This team most likely will be like
the average Barnes team, looking impressive in spurts the first two weekends in the
tourney. They most likely will make the SS, where they will be defeated by a lower
seeded team (8 or 9 seed) because of their inconsistent offense. Be happy with the 20-25 win seasons.

He is not on the same level as Pearl as far as coaching ability. Pearl has some personality
defects (as we all do, even us born-again Christians), and despite his lower moral standards,
he recruits better, motivates better, plans better (doesn't act better)

I am happy with this season because I don't expect a championship, just exciting basketball.

Not on the same level with Pearl?

Hope you weren't trying to sound credible

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

116 seasons. 10x the winning percentage was 80% or better. 4 of those were before WW2.

Pearl 1x
Mears 1x
Lowery 1x
Mauer 1x

Barnes did it one time and the current season would make him the ONLY UT coach EVER with 2x 0.800 seasons.

You Fahr Barnes LoM need to get educated.

And to the Danny White has a list and will replace him with somebody better dreamers, he didn’t hire Vitello and Heupel (his fall back hire) is winning 71.1% of his games. Danny is good at kicking decades long supporters to the curb and raising more money, but that’s a short term pipe dream for success.

 

[THEONLYTENISEE]

Thanks Freak.
I'll start with my two cents...
I absolutely love CRB and what he's done for Tennessee, but the bill of goods we bought from Texas has proven true.

Great recruiter, good coach, teams excel during the season, doesn't go very deep in the tournaments.

Do we accept that and let him coach here as long as he maintains the current standard?
Or is it time to consider the next coach?

Is it a different season if Cam Carr doesn’t transfer, JP is healthy, and D Stone isn’t a bust? As a fan who watched Jerry Green, Buzz, Martin, Donnie, I say be careful of what we wish for. Texas still hasn’t found a replacement for Barnes.