‘I’m standing on it’ – National analyst drops strong take on Tennessee’s Rick Barnes that college basketball fans need to hear
Rick Barnes and the Tennessee Vols will take on Iowa State in the Sweet 16 on Friday night in Chicago.
Rick Barnes and the Tennessee Vols are set to take on the Iowa State Cyclones in the Sweet 16 on Friday night in Chicago.
The Vols are looking to reach the Elite Eight for the third straight season.
Barnes, who has appeared in one Final Four in his career (2003 at Texas), is two wins away from guiding Tennessee to its first Final Four in program history.
National analyst says Rick Barnes is the most underrated coach in college basketball
Barnes is undoubtedly one of the best coaches in college basketball history. But his lack of a championship prevents him from being mentioned alongside some of the all-time greats.
That’s why CBS Sports analyst BJ Taylor, a former UCF guard who was the Conference-USA player of the year in 2009, thinks Barnes is the most underrated coach in college basketball.
“Rick Barnes is the most underrated coach in college basketball,” said Taylor. “This is Tennessee’s fourth straight Sweet 16. Let me run off some names for you of guys that Rick Barnes has coached. Kevin Durant, he’s pretty good. LaMarcus Aldridge, seven-time all-star. TJ Ford, National Player of the Year back at Texas. He had Dalton Knecht a few years ago — they had a good run. Now he has Nate Ament, a potential lottery pick in this year’s draft.
“All Rick Barnes does is win, and I know he doesn’t have the championship. I know he doesn’t. He doesn’t have the big game, that’s what holds him back. That’s why he’s not mentioned with the Coach K’s and the Roy Williams and the Bill Selfs and those guys. But when you talk about consistency, when you talk about what you’re going to get on a daily basis, when we talk about year in and year out, what you can expect from a program — we are talking about Rick Barnes. This man can coach ball. He does it year in and year out. He gets the most out of his talent. And I’m standing on it, he’s the most underrated coach in college basketball. He should be mentioned with the pantheon of guys that are on, I would consider it that second tier. He should be mentioned with the Boeheims. He should be mentioned with the Izzos. I know they all have one title, but you’re telling me the difference between Rick Barnes and those guys is one championship? I hear you. But Rick Barnes is an exceptional coach. He will have his boys ready against Iowa State, trust me. Rick Barnes is the most underrated coach in college basketball.”
Sometimes a coach needs a little luck to win a championship.
For example, former UNC coach Dean Smith, someone who Barnes often references, won two championships during his time in Chapel Hill.
His first championship came in 1982 when Georgetown’s Fred Brown inexplicably passed the ball to North Carolina’s James Worthy in the game’s final seconds, preserving the one point win for the Tar Heels.
Smith’s second championship came in 1993 after Michigan’s Chris Webber called a timeout despite his team not having any timeouts left, which resulted in a technical foul and iced the game for North Carolina.
Even North Carolina’s championship run in 2005 under Roy Williams was aided by a controversial traveling call in the Sweet 16.
The point is that sometimes you need some luck/good fortune to win a championship. And Barnes, for whatever reason, hasn’t had luck on his side come tourney time.
Maybe that changes this season.
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