Rick Barnes Approval Rating Thread (1-10)

[rdk4121]

C'mon man. We had a nice and unexpected mid-season run and played some good teams really close.

But, lets just stop with the idea that we were "on the bubble" or "fighting to get in the NCAA" etc. Our roster, due to youth(erratic), talent, injury, and dismissal is not close to making the NCAA from the SEC. The false "we can make it" narrative a month or so ago just created a false hope. We are NOT a tourney roster in any form or fashion.

Now, as far as Barnes on a 1-10. I'll go 6 also. I really like his character, development, and ability to court coach. But, his recruiting here has not restored the gaping hole left by CCM and CDT. Recruiting IS collegiate coaching.

That being said, it looks like were finally getting some size in the lineup soon. Filling that gaping hole combined with getting maturity for our promising young guys, holds promise for the next two seasons. If Fulkerson comes back and the new post players develop, then Barnes gets a rating raise IMO.

I wholeheartedly disagree with you. This team has shown that they can play with (and beat) the best of them. We can't just pretend we weren't on the bubble and or fighting to get in the tournament we were almost unanimously in at a month ago, and up until last game, still in the First Four Out and Next Four Out. No excuse for losing to Georgia when we had a 14 point lead, no excuse to losing to a terrible LSU team, no excuse losing Miss State with a 19 point lead. The list goes on. The truth is we could have anywhere between 3 and 7 more wins had we just no screwed away our season and given up. If we would have taken care of business in say just 3 of those games, we would be pretty securely in at this point (assuming we beat bama as well). I think he has done a pretty good job of recruiting. A bunch of underrated but good players. They're just so much youth on this team. It seems like 5 or 6 of our players have hit a freshman wall all at the same time down the stretch. To me, this is the type of roster that could make it to the tourney. They've proven that. One of the two teams in the SEC to beat Kentucky (9), almost beat UNC (5) at UNC, played Gonzaga (4) tougher than anyone up until BYU. Took Oregon(6) team to OT and really should have won that one. Besides Evans, everyone on this team has enough talent to play in this league. It's up to Barnes to get the most out of that talent and have a gameplan that sets them up for success. For a rating though, I'd give barnes a 5, the exact same as our record this year (.500).

 

[508mikey]

On avg 4.

On Court Play - 6
Players discipline is inconsistent. We can see potential but team doesn't meet that potential consistently. Barnes scheme works when executed but a lack of execution isn't there.

Recruiting - 2
Barnes inability to recruit given his record is inexplicable. Tennessee needs talent.

If we don't trend up, I expect Currie to oversee another coaching change as Barnes retires. I hope Currie is as successful as his last hiring decision for UT basketball.

Well he didnt fire Weber at KSU and he is no better than Barnes has been

 

[cncchris33]

Let me blunt here....out of respect.

Barnes has done a good job overall. He inherited a dumpster fire. It was going to be hell for whoever took the mess of a situation over. He's getting a lot of flack and I don't believe he deserves it.

HOWEVER....and it dovetails with the previous statement.....just what the heck do y'all really think he was hired to do? Do you really believe he was hired to get Tennessee basketball to the promised land? He was 60 years old when he was hired. He was hired to do exactly what he is doing. He is a well respected name who is in the process of getting the program back on solid ground so that the next guy can take over a program that isn't a complete flippin mess.

The reality is that's his job. So, y'all need to save the angst about the direction of the program for the next guy because Barnes' job isn't to have Tennessee achieve basketball glory.

And, sorry to say for you all, he's not done yet. There are going to be a couple more years of mediocre seasons while Tennessee tries to stockpile some level of talent capable of competing for NCAA tournament bids when Barnes gets fired.

And he will get fired.

He was hired to get fired.

Thiiiiiiiiiiiiis

 

[OrangeBalls]

Let me blunt here....out of respect.

Barnes has done a good job overall. He inherited a dumpster fire. It was going to be hell for whoever took the mess of a situation over. He's getting a lot of flack and I don't believe he deserves it.

HOWEVER....and it dovetails with the previous statement.....just what the heck do y'all really think he was hired to do? Do you really believe he was hired to get Tennessee basketball to the promised land? He was 60 years old when he was hired. He was hired to do exactly what he is doing. He is a well respected name who is in the process of getting the program back on solid ground so that the next guy can take over a program that isn't a complete flippin mess.

The reality is that's his job. So, y'all need to save the angst about the direction of the program for the next guy because Barnes' job isn't to have Tennessee achieve basketball glory.

And, sorry to say for you all, he's not done yet. There are going to be a couple more years of mediocre seasons while Tennessee tries to stockpile some level of talent capable of competing for NCAA tournament bids when Barnes gets fired.

And he will get fired.

He was hired to get fired.

I don't think it's out of the question to expect a coach to come in and make the NCAA tournament in year 3. If he has another mediocre year next year then there will be calls for his head. It doesn't take near as long to turn around a basketball program as it does a football program. You can get 1 or 2 difference making players and you're good. He also wasn't recruiting under any NCAA scholarship restriction so it's not like his hands were tied.

Also, UT is one of the top jobs in the SEC. I'd put it at least #3 outside of Ky and Ark. They have better facilities than most anyone else in the SEC and better fan support outside of Ky.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Thiiiiiiiiiiiiis

You strongly agree that Barnes will get fired?

I agree with most of what he said but I disagree with that part...I don't think he took the job thinking he will be fired nor do I think Tennessee hired him expecting to do that. I think 5-6 years of him getting things together and then him riding off into the sunset and retiring is much more likely than him being fired.

 

[99gator]

I don't think it's out of the question to expect a coach to come in and make the NCAA tournament in year 3. If he has another mediocre year next year then there will be calls for his head. It doesn't take near as long to turn around a basketball program as it does a football program. You can get 1 or 2 difference making players and you're good. He also wasn't recruiting under any NCAA scholarship restriction so it's not like his hands were tied.

Also, UT is one of the top jobs in the SEC. I'd put it at least #3 outside of Ky and Ark. They have better facilities than most anyone else in the SEC and better fan support outside of Ky.

Barnes (the coach) + Tennessee (the program) was not going to equal a quick turnaround and rebuild. Neither have enough street cred or sizzle to go with the steak to go grab players who can turn a program around quickly.

There were two options as there usually are in this situation.

Grab the young guy no one has heard of which may pan out or could be a disaster

or

Grab the sure thing that isn't going to be spectacular (because if he was he wouldn't be available in the first place).

After the Tyndall situation, Tennessee decided to go the safe route and be at least assured of putting the program on solid footing.

I think Barnes took the job.....(A) because he doesn't like gardening and (B) because Tennessee is paying him a lot of money. This was the best Barnes was going to do. And he was willing to accept it at this point in his career.

 

[FleeceItOut]

I give him a 6, and will upgrade that if he can rally the troops, beat Bama, win a tourney game or two, and get this team in the NIT.

I would have given him a 7 off the bat if they didn't lose to LSU, that one deserved a docking.

 

[OrangeBalls]

Barnes (the coach) + Tennessee (the program) was not going to equal a quick turnaround and rebuild. Neither have enough street cred or sizzle to go with the steak to go grab players who can turn a program around quickly.

There were two options as there usually are in this situation.

Grab the young guy no one has heard of which may pan out or could be a disaster

or

Grab the sure thing that isn't going to be spectacular (because if he was he wouldn't be available in the first place).

After the Tyndall situation, Tennessee decided to go the safe route and be at least assured of putting the program on solid footing.

I think Barnes took the job.....(A) because he doesn't like gardening and (B) because Tennessee is paying him a lot of money. This was the best Barnes was going to do. And he was willing to accept it at this point in his career.

I don't necessarily disagree, but I think UT's admin being the cluster it is didn't help. That's probably one reason they didn't end up with White. If they had better leadership at the top and big boosters with a damn clue, they wouldn't be the cluster ***** that they are right now.

 

[99gator]

I don't necessarily disagree, but I think UT's admin being the cluster it is didn't help. That's probably one reason they didn't end up with White. If they had better leadership at the top and big boosters with a damn clue, they wouldn't be the cluster ***** that they are right now.

I agree. For one thing, I don't think you go the "safe route". All you are doing is wasting time.

An interesting trivia question would be....has Tennessee ever hired another coach for any program that was 60 or older at the time they were hired?

You're just admitting to everyone, whether it's intended or not, that this is a caretaking hire. This is not someone who is going to be here to make the program all it can be.

And it's hard to get everyone to rally around that. It just is.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

I agree. For one thing, I don't think you go the "safe route". All you are doing is wasting time.

An interesting trivia question would be....has Tennessee ever hired another coach for any program that was 60 or older at the time they were hired?

You're just admitting to everyone, whether it's intended or not, that this is a caretaking hire. This is not someone who is going to be here to make the program all it can be.

And it's hard to get everyone to rally around that. It just is.

It's not exactly a secret that Barnes is here to put out the dumpster fire. A coach early in his career was almost certainly going to crash and burn in the situation of the 3rd coach in 3 years. Heck, White was afraid of being the 3rd coach in 5 years.

TN's last 10 coaching hires included Barnes in his 60s, 1 in his 50s, 4 in their 40s, and 4 in their late 30s. The 2nd best w/l record was the guy in his 50s. Mears had the best and was in his 30s. Pearl was in his 40s and had the 3rd best w/l.

 

[99gator]

It's not exactly a secret that Barnes is here to put out the dumpster fire. A coach early in his career was almost certainly going to crash and burn in the situation of the 3rd coach in 3 years. Heck, White was afraid of being the 3rd coach in 5 years.

TN's last 10 coaching hires included Barnes in his 60s, 1 in his 50s, 4 in their 40s, and 4 in their late 30s. The 2nd best w/l record was the guy in his 50s. Mears had the best and was in his 30s. Pearl was in his 40s and had the 3rd best w/l.

Some of this is why I am scratching my head.

If everyone knows this is a caretaking hire, why all the uproar and emotion?

Y'all know what's up here.

I know the whole "fan" short for "fanatic" thing, but damn.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Any of these might be a year younger. Did a quick year hired minus birth year calculation.

37 Mears .713
54 Green .712
45 Pearl .704
40 Martin .606
37 Devoe .598
38 Peterson .508
44 Tyndall .500
61 Barnes .469
37 O'Neill .434
45 Houston .419

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

Some of this is why I am scratching my head.

If everyone knows this is a caretaking hire, why all the uproar and emotion?

Y'all know what's up here.

I know the whole "fan" short for "fanatic" thing, but damn.

I'm not one that's having a meltdown. These two years have gone pretty much as I expected. Years 3 and/or 4 are when TN can return as a good team. Then it should become more clear if Barnes will be around for a total of about 5 years or more like 10.

 

[99gator]

Any of these might be a year younger. Did a quick year hired minus birth year calculation.

37 Mears .713
54 Green .712
45 Pearl .704
40 Martin .606
37 Devoe .598
38 Peterson .508
44 Tyndall .500
61 Barnes .469
37 O'Neill .434
45 Houston .419

And those are just men's basketball coaches.

Is he the oldest hire ever for any athletic program?

 

[OrangeBalls]

Some of this is why I am scratching my head.

If everyone knows this is a caretaking hire, why all the uproar and emotion?

Y'all know what's up here.

I know the whole "fan" short for "fanatic" thing, but damn.

Don't confuse some drive bys last night as people in an uproar. Most people around here knew we were going to struggle the first 2 years. However, I don't think anyone expected the sh*t fest that happened last night. They also didn't expect us to beat Ky.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

And those are just men's basketball coaches.

Is he the oldest hire ever for any athletic program?

That pic of Clevenger looks like he's about 90.

Barnes is a pretty unique hire. He missed what, 1 or 2 NCAATs in almost 20 years and gets run off from Texas. I wonder if they already had an agreement with Shaka before letting CRB go. They're not the elite program that they think they are.

 

[Thunder Good-Oil]

And Cuonzo is down 21 points in the 1st half versus Utah. But we ran him off 'cause he's a colored feller.

42-22 at the half.

 

[81Orange]

I don't know what scale we are supposed to use. Is 5 average or 7. I do agree with the statements here. I also believe recruit will pick up and we will get some higher rated players based on Barns overachiements. The good news is Barrnes and staff got a few 4 stars that many thought were 3s.

Yes. He took a team expected to finish 13th in the league and finished middle of the pack. Would have likely finished higher but I think some of his freshmen wore out down the stretch. And considering his starting PG missed 9 games, Fulkerson missed all of SEC play, Mostella was dismissed and missed SEC play, Hubbs has been nursing a bad knee, etc., I think Barnes did a very good job with what he had. We're all disappointed with the last 2 weeks obviously, but considering what everyone, both inside and outside of the program, expected of this team preseason, the fact that we were in the NCAA discussion with 2 weeks left in regular season is a testimony to Barnes being able to get the most of those young guys for the majority of the season. So if we are assigning a number score I give him a 7.

 

[81Orange]

No one expected Barnes to make the final 4 in 3-4 years. For that we would need a recruiting class if Big Mc eaters. No coach could get that recruiting class here following Tyndall. No young up and commer was going to succeed here any faster than Barnes is. Barnes is just in the right place in his career to take the challenge. If he gets us back to the dance in year 3 or 4 he has done a great job. Higher rated players will then come here again.
I would like to see us in the NCAA next year and sweet 16 the following year or two. By then Barnes can retire with our thanks and we will be able to attract a coach looking for a career job. Perhaps by then our admin will take bb seriously.
I think Barnes is more personable than Cunzo. Let's see how Barnes does marketing a winning product.

 

[cncchris33]

You strongly agree that Barnes will get fired?

I agree with most of what he said but I disagree with that part...I don't think he took the job thinking he will be fired nor do I think Tennessee hired him expecting to do that. I think 5-6 years of him getting things together and then him riding off into the sunset and retiring is much more likely than him being fired.

Unless things just fall apart completely, he probably retires. But, I can see a situation where if by year 4 or 5, we haven't made the tournament and continue to float around 17-18 wins annually, he is forced to step down/retire. In other words, fired. The Fulmer treatment, if you will.

 

[The Dog]

One facet of the solution is getting rid of Desmond Oliver. The TX supporters/boosters wanted Barnes to shake up his staff at his former job. Rick's refusal to upgrade his staff is a big reason he was ousted from that job. Barnes was wrong to bring his staff with him over to Knoxville. Oliver's been tasked with doing the majority of the recruiting because Rick either can't or won't get involved to the level that he should. Desmond Oliver is the Fredo of college recruiting. The biggest recruit Rick and/or his staff have landed so far is Yves Pons and he was brought to us by Michael Schwartz, not Desmond. And it looks like even Pons may turn out to be a project. So, Rick's either going to have to actively involve himself in recruiting or shake up his staff to get the roster up to snuff...

Damn, Special Ed, that's the 1st time, I have ever seen u bring it like that. I have to agree with a lot of what u said, although I think Pons and Walker will be instant 25 mins per game guys.

 

[StrangeVol]

I'll go with a 7 because:

CRB started out with a complete dumpster fire/train wreck. He was the 3rd coach in 3 years and 4th in 6 and the three previous coaches left their programs in a mess.

Last year the regular season ended badly, but Punter had a season ending injury just before the bad finish and Baulkman was playing through his injury for most of the second half of the season. Still managed to get a couple of SECT wins.

This year was even worse for player attrition. Started out with Bone missing 9 games. Then Fulkerson only played in 10 games. Then Mostella was dismissed with half the season remaining. Then Hubbs played the last few weeks with an injured knee. Then Bowden caught pneumonia. Not only did 5 of 12 scholarship players miss a significant portion of the season, but those 5 plus Williams were the best players. The attrition also included 2 of the 3 upperclassmen.

50% of the roster are freshmen and 7 of 12 are in their first year in the program. Only 3 of the 12 were upperclassmen.

I like the roster that's been put together for 2017-18.

He's beaten Kentucky twice.

TN competed with, and could have beaten, four of the top teams in the country (Gonzaga, UNC, Wisconsin, Oregon).

I'm with you! A little more patience is needed right now but it will be rewarded in the coming years.

 

[calban]

Damn, Special Ed, that's the 1st time, I have ever seen u bring it like that. I have to agree with a lot of what u said, although I think Pons and Walker will be instant 25 mins per game guys.

Pons will be exciting to watch but will probably earn a lot of bench time in the Barnes system with his tendency to foul.
Most of the highlights from the FIFA game were made playing with 4.

 

[TennesseeVols16]

7

 

[Caculator]

10