Is Coach Barnes UT's best ever.

Is Coach Rick Barnes UT's best ever?

  • Yes

    Votes: 115 55.0%
  • No

    Votes: 9 4.3%
  • No, the jury is still out

    Votes: 92 44.0%

  • Total voters
    209
#2
#2
I'm not sure what you mean..... Are you talking best men's basketball coach (YES!!) or best coach of all coaches at UT? Because you know-- there is General Neyland, Pat Summitt, the Fulmer/Cutcliffe/Chavis trio...
 
#3
#3
Yes, he is the best men's basketball coach we have ever had. Best ever, period? I don't think so.
 
#5
#5
Ray Mears should have won a title or two but didn't. Had tons of success.

Bruce Pearl would've been and was on a trajectory to have the Vols cemented as a basketball school and legit title contending program year after year, but he decided to lie.

I think Little Donnie would have been awesome here too with tons of success. Dude just knew basketball and was a hell of a coach, but was corrupt.

Rick Barnes is old fashioned and a good man and a great coach. He's the most respectable human we've had as men's bball coach. The players respond to that very well and it's reflective of how they play. With his hall of fame amount of total wins as a coach and what he's doing (so far) with this group, I'd say he's on track. Just hasn't been here long enough. I hope he coaches at least another decade.

I'd love to see him win at least one national title to cap off his tremendous record as a headcoach.....and I hope he does this at UT....
 
#7
#7
Just with my little knowledge, it seems Barnes is a real Teacher. He seems to get the most out of "good" players who are willing to work and learn. When he had "elite" players at Texas, his teams under-preformed. I guess he just relates better to those who aren't divas. I like that about him and UT is fortunate to have a man like that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: cardvolfan
#8
#8
Yes. He was the best coach we have had the day he was hired.

He has has been much better than any of the coaches I remember. Not old enough to have seen Mears.

I think what Bruce is doing in Aub shows Barnes is much much better. We know he is better than the other guys no question.
 
#13
#13
So he has one more FF than all our past coaches combined?

Sounds like our best ever to me.[/Qdance.UOTE]

Don't slight Ray Mears so fast. You can't use FF appearances as a measuring stick. Most of the years he coached, only 16 teams were invited to the dance and you had to be the champion of your conference. Who knows what his tournament record would have been had it been a 64 team field. He also had to deal with the KY teams which were the best payed teams of the era, just with no rules enforcement by the NCAA.

I love Rick barnes, don't get me wrong. It's just nearly impossible to compare coaches of different eras by using tournament results as the standard.
 
#15
#15
To this point, this season, this is the best basketball team Tennessee has ever had, there's no debate about that, longest winning streak in history, #1 for multiple weeks, etc. Will they finish? We'll see, but to this point this team is having the best basketball season in Tennessee history. Enjoy!! (And if they beat KY this week, it will multiple exponentially)
 
#16
#16
If CRB coached under the same NCAAT format that Mears coached under for most of his career, Texas would not have been invited to the NCAAT the year of his Final Four and possibly not the 2EEs either.

If Mears coached with the current NCAAT format he's have gone to the tournament 13 or 14 times instead of 3.

You can't really compare coaches from different eras using the NCAAT as the measuring stick.
 
#18
#18
I love Barnes..........heck unlike some I loved the Barnes hire, from the get go. However how on earth can (right now) 25 people say he is Tennessee's best coach ever? So far he has gotten Tennessee to the tourney 1.........ONE.........time, and never past the second round. Sure this year could be the best ever for Tennessee.........and in some respects it already has been; however this season is still in effect.

Barnes may have come to Tennessee as the most qualified coach they have had, and Barnes may turn out to be the legit best coach Tennessee has ever had, but I see no way to say he is currently the best coach Tennessee has ever had (for and at Tennessee anyway).
 
  • Like
Reactions: jmcarr33
#19
#19
Barnes in 17 years in the Big 12:

1st: 3x
2nd: 5x
3rd: 3x
4th: 1x
5th or below: 5x

1st or 2nd less than 50%.

Barnes coached 11 years in D-1 before arriving at Texas.

Mears 15 years at TN were his only as a D-1 coach. He had a natty at a lower division.
 
  • Like
Reactions: StarRaider
#22
#22
I think we will just how good a coach Rick Barnes is. He taken unheralded talent and molded them into something special. This team is special and no one else but Rick Barnes could have done it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: wlkx and lynnh
#23
#23
I think we will just how good a coach Rick Barnes is. He taken unheralded talent and molded them into something special. This team is special and no one else but Rick Barnes could have done it.
Key word is team, this team feeds and plays off each other, fundamentally sound and disciplined. I loved the Bernie & Ernie teams don't think they got past
1st rd in tourney with all that talent. I never liked Mears's star system, 2 scorers 2 rebounders and point guard, if his shooters were off same game team WAS EASY GUARD.
I'm enjoying this watching this team play and its is a team not trying take anything from Mears, but this team is balanced doesn't rely on 1-2 players score every game.
GO VOLS
 

VN Store



Back
Top