Irrational Rick Barnes takes (merged)

#2,176
#2,176
VolGee4 said:
Jay Wright was not at Villanova then. He was at Hofstra. His point is valid- we aren’t hiring a high level coach at another P5 type school. Just doesn’t happen much anymore unless the coach wants out (which means he is catching heat) or has ties to the school.
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Money talks. Always does. TN is a great bball job. You guys want to put down your own program. Mears then Pearl showed the world what this program could be. Barnes is continuing that but underperforming in the NCAAT. Hell Jerry Freaking Green went to four consecutive NCAAT and one sweet 16 at Tn.

This is a great freaking basketball job.
 
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#2,177
#2,177
VolGee4 said:
Jay Wright was not at Villanova then. He was at Hofstra. His point is valid- we aren’t hiring a high level coach at another P5 type school. Just doesn’t happen much anymore unless the coach wants out (which means he is catching heat) or has ties to the school.
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To be fair, there aren’t that many high profile coaches to hire. There isn’t a “Roy Williams to UNC” type coaching moves to be made. The one guy at a mid major who could likely command top salary and top 10-15 job would be Kelvin Sampson but he has baggage. I’ve always thought if we could get 8-10 seasons out of Barnes, our program would be nationally relevant and we’d be able to withstand a lot of coaching turnover in the entire sport and not have to compete with other blue blood programs. Roy retired from UNC, Coach K is retiring this year, Izzo likely retiring soon. Bill Self, Mark Few, Coach Cal and Wright are not moving and have tons of years left. The one true wild card I think even with his “lifetime deal” is Bruce Pearl.


Barnes being able to retire on his own terms while having Tennessee as the top vacancy when he does it is the ideal scenario. i can’t think of any scenario over the next 5 years where Barnes retires and Tennessee isn’t the top 1 or 2 job openings where we have coaches wanting to interview with us that are not coaches you have to Google.
 
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#2,178
#2,178
patrick said:
Money talks. Always does. TN is a great bball job. You guys want to put down your own program. Mears then Pearl showed the world what this program could be. Barnes is continuing that but underperforming in the NCAAT. Hell Jerry Freaking Green went to four consecutive NCAAT and one sweet 16 at Tn.

This is a great freaking basketball job.
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7 sweet 16s
1 elite 8

Not exactly a basketball powerhouse......but I get what you're saying
 
#2,182
#2,182
patrick said:
Money talks. Always does. TN is a great bball job. You guys want to put down your own program. Mears then Pearl showed the world what this program could be. Barnes is continuing that but underperforming in the NCAAT. Hell Jerry Freaking Green went to four consecutive NCAAT and one sweet 16 at Tn.

This is a great freaking basketball job.
Click to expand...

For reasons beyond me, people can't get past the Wade Houston era. It's like they are still having PTSD over it. The other day someone said "it's not been that long since we went to 1 tournament in 16 years." Yes, it has been a long time since they had that drought. Some of those players who were missing those tournaments have grandchildren old enough to be NCAA athletes. Tennessee has been to 11 of the last 16 tournaments 4 of the last 5 coaches who were here for more than a year have went to the Sweet 16. We pay top 5 in the nation money. We don't even have very high expectations to get to that money. We are in a fertile recruiting area, have excellent facilities, a huge NiL pot that is growing every day, and a passionate fan base that will give you a top 10 homecourt advantage in CBB. Whenever Barnes decides it's time to go, if he isn't working with a coach in waiting, we will be a prime target for any successful mid-major coach. That is the area where everyone hires coaches. High major to high major rarely happens.
 
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#2,183
#2,183
patrick said:
Pearl had 3 of those. Barnes has 1 with one more year at TN. Jerry Green had 1 sweet 16 just like Barnes but made it to NCAAT all of his 4 years as head coach - interesting.
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Barnes just missed being only the second TN coach with multiple Sweet 16s. It’s a long process to build a program.
 
#2,193
#2,193
patrick said:
Well Barnes has made 1 Sweet 16 in 7 years. Historically and presently underperforms in the NCAAT.
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I can't argue that. He has a bad record in March. But overall talent, this team blows that EE team out of the water. That's all I was saying
 
#2,194
#2,194
Thunder Good-Oil said:
7 Sweet 16s before Barnes. He added the 8th.
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It’s crazy how much Pearl and Barnes added to our postseason résumés…..

both got to #1, both have multiple tourneys, both have sweet 16’s, etc….

Tennessee had quite the swings between Pearl and Barnes to Buzz, Martin, Tyndall…..
 
#2,196
#2,196
JMSqb11 said:
It’s crazy how much Pearl and Barnes added to our postseason résumés…..

both got to #1, both have multiple tourneys, both have sweet 16’s, etc….

Tennessee had quite the swings between Pearl and Barnes to Buzz, Martin, Tyndall…..
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And just getting there:

Barnes: 4x
Cuonzo: 1x
Pearl: 6x
Green: 4x
Devoe: 6x
Mears: 3x (in a totally different era… most of it a 16 team or one team per conference field).

Wade: 0
KO: 0
Buzz: 0
ButterBean: 0

Really, KO should get a lot of blame for the program struggling. Or at least his issues with Dickey. TN didn’t have a real bad reputation after Wade. TN did get dinged a little bit by firing Devoe after returning to the NCAAT (after making it his first 5 years and then going 0 fer in the next 5). But KO poisoned the well. Green was a huge compromise and there was even more criticism of the program for running off another “successful” coach. Buzz restocked the roster with quality players. Bruce, Cuonzo, and Donnie collectively tarnished the program yet again. Barnes has elevated the program and has also rebuilt the brand from being a bad joke.
 
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#2,197
#2,197
patrick said:
Money talks. Always does. TN is a great bball job. You guys want to put down your own program. Mears then Pearl showed the world what this program could be. Barnes is continuing that but underperforming in the NCAAT. Hell Jerry Freaking Green went to four consecutive NCAAT and one sweet 16 at Tn.

This is a great freaking basketball job.
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I never said it wasn’t a good job, but every P5 school has money. Those things aren’t mutually exclusive. You are delusional.

UF hired Mike White from a mid major and now a guy who has 3 years of total head coaching experience. They have 2 national titles in the last 15 years. LSU hired a mid major, Arkansas hired a mid major (but one that isn’t normal with NBA experience), Arizona hired an assistant with no head coaching experience, Duke and UNC just promoted assistants with no head coaching experience…need I go on?

The college coaching landscape has changed. $6 million for a coach doesn’t sway a sitting P5 coach because he already has a contract for big money and is comfortable. Good luck with that!
 
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#2,198
#2,198
VolArmy74 said:
For reasons beyond me, people can't get past the Wade Houston era. It's like they are still having PTSD over it. The other day someone said "it's not been that long since we went to 1 tournament in 16 years." Yes, it has been a long time since they had that drought. Some of those players who were missing those tournaments have grandchildren old enough to be NCAA athletes. Tennessee has been to 11 of the last 16 tournaments 4 of the last 5 coaches who were here for more than a year have went to the Sweet 16. We pay top 5 in the nation money. We don't even have very high expectations to get to that money. We are in a fertile recruiting area, have excellent facilities, a huge NiL pot that is growing every day, and a passionate fan base that will give you a top 10 homecourt advantage in CBB. Whenever Barnes decides it's time to go, if he isn't working with a coach in waiting, we will be a prime target for any successful mid-major coach. That is the area where everyone hires coaches. High major to high major rarely happens.
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Your response to his post is totally reasonable. A good mid major coach. But we aren’t hiring a high level P5 coach. That’s exactly what I said in my original post.
 
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#2,199
#2,199
Thunder Good-Oil said:
And just getting there:

Barnes: 4x
Cuonzo: 1x
Pearl: 6x
Green: 4x
Devoe: 6x
Mears: 3x (in a totally different era… most of it a 16 team or one team per conference field).

Wade: 0
KO: 0
Buzz: 0
ButterBean: 0

Really, KO should get a lot of blame for the program struggling. Or at least his issues with Dickey. TN didn’t have a real bad reputation after Wade. TN did get dinged a little bit by firing Devoe after returning to the NCAAT (after making it his first 5 years and then going 0 fer in the next 5). But KO poisoned the well. Green was a huge compromise and there was even more criticism of the program for running off another “successful” coach. Buzz restocked the roster with quality players. Bruce, Cuonzo, and Donnie collectively tarnished the program yet again. Barnes has elevated the program and has also rebuilt the brand from being a bad joke.
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Bruce did not tarnish anything. Not to relive history but the program falling out short after his exit was more about incompetent leadership in the AD than his actual “violations” and consequences…… there was never any sign of confidence that Hamilton would be able to a competent hire in football, much less basketball. Bruce sh!t the bed but the down fall in the Cuonzo and Donnie years were more about the AD being morons than the punishment for Bruce breaking rules.

The same guy who fired Bruce and sabotaged our tourney chances the night before tip off is same guy who hired Derek Dooley and Cuonzo Martin….. let’s not all act like the AD was capable of dealing with rocky times on rocky top
 
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#2,200
#2,200
JMSqb11 said:
Bruce did not tarnish anything. Not to relive history but the program falling out short after his exit was more about incompetent leadership in the AD than his actual “violations” and consequences…… there was never any sign of confidence that Hamilton would be able to a competent hire in football, much less basketball. Bruce sh!t the bed but the down fall in the Cuonzo and Donnie years were more about the AD being morons than the punishment for Bruce breaking rules.

The same guy who fired Bruce and sabotaged our tourney chances the night before tip off is same guy who hired Derek Dooley and Cuonzo Martin….. let’s not all act like the AD was capable of dealing with rocky times on rocky top
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Bruce absolutely tarnished the program. The dumpster fire was ignited with his rogue regime. You can’t lie to your higher ups in any job. His dishonesty is chronic.
 
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