Grading the Hire of Tennessee Basketball's Rick Barnes

The Tennessee Volunteers are a team looking for stability. That is exactly what the Rick Barnes hire spells out. Stability though is a two-way street as there is a reason why the Texas Longhorns fired him after an astounding 16 tournament appearances with the program. There are many factors that need to be analyzed and addressed before making an opinion on the hire.

Style of Play/Coaching

Donnie Tyndall, Cuonzo Martin, and Bruce Pearl all had different types of defense, but all led defensive teams. That trend is not changing with Rick Barnes. Barnes relies on a simple method of keeping scorers out of the lane by stocking big men and length. Now, that may be a change for Tennessee who has relied more on smaller more agile post players more recently. Texas even this year managed to have a top 40 scoring defense and even ranked fourth in field goal percentage defense. Conversely, despite a plethora of talent, many have questioned Barnes ability to put a successful offense on the floor (163rd this year in scoring). Perhaps that is due to the half-court offense (52nd in adjusted offensive efficiency per Kenpom, 300th in Tempo). Still the question has to be asked how one can fail to make significant moves with the likes of Kevin Durant, Lamarcus Aldridge, and D.J. Augustin.

Recruiting

Tennessee’s current class, if judged by someone who focuses on rankings (84th overall, last in SEC), is less than impressive and with so little time left in the signing period, the expectations for what Barnes can do with this class should be tempered. However, if past results hold true than Rick Barnes can turn Tennessee into a recruiting force. In his tenure at Texas, Barnes continually impressed with recruits such as those listed above and while some say they have tapered off in the past few years, the difference in talent isn’t truly noticeable — they averaged a top 10 class in the mid 2000’s and have a top 25 more recently. Any concerns on age? While there is more to talk about on the subject, don’t expect a Phillip Fulmer-esque drop off. The main reason for that is simply that basketball and football are completely different sports that require different attributes when it comes to recruiting. Look for Tennessee to quickly get back to where Bruce Pearl had them recruiting-wise, although whether that will translate on the court will be a wait-and-see deal.

Age

Rick Barnes is 60 years old (or young depending on how you view it). That can be scary when your program is seeking stability as is the case in Tennessee. The max that Tennessee can realistically hope to have Barnes for is 15 years (Larry Brown is 74, Jim Boeheim is 70). However, Barnes is an established coach and with the reputation gain for Tennessee as well as the amount of capable assistants and long list of contacts that he holds, the Vols shouldn’t have much trouble so long as they part on mutual terms when the time comes. Recruiting as covered above shouldn’t be a problem, nor do I believe respect and buy-in among current players to be one either.

Results

All of the above is important, but at the end of the day what matters most is how the team achieves on the court. For Barnes it is a mixed bag. Texas prior to Rick Barnes was a football school only, but 16 out of 17 years in the NCAA tourney has at least given a way to challenge that notion. He has even made his way to the Final Four back in 2006-07, but recent struggles have caused some concern, enough so that Texas was willing to part with someone who practically built the program. Tennessee needs only to keep this in context. The Vols to this point are not a basketball school, although they were on the road to being one with Bruce Pearl at the helm. If they were they may have avoided the next mediocre and then disastrous hire of Cuonzo Martin and Donnie Tyndall. This is a coach who has been successful (to what degree is the only argument) at every stop. His record is 604-314 and that is not with elite schools. Clemson and Texas really weren’t even on the map until Barnes appeared. Tennessee fits the bill as a program that can benefit greatly from this hire.

Grade: A-