Tennessee basketball: Could FBI NCAA probe affect the Vols?

Tennessee basketball hasn’t come up in the FBI investigation into the NCAA yet. But is there any chance that it could affect the Volunteers?

Tennessee basketball has had its fair share of NCAA issues in recent history. Two of the Vols’ three coaches before Rick Barnes suffered show-cause penalties. So what about this new FBI probe into the sport?

All of us should be familiar with the public details of the FBI investigative probe that involves NCAA basketball recruiting. Sports Illustrated put out a pretty good summary on what we know, if you need brought up to speed. Or if you’d like the information straight from the FBI, here are the documents.

The news on the probe had sort of fallen off to silence until last Thursday when Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel reported that there is a “breadth of potential NCAA rules violations uncovered” in information currently under protective order, in the hands of the FBI. Thamel said sources informed him “almost half of the 16 teams” included in the NCAA Selection Committees top 16 “should worry about their appearance being vacated.” The source also said it could affect Hall of Fame coaches.

Tennessee basketball does meet both criteria mentioned by Thamel’s source. The Selection Committee include the Vols in its recent Top 16. And their head coach is indeed a future Hall of Famer. But could this scandal really reach Knoxville?

Rick Barnes has managed to maintain a well-respected and almost stellar reputation as a coach, as well as a person. Barnes has been a head coach for three decades now without any major violations. He did, however, recently get some rules education for giving one of his assistants a raise out of his own pocket.

Barnes does have some on the record comments from SEC media days after the story first broke.

"“You have to know what’s going on in your profession…One thing I do know in this business, the majority of guys in this business do things the right way.” -Rick Barnes"