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Tennessee basketball: Rick Barnes already among the best coaches in Vols history

By Garrett Sanders

ST LOUIS, MO - MARCH 09: Rick Barnes the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers gives instructions to his team against the Mississippi Bulldogs during the quarterfinals round of the 2018 SEC Basketball Tournament at Scottrade Center on March 9, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MO - MARCH 09: Rick Barnes the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers gives instructions to his team against the Mississippi Bulldogs during the quarterfinals round of the 2018 SEC Basketball Tournament at Scottrade Center on March 9, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Tennessee basketball head coach Rick Barnes is already among the best head coaches in Volunteers history. Here is a look at why.

Related Story: Vols 2017-2018 individual awards

I was recently asked a very intriguing question. “With the recent success of Tennessee Men’s Basketball where would you rank Rick Barnes out of all the head coaches?” In my honest opinion, he’s already the second best coach Tennessee basketball ever had when you combine his resume and Knoxville and his accomplishments overall.

Yes, Barnes is ranked over Ray Mears, Don DeVoe, and Jerry Green. All three former Tennessee basketball head coaches were very successful in their careers. There’s just evidence to prove that Rick Barnes is superior.

Mears was fantastic at Tennessee, winning over 275 games in 15 seasons. He also was a pure marketing tool for Tennessee basketball, wearing the famous orange blazer to attract more fans. Although he is the “father” of Tennessee Men’s Basketball, Barnes has a fair share of fame too.

Don DeVoe also had success in Knoxville, but his win totals declined as his career went on, especially after Dale Ellis left. His lack of consistency is where he’s different from Barnes.

Jerry Green was very under-appreciated as a head coach, at least by Tennessee basketball standards. Fans should regret running Green out of Knoxville after he made the NCAA Tournament four years in a row. While Green may have been successful in Rocky Top, Barnes is the more popular choice regarding greatness.

Most of the facts to prove my case for Barnes being second come from his time with the Texas Longhors. Remember, this is a combination of the most accomplished head coach and what they did in Knoxville.

During his 17 years in Austin, Barnes made it to the NCAA Tournament all but one year. He won over 400 games, averaging almost 24 wins a season, and was named Big 12 Coach of the Year four times against legends like Roy Williams, Bill Self, and Eddie Sutton. The guy could arguably be the best coach in Texas basketball history.

Meanwhile, in his short time in Knoxville, Barnes has already done significant good for Tennessee basketball. We all knew it would take some time to build what Barnes envisioned for his team, but it has paid off. Barnes won SEC Coach of the Year this past year and recruited and developed the SEC Player of the Year in Grant Williams.

And of course, he led Tennessee basketball to the SEC Co-Championship the same year and got them to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 3 seed. That all came as they were picked to finish 13th in the conference.

Barnes has only improved each year as the head coach of Tennessee and has provided certain stability for the program. He has a chance to be the greatest head coach ever in school history.

However, as of right now, Bruce Pearl is still No. 1. There are several facts evident to this foregone conclusion, and they include his overall resume and especially what he did in Knoxville.

Pearl took the Vols to their only Elite Eight and was one point away from making the Final Four. He also had a winning season and made the NCAA Tournament all six years he was on Rocky Top.

Sure, Pearl lost some crucial games that ultimately should have never happened. That included the second round loss to Wichita State his first year, the SEC Tournament loss to Arkansas in 2008, and the loss to the Louisville Cardinals later that year.

But he’s still the best coach in Tennessee basketball history overall. The guy was the second-fastest coach to 300 wins ever at the time Tennessee hired him, won a Division II national title with Southern Indiana, and had just taken Wisconsin-Milwaukee to the Sweet Sixteen. Combine that with him being the most accomplished coach in Vols history, and he’s clearly No. 1.

However, Barnes has the potential to surpass Pearl given what he did at Texas and what he’s building at Tennessee. Vols fans must remember what Barnes had to deal with when he first started in Knoxville.

He took over a volatile situation, and his first two years with Tennessee basketball were dreadful to watch. He just finished his third year. We are now beginning to see the results and what could be in store for the Vols in the future.

Next: Tennessee basketball 2017-2018 final grades

Pearl had a sad ending in Knoxville and added lying to his legacy. So while he may be No. 1, Barnes is on a mission. That could mean something special on Rocky Top. And at some point, I predict Barnes will surpass Pearl as the greatest coach in Tennessee basketball history.

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