10 factors determining if Vols head coach Rick Barnes leaves for UCLA
1. Personal lifestyle
We’re back to the location factor, but it’s presented in a different light. Our original location factor was just about the objective differences between Southern California and East Tennessee, including weather and things to do.
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We debated about whether or not Rick Barnes would prefer SoCal and noted that he personally may prefer East Tennessee because he’s from just right over the state line in Hickory, N.C. The lifestyle that comes with the location, however, is probably something else that heavily favors Barnes.
Remember, Barnes’s wife is a graduate of Tennessee. He has deep roots in Hickory, which is only three hours away from Knoxville. The guy’s family is rooted in Appalachia, and it’s hard to see him leaving all of that, unless his kids and grandkids have moved somewhere else and we haven’t heard about it.
The culture of the place is just a much better fit for Barnes. He’s a southern guy, and he’s also deeply religious. We know about his emphasis on his faith, and we also know that such things make him a great fit for East Tennessee.
As a result, while the objective location of Los Angeles may significantly favor UCLA, the personal lifestyle that Rick Barnes seems to prefer should heavily favor Tennessee. When he was hired, he talked up his personal connections, and he admitted that he reached out for UT job when it opened up and Texas fired him.
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All of that seems to suggest that Rick Barnes loves where he is and has a genuine connection to the university. Now, maybe it doesn’t matter in the end. But you have to think that at age 64, he’s thinking about the comfortability of his lifestyle, even if he loves coaching. And while California provides the sun, Rocky Top just appears to be a much better fit for him.