10 factors determining if Vols head coach Rick Barnes leaves for UCLA

7. Recruiting ability

Rick Barnes built Tennessee basketball with a bunch of three-star recruits who came together over time. That made the program relevant again, and now with it rolling, he’s able to use his reputation and the success of the program to recruit at a higher level.

That’s why four-star Yves Pons committed in 2017, four-star DJ Burns committed in 2018 and five-star Josiah James has committed for 2019. Barnes now is able to do what he did with the Texas Longhorns, when he got top-notch kids sprinkled into an overall program over a long period of time.

However, the UCLA Bruins provide a way bigger advantage. Even with Steve Alford on the hot seat, UCLA had a five-star and four four-stars committed  last year. They still, despite a coaching change, have two commitments, including a four-star for next year. No matter who’s coaching, this program always gets top 5 classes.

UCLA is one of the few programs that sells itself. Barnes has to know that, so combining his coaching skills with his connections at UCLA would make for historically great classes. It’s what Calipari has been able to do with the Kentucky Wildcats over a 10-year period.

Simply put, there is no way Tennessee can get an advantage over UCLA here. The Vols are a solid basketball program with the potential to be good, but people will only commit there depending on the coach. They will commit to UCLA no matter what. We have it No. 7, though, because Barnes’s recruiting ability on his own offsets some of UCLA’s advantage.