Rick Barnes to Jeremy Pruitt: Tennessee Vols 10 notable 2010s coaching hires

On paper, Donnie Tyndall seemed like a solid hire after Cuonzo Martin left the Tennessee basketball program to take the California Golden Bears job. Tyndall had a stellar recruiting track record and won a lot at Morehead State and two years at Southern Miss.

In addition to that, some of the things that frustrated people about Martin’s teams, including the slow-pace and boring half-court defense, albeit effective, would be undone. Tyndall liked to press on every made basket, ran a matchup zone to create turnovers in the half-court defense, and would use an NBA-style high-low motion offense. It was a fun system to watch.

But Dave Hart did not do his due diligence. The Tennessee Vols had already suffered investigations from the NCAA in basketball and football in the previous three years when he hired Tyndall. And he was very aware of a recruiting violation Tyndall had already committed at Morehead State.

Although it seemed minor at the time, that was not the point. Hart should have known that he could hire other candidates who wouldn’t bring such a risk. And if he wanted stability, he had a coach up the road in Rick Byrd, who was balling with the Belmont Bruins and would’ve willingly gone to Rocky Top to finish his career.

Instead, Hart shot high for the long-term hire, which is so overdone. And it backfired. Tyndall got wrapped up in an investigation of academic fraud related to his time at Southern Miss. By mid-season, he had lost all his key commits and an assistant coach, and by the end of the year, Hart had to fire him. The move set UT back for a couple of years, and it could have been avoided.