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Tennessee basketball: Ranking first five years of Vols coaches who lasted that long

By Caleb Calhoun

ST LOUIS, MO - MARCH 10: Rick Barnes the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers gives instructions to his team against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the semifinals of the 2018 SEC Basketball Tournament at Scottrade Center on March 10, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MO - MARCH 10: Rick Barnes the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers gives instructions to his team against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the semifinals of the 2018 SEC Basketball Tournament at Scottrade Center on March 10, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images /

player. 1989-1994. 65-90 (27-57). Wade Houston. 534. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. 10

Yearly record

1989-1990: 16-14 (10-8) 

  • NIT second round

1990-1991: 12-22 (3-15)

1991-1992: 19-15 (8-8)

  • NIT Second Round

1992-1993: 13-17 (4-12)

1993-1994: 5-22 (2-14)

He lasted exactly five years, and it may have been five years too long. When Tennessee basketball hired Wade Houston to replace longtime coach Don DeVoe, they clearly did it for one specific reason: to lure Allan Houston away from Kentucky. Well, it did work, and the Vols had the sharpshooter on Rocky Top for four years.

Unfortunately, it didn’t do much for them. Despite Houston being there for four years and earning All-American honors in 1992 and 1993, the best the Vols ever did with him was make the second round of the NIT, which they did twice. Two other seasons with him, they ended up finishing with losing records.

However, the year after Houston left was the worst. His father then suffered a 5-22 record and went 2-14 in conference play. As a result, he was fired, which brought in Kevin O’Neil, who only lasted three years. Hiring a coach to get one elite recruit clearly didn’t work out.

By far, Houston’s performance was the worst of an UT coach in his first five years. He only had two winning seasons and just one winning conference season. It was a very bad time for the program, which wouldn’t crawl out of the funk until Jerry Green replaced O’Neil, and inherited his recruits, in 1997-1998.

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