Tennessee basketball’s Rick Barnes named a next veteran coach to win title
Could Tennessee basketball’s Rick Barnes be the next veteran head coach to win a national championship? That would be amazing for the Volunteers.
It’s common knowledge that coaches in college basketball are usually veterans when they win their first national title. Sometimes, like Roy Williams, it can happen when they are at their second major destination job. That might bode well for Tennessee basketball.
Rick Barnes was a veteran coach at a destination job with the Texas Longhorns and is now revitalizing his career on Rocky Top. Five years into rebuilding a program that had gone through three head coaches and two major NCAA investigations in five years before he got there, national analysts are clearly taking notice.
Matt Norlander of CBS Sports listed Barnes as the fifth most likely veteran coach next in line to win a national title. The story cited Barnes’ recent success with the Vols, his recruiting and his proven track record during his time with Texas, the Clemson Tigers and the Providence Friars.
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Ahead of Barnes were Auburn Tigers and former Vols head coach Bruce Pearl, Baylor Bears head coach Scott Drew, Louisville Cardinals head coach Chris Mack and Gonzaga Bulldogs head coach Mark Few.
Of course, Barnes has been coaching much longer at this level than everybody ahead of him, but he has only made on Final Four. So it makes sense that guys like Pearl and Few, who have been knocking on the door recently, would make the list.
However, Barnes also has a great chance to be the guy to do it because of his upcoming recruiting classes. He has been on fire ever since taking over Tennessee basketball, and he’s got a top five class coming in for 2020-2021, including two five-stars and a four-star.
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Meanwhile, Barnes has the Vols in play for numerous five-stars in 2021, and he’s got lots of talent coming back, so it looks like he’s set to have the program at a national level over the next few years. If you have a program knocking on the door, eventually it breaks through for one. Of course, in Williams’ case, it breaks through for three.