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Tennessee basketball: Five underachieving Rick Barnes teams that resemble 2020-21 Vols

By Caleb Calhoun

WACO, TX - JANUARY 31: Texas Longhorns head coach Rick Barnes has words for his team against the Baylor Bears on January 31, 2015 at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
WACO, TX - JANUARY 31: Texas Longhorns head coach Rick Barnes has words for his team against the Baylor Bears on January 31, 2015 at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images) /
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COLUMBIA, MO – JANUARY 20: Head coach Rick Barnes of the Texas Longhorns looks on against the Missouri Tigers at Hearnes Center on January 20, 2004 in Columbia, Missouri. Texas won 75-69 in overtime. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
COLUMBIA, MO – JANUARY 20: Head coach Rick Barnes of the Texas Longhorns looks on against the Missouri Tigers at Hearnes Center on January 20, 2004 in Columbia, Missouri. Texas won 75-69 in overtime. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Texas Longhorns and Clemson Tigers fans might be saying, “We told you so,” to Tennessee basketball fans right now when it comes to Rick Barnes. After starting the year ranked No. 14 and getting up to No. 6 with two five-stars, two new transfers and four of five starters back from last year, the Vols are now unranked at 16-7 and 9-7 in the SEC.

This isn’t the first time in his career Barnes has had a team struggle to live up to expectations. In fact, he often has had that issue when returning a lot of talent and adding elite recruiting classes to it. That’s what got him fired at Texas to begin with.

With one game left in the regular season, the Vols could still turn things around, but they are looking like one of those previous Barnes teams that drastically underachieved. Let’s take a look at those specific teams. These are five teams Barnes led that the 2020-2021 Tennessee basketball program is starting to resemble.

467. . 2004-2005. . Longhorns . 5. team

20-11 (9-7)

Lost in NCAA Tournament Round of 64

Two years after reaching the Final Four and one year after reaching the Sweet 16, Rick Barnes had the Texas Longhorns rolling entering his seventh season there. Despite losing three starters, including his two leading scorers, Barnes brought in the No. 2 ranked recruiting class with three five-stars: Lamarcus Aldridge, Daniel Gibson and Mike Williams. He also returned P.J. Tucker.

Texas opened the year ranked No. 16 in the AP Poll. Despite early losses to the Iowa Hawkeyes and Wake Forest Demon Deacons, a 12-2 start got them to No. 10 in early January. They made it to 14-3 after beating the No. 5 ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys.

Then disaster struck. Tucker was ruled academically ineligible to play the rest of the year, and Aldridge suffered a season-ending hip injury. Texas then finished the year 6-8, losing in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament to the Colorado Buffaloes and in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, as a No. 8 seed, to the Nevada Wolf Pack.

To be fair, the losses of Tucker and Aldridge means this was more about bad luck than underachieving, similar to how Tennessee basketball has been dinged up this year. However, it was still a disappointing season for Barnes.

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