Volunteer Country

How Rick Barnes Can Cement His Legacy

Tennessee Volunteers head coach Rick Barnes is already one of the greats. However, there's still one hurdle he has yet to climb.

Alfred Ezman

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The 2023-24 season will be Rick Barnes' ninth year at Tennessee. It will be his 37th-year overall head coaching division one college basketball. He's no stranger to big moments, praise, scrutiny, and everything in between that encompasses behind a college basketball coach at the highest level.

In his time with the Vols, he has accomplished many things. He has 175 wins with 5 NCAA tournament appearances (three in a row since 2020). He also has won two SEC titles, one for the regular season, and won the 2022 SEC Tournament. He was even the SEC coach of the year in 2017-18. He has grown a level of consistency at Tennessee that the basketball program hadn't seen for a decade with making the NCAA tournament. Beyond that, he has developed a winning culture, as the program has a .655 win percentage with him in command. 

However, the biggest thing with the Volunteers' head coach is his performance in the tournament. In the five times Barnes has made the big dance, he has missed out on the elite eight all five times. Tennessee has made the Elite 8 just once in its history (2010). This past season, he led the Vols to the sweet sixteen for the second time since he joined the school in 2015. It was a big leap in the right direction for him. However, with the build-up of consistency within the program, there comes a need to push toward a closer shot at a national title. This is something the Volunteer basketball program has yet to accomplish.  

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Alfred Ezman
ALFRED EZMAN