Rick Barnes on third straight Elite Eight: ‘We have a standard, we’re a no-nonsense program’
By JAMES MADDEN
CHICAGO – Underdog. A word that perfectly encapsulates Rick Barnes’ tenure as the head coach at Tennessee. Prior to Barnes’ hiring in 2015, Tennessee had made just one Elite Eight in program history, in 2010 under Bruce Pearl. With the legendary head coach as its leader, the program’s identity has changed within the last 11 years.
After another breakout game for NBA Draft prospect Nate Ament, the Volunteers are headed to the Elite Eight for the third consecutive season following a 76-62 win against Iowa State. The Volunteers will look to knock off a third straight top-three seeded opponent, after having beaten No. 3 Virginia and No. 2 Iowa State in their last two games.
Barnes told ZAGSBLOG about how he’s built sustained success with a program that had relatively small history prior to his hiring.
“I’m not sure what it is, other than the fact God’s blessed me with getting a great job, good players,” Barnes told ZAGSBLOG postgame. “We do have a standard on a lot of things, not just on the basketball court. We’re pretty much a no-nonsense program. We talked about that through the recruiting process. We want to help them live their dreams. It goes back to the entire program… just blessed to have so many wonderful people around us.”
Barnes said Thursday that strong leadership is what makes a job “good” and that Tennessee AD Danny White has helped him build a basketball power in the SEC, especially in what Barnes called a broken “system.”
“We’ve got a situation now certainly at Tennessee with Danny White and his staff and Randy Boyd, Donde Plowman, they want to give us all a chance to compete at the highest level,” Barnes said Thursday. “It goes back again — talking about jobs, if the administration is not lined up with the athletic department, it’s going to fail. It’s going to fail somewhere along the line. I watched it fail at a couple different places because of that. You have to have an athletic director that knows all that.”
Notably, White also received praise from Alabama head coach Nate Oats on Thursday, tying their connection back to Oats’ tenure as the Buffalo head coach, where White was the athletic director at the time.
At 71 years old, Barnes hasn’t lost a step. From his first season at George Mason in 1987 to now, he’s built one of the most successful coaching careers in the 21st century.
To his name, Barnes has 861 wins, 30 NCAA Tournament appearances, five Elite Eights and just one Final Four, with his return to the latter of the four accomplishments being the most coveted.
On Sunday, Barnes will strive to achieve something that Tennessee never has in its 118-year history. Reach a Final Four.
Tennessee will tip-off against Michigan on Sunday afternoon at 2:15 p.m. ET in Chicago, with a trip to Indianapolis on the line.
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