Tennessee’s Rick Barnes says recruiting is easier now than ever: ‘Hey, what’s your [NIL] number?’
By JAMES MADDEN
CHICAGO – Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes spoke about the differences in recruiting in coaching in today’s climate of college basketball, compared to when he began coaching in the 1980s. He was asked about why coaches from his generation have coached for a long period of time, while coaches now say they don’t plan on coaching for long.
“It’s easier today than it was back then because today, it’s easy,” Barnes said. “You can recruit a guy now for a week and get him. You know what I mean? Hey, what’s the number? But in some ways, it’s easier. I’m being brutally honest. It really is. Because it’s different there. The stakes are higher.”
Barnes has turned Tennessee into a top recruiting school, bringing in highly-rated recruits yearly, particularly Nate Ament last year, who was ranked No. 4 in the country.
With Barnes reaching an age where retirement speculation is inevitable, he said he’s still loving coaching but didn’t mention his ideas about a possible retirement.
Barnes has led Tennessee to its third straight Elite Eight appearance and will face Michigan on Sunday in Chicago.
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