Tag: Rick Barnes

Rick Barnes named Naismith Hall of Fame first time nominee

Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes named Naismith Hall of Fame first time nominee.

Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes is a first time nominee for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Barnes is one of 15 first time North American nominees.

“I feel incredibly blessed to be nominated for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the pinnacle of our sport,” Barnes said. “This distinction, though, is not just about me, but more about all the wonderful people who have impacted me throughout my coaching journey the last four-plus decades. I want to thank every coach, staff member, administrator, fan and friend who has supported me and the programs I’ve had the joy of working for. But most of all, I want to thank the players I’ve had the privilege of coaching, as well as my family for their unconditional love and for keeping me focused on the Lord and living for the glory of His kingdom.”

Barnes is in his 44th consecutive season as a college basketball coach, including his 37th consecutive campaign as a head coach.

PHOTOS: Rick Barnes through the years

Tennessee coach Rick Barnes among first time nominees for Naismith Hall of Fame

Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes is among the newcomers on the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame ballot for the class of 2024.

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame released the list of eligible candidates for the class of 2024 and Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes was among the first-time nominees.

Barnes was joined by fellow newcomers Vince Carter, Bill Laimbeer, Mike Fratello, and the 2008 U.S. Olympic Basketball team, known as the ‘Redeem Team’.

Barnes has been a head coach every season since 1987, when he began his career at George Mason by going 20-10.

The next year he was at Providence in the Big East, spending six years with the Friars and making three NCAA Tournaments.

From there he spent four years at Clemson and then 17 as the head coach of the Texas Longhorns, making the NCAA Tournament in all but one season and appearing in the Final Four, while coaching legends like Kevin Durant, TJ Ford, and LaMarcus Aldridge.

Barnes has been at Tennessee the past eight seasons, with five NCAA Tournament appearances and even a No. 1 overall ranking during the 2018-19 season.

All told Barnes has a 788-409 record, including a 9-3 start this year, good for a 65.8% winning rate. He has been named conference coach of the year six times, and Naismith Coach of the Year once, and his team has been in the NCAA Tournament an astonishing 27 times, although he has only made the one Final 4.

Barnes joins Miami coach Jim Larranaga among active college basketball head coaches on the ballot, and recently retired coaches who are eligible include Bo Ryan and John Beilein.

Finalists from the Honor’s Committee for the Class of 2024 will be announced on Friday, February 16, in Indianapolis, Indiana, during NBA All-Star Weekend.

The entire Class of 2024 will be unveiled during the NCAA Final Four in Phoenix, Arizona, on Saturday, April 6, in a nationally televised broadcast.

How to watch Tennessee-George Mason basketball game

How to watch the Tennessee-George Mason basketball game on Tuesday.

No. 13 Tennessee (4-3) will host George Mason (7-1) on Tuesday at Food City Center.

Rankings reflect the USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll.

Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes served as George Mason’s head coach during the 1987-88 season, guiding the Patriots to a 20-10 record. He also served as an assistant coach for the Patriots from 1980-85.

Tuesday’s contest will be the first time Barnes will coach against George Mason.

A victory against George Mason would give Barnes wins over 198 different Division I teams during his 37-year head coaching career.

PHOTOS: A look at Rick Barnes through the years

Below is information in how to watch and listen to the Tennessee-George Mason basketball game at Food City Center on Tuesday.

Watch: Rick Barnes previews Tennessee-North Carolina game

Watch: Rick Barnes previews the Tennessee-North Carolina game

No. 11 Tennessee (4-2) will play at No. 16 North Carolina (5-1) on Wednesday.

Rankings reflect the USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll.

Tipoff between the Vols and Tar Heels is slated for 7:15 p.m. EST at Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. ESPN will televise the contest.

The matchup is part of the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge.

North Carolina leads the all time series against Tennessee, 10-2. Tennessee is 115-100 all time versus current members of the ACC.

Wednesday’s contest will be the first time ever Tennessee is playing three straight ranked teams in non-conference play in a single season.

Ahead of the Tennessee-North Carolina contest, Vols’ head coach Rick Barnes met with media. His media availability can be watched below.

Rick Barnes recaps Vols’ loss to No. 1 Kansas

Rick Barnes recaps the Vols’ loss to No. 1 Kansas in Maui Invitational.

No. 1 Kansas (5-1) defeated No. 8 Tennessee (4-2), 69-60, Wednesday in the third-place game of the Maui Invitational.

Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes recapped the Vols’ loss to Kansas.

“Again, just disappointed with our inconsistency,” Barnes said. “We’re just inconsistent. We need to know night to night what we’re going to get. This tournament, I think, was great for us. There’s no doubt in my mind. I know we’re going to get much, much better as a basketball team. We’re going to learn from it, both games.

“I know we’re better than we played today, and give Kansas credit. I thought they executed extremely well. I thought their key guys did exactly what you would expect them to do night-in and night-out. We’ve got to get that with our guys.”

Steven Erler-USA TODAY Sports

Rick Barnes recaps Vols’ win against Syracuse

Rick Barnes recaps Tennessee’s win against Syracuse.

No. 8 Tennessee (4-0) defeated Syracuse (3-1), 73-56, on Monday in the Maui Invitational opening game.

Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes met with media after the contest.

“Really tough, hard-fought game,” Barnes said. “Really proud of our older group at the end when we had some different situations, turned it over in ways that we normally don’t and shouldn’t. I thought our older guys, guys that had been in a lot of big games, Josiah was terrific today, his rebounding, Jonas came back big on the glass. Our older guys defensively were locked in, did a lot of good things for us, and I think we know we can be better on offense.

“I thought we kept our composure through some tough situations for us, but we did some things that are out of character. They had a lot to do with that, too. They really are very aggressive with getting in the passing lanes, tipping the ball, back-tipping, all that, but really nice win for us.”

Tennessee will next play Purdue in the Maui Invitational on Tuesday. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. EST and will be televised by ESPN.

Steven Erler-USA TODAY Sports

Dalton Knecht scores 24 points in Vols’ win at Wisconsin

Dalton Knecht scores 24 points in Tennessee’s win at Wisconsin.

No. 10 Tennessee (2-0) defeated Wisconsin (1-1), 80-70, Friday at Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin.

The victory ended a three-game losing streak to the Badgers. The Vols led, 43-35 at halftime.

Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes recorded his 781st career coaching win and is now tied with Lute Olson for 17th place in career wins. Barnes passed Lou Henson in all time coaching victories after the Vols’ season-opening victory on Nov. 6.

Dalton Knecht scored 24 points and was one of four Tennessee players to score 10-plus points against Wisconsin.

Josiah-Jordan James totaled 14 points and six rebounds, while Jordan Gainey and Jonas Aidoo scored 10 points each. Aidoo also recorded seven rebounds and two blocks for the Vols.

Tennessee sits atop 2023-24 preseason SEC men’s basketball media poll

Members of the media think the Volunteers are the men’s basketball team to beat in the SEC this upcoming season.

The 2023-24 preseason SEC media poll was released on Tuesday, and the members of the press think Tennessee is the team to beat in the conference before the season begins.

The Volunteers, under head coach Rick Barnes, have won at least 25 games in each of the past two seasons. They made it to the Sweet 16 in last season’s tournament before falling victim to Florida Atlantic’s Cinderella run.

The voters also think Alabama, who won the conference tournament in two of the past three seasons under head coach Nate Oats, will slide down to fifth in the conference standings.

South Carolina and LSU may have two of the best women’s basketball programs in the country, but the preseason voters think they’ll slot in as the worst two men’s teams in the SEC on the court.

Here’s how the full poll turned out.

Rank Team
1 Tennessee
2 Texas A&M
3 Arkansas
4 Kentucky
5 Alabama
6 Auburn
7 Mississippi State
8 Florida
9 Missouri
10 Ole Miss
11 Vanderbilt
12 Georgia
13 LSU
14 South Carolina

Rick Barnes details Tobe Awaka’s offseason improvement

Rick Barnes details Tobe Awaka’s offseason improvement.

Tennessee will open its 2023-24 season versus Tennessee Tech on Nov. 6.

Tipoff between the Vols and Golden Eagles is slated for 6:30 p.m. EDT in Food City Center at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes met with media ahead of the regular-season and discussed progress of sophomore forward Tobe Awaka.

“He is a much different player right now than he was,” Barnes said. “His confidence is totally different, and Tobe was a player that no one ever ran a play for or tried to play through him.”

Barnes discussed playing Awaka and Jonas Aidoo to give Tennessee a better post presence.

“We’ve, obviously, tried doing things with him and Jonas because we think they both have skills that we can take advantage of,” Barnes said. “It’s up to us to put them in positions where they can be effective.

“Tobe’s rebounding is a great talent. It’s something he has an unbelievable passion for. He’s got great instincts for it and there’s not an area that he hasn’t improved in.”

Barnes said Awaka’s experience with Team USA during the summer helped him improve.

“What he did with USA Basketball was a big confidence booster to him, and I think he has an incredible future ahead in basketball for himself because he works so hard,” he said. “It really matters to him and he’s learning a lot of things right now.

“He’s being asked to do some things that we didn’t ask him to do a year ago, but we’re asking him to do more and be more of a force on both ends.”

Awaka appeared in 34 games for Tennessee last season, averaging 3.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.3 blocks and 0.2 steals per contest.

Rick Barnes discusses Vols’ ‘depth on perimeter’

Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes discusses Tennessee’s depth on the perimeter.

Tennessee will open its 2023-24 season versus Tennessee Tech on Nov. 6.

Tipoff between the Vols and Golden Eagles is slated for 6:30 p.m. EDT in Food City Center at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Tennessee will play two exhibition contests before opening regular-season play.

The Vols will play at Michigan State on Oct. 29. Tipoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. EDT and will be televised by Big Ten Network.

Tennessee also hosts Lenoir-Rhyne on Oct. 31 in Food City Center at Thompson-Boling Arena. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. EDT and can be watched on SEC Network+.

Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes met with media Tuesday.

Barnes discussed how Tennessee has depth on the perimeter in 2023-24.

“The fact is that we have more depth on the perimeter than we have had since we have been here,” Barnes said. “Up to this point, we have shown that we can shoot the ball, but I just know that we have a long way to go defensively. The fact is that these guys have proven to us that they want to work, and they want to be good.”