Amidst all the hoopla at SEC Media Days this week, Tennessee Basketball head coach Rick Barnes celebrated a major birthday. Barnes turned 70 Wednesday. Somehow, though, he seems to be 30 years younger, and it’s not because of his looks, his hair and his energy. It’s because of his coaching style.
Despite turning 70, Barnes is coming off a season in which he switched up his style dramatically to lead his program to a conference regular season championship and Elite Eight appearance. That style included a motion offense, playing more small-ball and focusing on three-point shooting.
Barnes also did it behind an elite transfer portal player, Dalton Knecht, which shows he’s embracing the new aspect of the sport. On the recruiting trail, he’s added a ton of new transfers, all with a focus on three-point shooting, and he still has been getting blue-chip recruits. The guy is two years removed from three straight top 10 classes.
Taking all this into account, are we sure Tennessee Basketball doesn’t have one of the youngest coaches in the SEC? Barnes is acting like he’s fresh into Power Five play and wants to utilize the three-point shot, elite recruiting and the transfer portal to go win games.
Truth be told, it’s much more to do with Barnes’ humility. At 70, he was able to embrace that not only was the style of college ball changing, but some of the philosophies he lived by, including grinding his players too hard, weren’t working. That’s why he seemed to throw an SEC Tournament game.
As a result, Barnes has brought youthful energy in to mix with his wisdom. He still wants to develop players, and he still has a focus on defense, so he’s not going to compromise the things he does well. Altogether, that makes for the perfect combination of a head coach.
Taking that all into account, as Barnes turns 70, Tennessee Basketball turns back the clock with him on the sideline. Recently, he’s been having his best level of success in two decades, and he’s nowhere near done. Heck, he could have another decade in him, and there’s a great chance he becomes the oldest coach to win his first national title at some point.
