Tennessee Basketball head coach Rick Barnes has a chance to completely change his legacy. It just takes one simple thing that has alluded him for the vast majority of his career – another Final Four.
A Final Four appearance by the Vols this year would forever change the way Barnes, 70, is remembered long after his coaching career is over. Barnes, who became a head coach in 1987, already has one Final Four run, which occurred at Texas in 2003. That doesn’t make him special.
There have been nearly 100 head coaches make just one Final Four in their career. Another Final Four would separate Barnes from a bunch of guys you’ve never heard of, such as Frosty Cox, who took Colorado to the Final Four in 1942.
The two-timer club is much more exclusive. There have been approximately 69 coaches with two or more Final Four appearances. There have been 36 coaches make just two Final Fours.
Then, there’s Barnes’ history of turning schools that are considered football powerhouses into schools that have championship-worthy basketball programs. Barnes did that at Texas with his Final Four run. One could argue he’s already done that at Tennessee, but a Final Four run in a different color of orange would end all arguments.
Texas hadn’t been to a Final Four in over 50 years when Barnes finally took them there. Tennessee has never been to a Final Four. It’s one thing to win at Duke or North Carolina where resources are unlimited and fan support is solely focused on basketball. Winning at a school where football is king, such as Tennessee or Texas, is much different.
If Barnes doesn’t make another Final Four run, no one is going to talk about his school-record number of wins at Texas, which stands at 402 games, or his total number of wins at Tennessee. Barnes has 229 wins as a Vol. If he coaches long enough, he could overtake former Tennessee Basketball coach Ray Mears, who has 278 career wins. However, no one is going to refer to Barnes as a legendary coach if he tops Mears and doesn’t make another Final Four run.
Topping Mears would mean Barnes would be UT’s coach for at least two more seasons. That would open up the possibility for two Final Four runs as a Vol, which would be even more exclusive company. There have only been 34 coaches reach the Final Four on three or more occasions.
By all accounts, Barnes isn’t just about Final Four appearances. He’s about building young men into outstanding citizens with some basketball thrown in. However, as commendable as that is, that doesn’t show up in the record books. Wins and Final Four appearances will be how every coach is remembered.
