Rick Barnes thread

[Helobious 9450]

Yep, like clockwork. Barnes post-january choke job incoming. 

[shadow_operative 15932]

"highly ranked"; "like clockwork". let's check out barnes's recent history with highly ranked teams entering february. 

2022- went 12-1 from february to the end of the season, including sweeping #6 kentucky, beating arkansas, beating SEC champs auburn, finishing second in the league, and winning the SEC tourney title. 

2021- 6-5 to end the season, although there's a huge asterisk next to this one, as it was the truncated covid year, and tennessee was only highly ranked heading into february because they were erroneously highly ranked to start the season. their leader in MPG was freshman Santi Vescovi.

2019- 10-4 from february forward. the 4 losses: @ #8 kentucky, @ #19 LSU (OT), @ #11 auburn, vs #11 auburn in the SEC title game. 

2018: 9-3. away losses @ bama and uga, loss to UK in sec tourney final.

 

so here we are again, same as every year. you guys come in posting the same false narrative, i seat your shit using actual statistical and anecdotal evidence, you learn nothing, im made out to be obsessed with barnes simply for clarifying these things, rinse and repeat. fun stuff.

[MotownHorn 1759]

How’d that 12-1 finish work out for him last year in the tournament? I forget 😁

[MotownHorn 1759]

1 minute ago, shadow_operative said:

 

 

so here we are again, same as every year. you guys come in posting the same false narrative, i seat your shit using actual statistical and anecdotal evidence, you learn nothing, im made out to be obsessed with barnes simply for clarifying these things, rinse and repeat. fun stuff.

You’re a grown man. No ones making you do anything. You’re not like legally obligated to defend Rick Barnes on the internet. 

[shadow_operative 15932]

we're in the rick barnes thread discussing rick barnes. what's the issue? 

[MotownHorn 1759]

I got no beef. The "this is fun" just made it seem like we're forcing you to defend Rick Barnes. All good on my end.

[shadow_operative 15932]

rick barnes's biggest career issue:

this:

plus this

looks like: "bona fide 1 or 2 seed".

this:

does not. this looks like a 5 seed. when barnes has real deal alpha players (2003, 2006, 2008, not to mention 2011 who got screwed) he goes to the second weekend, and sometimes beyond. when he doesn't, he doesn't. he's a master at overachieving in the regular season by making a team be greater than the sum of its parts, and then underachieving in the postseason with no alpha players to lean on, and a roster composition that's devoid of real shooters, favoring athletes and defenders. the tourney is a totally different beast from the regular season, and it's just not his forte. i guess i just wish more people could appreciate the job he's done overachieving during the 30 game regular seasons instead of solely focusing on how he (ostensibly/sometimes legitimately) fails in the postseason. he's a really, really good coach who's just not suited to win the sport's postseason tournament. marty schottenheiner. 

Edited February 5, 2023 by shadow_operative

[Henry Hill 3156]

 
 

^ this is you fellating rick at 12:30 on a Saturday night on the thread you created so you could fellate him ad nauseam.
 

nobody gives a fuck about regular season performance when you suck ass in the postseason. go back to sleep.

[shadow_operative 15932]

[Hookem2147 21199]

Tennessee loses to Vandy at the buzzer 

[Js1 85286]

23 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

Tennessee loses to Vandy at the buzzer 

Shaka blown out on the road and Barnes losing to a sub-500 team. 

It is officially and truly February! 

[Helobious 9450]

Lmao. Barnes is nothing but a loser in crunch time and always will be. Fucking Vandy. 

[CurlyDumps 4468]

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Ricky.

Vandy coughs up what looks to be a game-ending turnover, Vols are en route to a breakaway layup, a 4 point lead, and the win….and then they pass up the open layup to run a few seconds of clock.

Instead of being up 4 with like 12-14 seconds left, they miss a free throw and give the ball back to Vandy only up 2 with eight seconds left.  Rough loss.
 

 

Edited February 9, 2023 by CurlyDumps

[BigOrange1 6433]

4 minutes ago, CurlyDumps said:

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Ricky.

Vandy coughs up what looks to be a game-ending turnover, Vols are en route to a breakaway layup, a 4 point lead, and the win….and then they pass up the open layup to run a few seconds of clock.

Instead of being up 4 with like 12-14 seconds left, they miss a free throw and give the ball back to Vandy only up 2 with eight seconds left.  Rough loss.
 

 

yes it was an incredibly stupid decision to forego the layup for a chance at a one & one.  

and the ball movement that led to vandy's last shot was very impressive.

[shadow_operative 15932]

dude got the shot off with like 0.01 left on the clock. perfect final play. 

[Pancho 44712]

Down 12 at halftime to Missouri at home 

classic Rick 

[Js1 85286]

1 minute ago, Pancho said:

Down 12 at halftime to Missouri at home 

classic Rick 

*checks calendar*

[shadow_operative 15932]

12 minutes ago, Pancho said:

Down 12 at halftime to Missouri at home 

classic Rick 

it is, but you can't say that they're particularly underachieving. they're just no longer playing above their head, which is what's typical of rick barnes. get a team playing greater than the sum of its parts, come back to earth in conference play, then never fully recover. has this tennessee team been underperforming for a top 5 team? oh most definitely. but this ain't no top 5 team. top 25-ish more like it. look at this squad:

all size and athletes. not a ton of basketball talent. i assumed they were going to keep winning in the regular season and then embarrass themselves in the tourney as a 2 seed. looks like they've gotten a head start on the embarrassing themselves part of it. 

Edited February 12, 2023 by shadow_operative

[Rickylovesweed 14262]

This looks like the standard Rick team. 

Tennessee looks incredible when hitting shots (see Texas) and mediocre when they don't. I'm fully expecting a 55-50 type loss in the 2nd round. 

[cochamps 1879]

Coming back on mizzou.

[shadow_operative 15932]

from down 17 to up 3 with 28 seconds left. Vescovi just missed a terrible step back three that likely would have ended it. mizzou ball.

[shadow_operative 15932]

tennessee trying so hard to lose. 

 

and they do. amazing. santi vescovi could not have been less clutch down the stretch. just unreal. 

[Rickylovesweed 14262]

Is there anything more predictable than good teams under Barnes start to fold at this time of the year? 

[shadow_operative 15932]

tennessee goes to the line up by two with 4 seconds left. vescovi misses the first one, and on the second FT tennessee is actually called for a foul as vescovi releases the ball, something j don't think i've ever seen before. so now mizzou has the ball down two, they inbound it, heave a shit from 35 feet, and swish it for the win. great comeback followed by an epic implosion by tennessee. wow.

[LTtxfan 49144]

3 minutes ago, Rickylovesweed said:

Is there anything more predictable than good teams under Barnes start to fold at this time of the year? 

HOLY SHIT...

Saw that 2nd half comeback and VOLS go up late -- can't believe VOLS folded at the end of this game at home and lost.

WOW

[shadow_operative 15932]

back to back losses at the buzzer for tennessee, both coming after vescovi missed FTs that would have clinched it. ouch. i kinda do hope they let barnes go now. ive really not enjoyed having to root for tennessee, and as great as Barnes has been for them in the regular season, those fans have zero patience for his losing in the postseason and have already wanted him gone several times before. this season keeps going like this and he'll be persona non grata in a major way there. 

Edited February 12, 2023 by shadow_operative

[LTtxfan 49144]

5 minutes ago, shadow_operative said:

back to back losses at the buzzer for tennessee, both coming after vescovi missed FTs that would have clinched it. ouch. i kinda do hope they let barnes go now. ive really not enjoyed having to root for tennessee, and as great as Barnes has been for them in the regular season, those fans have zero patience for his losing in the postseason and have already wanted him gone several times before. this season keeps going like this and he'll be persona non grata in a major way there. 

Where do you want him to coach after Tennessee ??

(Not trying to be funny, just curious...)

[shadow_operative 15932]

5 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

Where do you want him to coach after Tennessee ??

(Not trying to be funny, just curious...)

i think he'd a be a great hire for georgia, and that he would do for them what he did for tennessee and turn their program around pretty quickly.

[LTtxfan 49144]

13 minutes ago, shadow_operative said:

i think he'd a be a great hire for georgia, and that he would do for them what he did for tennessee and turn their program around pretty quickly.

I wouldn't mind seeing Rick in the ACC...

[SL Xpress 7513]

He makes a Sweet Sixteen he’s not going anywhere. I’m not saying he will. History says he won’t. But the regular season simply doesn’t matter when evaluating college coaches, right or wrong. It’s simply not valued by anyone. 

Of course, I’m not putting any money up on Barnes making a Sweet Sixteen, either. I’m simply saying that’s what will determines his job status. 

Im not trying to sweep Barnes into the sunset, but building a program takes a lot of energy. Barnes is getting up there. If he chose to I think he’d be an incredible booth guy. He’s blunt. He’s funny. He’s a quick wit.  He’s willing to ask questions. He’s extremely charismatic. I’m not wishing for him to take that path. Do whatever he finds fulfilling. But that’s a role he’d ace, IMO. 

[shadow_operative 15932]

he'd be great in the studio or the booth either one. like you said, lots of knowledge and experience, but real charisma and honesty as well. i always really enjoyed getting to watch any LHN feature that had Rick in it. best thing the LHN brought us aside from Texas Baseball being on TV. 

[shadow_operative 15932]

also, since this is the appropriate thread for it, i'd like to address something, hopefully once and for all.

i don't think a week goes by where someone on this site doesn't say something to me about "being obsessed" with rick barnes. that's the narrative around me, is that i'm obsessed with him, and that i'm delusional about his coaching abilities or the job he's done. i understand why people think that, but it's not the case, and i want to clear it up.

i was never obsessed about rick barnes, i simply really really disagreed with the treatment of him by Texas fans from ~2010 forward, and by the end of his time here i probably did become a bit radicalized about him, but shit, you box a man into a corner, maybe he goes temporarily crazy. 

my perspective was, here i am, following and loving Texas basketball, literally since my earliest memories, meanwhile all anyone else cares about is football. then along comes Rick Barnes, and it's like BAM! TJ Ford, Sweet 16, Final Four, NPOY, Aldridge, Tucker, Elite 8, Augustin, James, Durant, NPOY, Elite 8, there conference titles, just bam bam bam bam, all of sudden we're a bona fide basketball school that's gone to the Sweet 16 five times in seven years with two NPOYs in that mix. just rattling off one success after another. i'm fucking mainlining basketball nirvana for a good decade straight under Rick Barnes, and now, instead of it being me, my dad, and 1,800 of our closest friends in the arena, now the place is regularly packed and the program is highly respected. i am riding sky high on this wave, and it's all thanks to Rick Barnes.

for perspective, Barnes literally accomplished more in his first 10 years at Texas than his current Tennessee basketball program has accomplished in its entire history. what Rick Barnes did at a football school like Texas was otherworldly, and in my mind he should have been praised as such. he never really was though.

despite his absurd accomplishments at Texas from 1999-2009, texas hoops fans, a bunch of johnny-come-lateley's who don't even really follow the team or know shit about what's going on, turned on barnes in a heartbeat, as if he owed them something more. i mean oír football fans are front running whiners who show up late and leave early to begin with, so imagine my opinion of all of these new basketball fans. nobody in the fan base was even rooting for Barnes to turn it around, everyone was just like, "Barnes is an asshole, and he doesn't win in march anymore, fuck that guy." now i don't know how many of you remember what i used to be like back around 2009-10,  but i DID NOT take this well, to say the least, lol. this led to countless interminable slap fights between me and the people who hated Barnes, and the idea that i'm an obsessive rick barnes stan with secondhand delusions of grandeur has stuck ever since.

since then i've calmed down considerably, and have learned to pick my battles. but let the record show, that from back then all the way up until this day, my estimation of rick barnes and his accomplishments has been *far* more accurate than the people who crush me for "obsessing" over barnes-'it's the exact opposite of the perceived reality. the actual reality is that he's a very good coach who is out of his element in the NCAA Tourney, and who needs NBA-ready talent to make a deep run. he'll retire in the top 20 in all time wins, he'll retire as the best coach ever at both UT's, and he'll be in the HoF one day. he's a damn good coach flaws and all. 

now- will anyone read this all the way through? will this change anyone's minds about me or barnes? i doubt it. but it's here for posterity now. when you bash me for being obsessed, you're off base, and when you say that rick barnes sucks as a coach or attempt to bash me for saying that he doesn't suck, you're just plain wrong. i'm just a life long, die hard Texas Basketball fan who will always have a sour taste in his mouth over the way that the best coach we've ever had was treated/is treated to this day. he gave us the best decade of hoops this program will likely ever have. respecting and appreciating that and being willing to argue the point doesn't make me obsessive, it just makes me someone who doesn't know when to quit. lol. 

[Underdog 28581]

Georgia just hired White so doubt that opens up unless White left for something else. If he were to leave the Vols, probably best to gravitate closer to home in NC maybe at a smaller school. 

[MotownHorn 1759]

Death, taxes, and Rick Barnes shitting the bed in February/March 

It’s nice to have some consistency in life 

[Wulaw Horn 19068]

I so want him to win a national title as a big middle finger to all the haters. Not as much as Texas of course, but close. 

[shadow_operative 15932]

24 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

I so want him to win a national title as a big middle finger to all the haters. Not as much as Texas of course, but close. 

i used to compare barnes to andy reid, but then reid went and won a title. like you, i would just love for him to get one magical title run as a sort of career achievement award type thing. just not against Texas.

[SL Xpress 7513]

59 minutes ago, shadow_operative said:

 

I'd like to address something, hopefully once and for all.

 

 

I hate to be the one to break it to you, but this is not how the internet works. 

[SL Xpress 7513]

31 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

I so want him to win a national title as a big middle finger to all the haters. Not as much as Texas of course, but close. 

I want every former coach from Texas to crash and burn. Even ones I personally like. Like Barnes. I've found his career at Tennessee fulfilling in a way a string of national championships would have brought me extreme misery. 

I started trying to list all the former coaches I've delighted at their lack of success post Texas, but I realized it was going to be too long. Suffice to say their failures have brought me a lot of schadenfreude. Even Mick Haley, who won a couple of national championships at USC, was fired unceremoniously just a few years afterwards and hasn't coached since. 

I don't want them to die, though. Richard Quick's demise wasn't one I celebrated. Sure wasn't a big fan of his huge successes, either, though. 

[shadow_operative 15932]

 

 

[shadow_operative 15932]

Tennessee is favored by 3 against Alabama tonight.

i can't make sense of that at all. 

Edited February 15, 2023 by shadow_operative

[Underdog 28581]

Vols by double digits. 

[Wulaw Horn 19068]

Fighting Barneses gonna take down number 1. 

[Wulaw Horn 19068]

Or maybe not. 

[Underdog 28581]

Fucking FT. 

[MotownHorn 1759]

On 2/11/2023 at 10:20 PM, MotownHorn said:

Death, taxes, and Rick Barnes shitting the bed in February/March 

It’s nice to have some consistency in life 

 

[Bevoette 1268]

You mean Rich Barnes... I was high on Ativan that day 😅😂🤣

[shadow_operative 15932]

i think aggy beats tennessee.

[shadow_operative 15932]

refs are killing tennessee down the stretch. the worst of it came just now when tennessee forced a TO down one with 25 seconds left and with the ball loose A&M was granted a TO and possession of the ball. just terrible.

Edited February 22, 2023 by shadow_operative

[Js1 85286]

20 hours ago, shadow_operative said:

i think aggy beats tennessee.

Well yeah it’s February

[shadow_operative 15932]

FT: 

Tennessee- 10-14

A&M- 28-34