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In an era where coaches have as much personality as a fountain pen or the sense of humor of a Vegas casino security grunt who just nabbed a card counter, there is the anti-drone, Rick Barnes.
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| Barnes has figured out how to win and have some laughs along the way. (Getty Images) |
He might be the least self-promoting coach in big-time college coaching who also happens to be great.
Thank you, Rick Barnes, for not being a pompous ass.
And being able to laugh even if you might be a little wacky.
"My first impression was he was crazy," laughed Barnes' one time assistant, Frank Haith, when asked about his friend. "I mean really, really crazy. I mean, the guy will say anything. You guys know that."
"I don't know if I want to use the word crazy," Barnes said. "I would say that I enjoy having a laugh and having fun. I like my staff. I love kidding around, cutting up with them, and I think that we've had staffs over the years that really, the different personalities really mesh. I think what we do is important to us, but I don't think it's the end all ...
"Like I mentioned, when I started Frank and I spent a lot of time sitting in gyms and going back and forth between rental cars to the airport, going from gym to gym, and so we've had some good times together. He would probably tell you I can make some off-the-wall statements at times just to get a rise out of people, which I might do at times, which I've done at times. But again, I don't know if crazy would be the word. When I was younger, maybe, but I don't think today I am."
But beneath the Barnes humor, lack of self promotion and laid back fuzziness is a basketball savant, undervalued by some because he's in football country, under-appreciated by others because he refuses to be a jerk.
It sometimes seems like jerks in the coaching business get more respect from fans and the media than non-chest thumpers like Barnes. See: Bob "E, F, G, H, I, K, L, N, Z" Huggins.
Barnes has a Final Four appearance and over a dozen consecutive tournament showings under his belt. There is a substance and a capability to adapt as honed as anyone's in the sport.
"The one thing that impressed me the most with coach was the fact that I think he's willing to adjust, even on the fly," said Haith. "He's not afraid to take chances. I equate this to his time at Clemson, the style that they played at Clemson. He had those big physical post players, and they ran this motion offense and they worked clock. And then when we got to Texas, I was there with him we had T.J. Ford. It was a totally different style. Now they (have) D.J. Augustin. It's a totally different style. I think good coaches are able to adjust based on your personnel, and Rick was terrific at that.
"His first year at Clemson, this was the year they thought they wouldn't win a game. He didn't have any post players. I remember talking to him about some things they did. They used to run -- they ran clock and motion, did it with a heavy ball for 35 seconds and, you know, to create toughness within his team so he was -- he's that kind of coach. He's able to adjust to his personnel, and he's very good at that."
