Thanks Rick!

As a Lifelong dedicated Longhorn fan, I hope that every other Longhorn appreciates what we have in Rick Barnes. He is Smart, Classy and funny. We have never had a coach of his caliber and may never have one after he hangs'em up. In My opinion, there isn't a better college coach out there. Keep up the good work Rick! We appreciate it!

As a Tar Heels fan, I always hated Barnes' Clemson teams, because they had zero talent but played really hard, physical ball--some, including me, would say the Tigers were a dirty team--and were often competitive despite long odds.  Barnes really helped resurrect that program and I have to say, he grew on me.  He seems like a funny, tough coach, and it's nice that he got a great job with Texas.

Favorite Barnes moment: Clemson vs. UNC in Chapel Hill.  Sometime in the 90's (I was in college, so I was probably intoxicated...so I don't know the date, is what I'm saying).  Clemson has been very physical and all but 4 players have fouled out.  Clemson has to finish the game short one man, but then Barnes comes out on the floor and begins to take off his jacket, like he's going to play with his team.  The Smith Center crowd goes wild and salutes his chutzpah with a chant of "We Want Rick!" 

It was a great moment and vintage Barnes.  That sort of fun is what's often missing from big-time college sports.

What a great article written about a class-act coach. It sure is great in this day and age of competitive sports to see a guy who realizes these are just amatuers and deserve to have fun.

Great  job coach

Well wsloan,

If thats what you are hearing then you need to stop listening to idiots. He has like 12 consecutive NCAA tourney appearances! How is that being overwhelmed? Never seen anything even resembling that and I watch almost all of their games and even go to the Erwin Center to watch some of them. Its absurd to even think he is anything less than a top tier coach.  How can his record not speak for itself? Barnes is one of if not the best coaches out there and that includes Roy Williams, Coach k, etc on down the line.

AMEN!!

Hook 'em!!

Actually, I would put him in the elite status. He may not have 40 years of experience but lets look at what he has done over the last 12. 12 NCAA appearences, 1 final 4, I am sure his winning % is 75% or so. I'll bet there are few, if any, coaches that can match that over the last 12 years.

I used to think he was just a good recruiter but like the article says, he seems to be able to adapt on the fly to the talents of his team. How many teams could loose a player of the year and actually win more games the next year?

There are plenty of coaches out there who haven't won a NC!!  You can only position your team for a shot in the tournament and Rick does that every year.  He's made a Final Four and he's made the Sweet 16 5 of the last 7 yrs.  Plus he keeps bringing in McDonalds All-Americans every year.  All the experts said the Horns wouldn't be as good without Durant and they're actually better.  I think Barnes deserves to be mentioned as a Coach of the Year candidate.  This year is his best season in Austin.  As a Horns fan, I hope he retires in Austin.

One more thing...if Augustin stays one more year, the Horns are gonna be scary good next season!!!