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Five things to know about former Texas basketball coach Rick Barnes

cedric golden, austin american-statesman
·2 min read

Texas basketball coaching legend Rick Barnes joined our "On Second Thought" podcast this week to discuss his coaching tenures at both Texas and Tennessee — and the possibility of a Texas-Tennessee matchup in Charlotte if both win their first-round NCAA Tournament games on Thursday.

Here are five things to know about the former Longhorns coach (and possible weekend Longhorns opponent):

Rick Barnes' early coaching stops set him up for Texas

Barnes, 69, coached one season at George Mason (1987) before getting the Providence head coaching gig, where he won 108 games in six years, including three NCAA Tournament appearances. The Hickory, N.C. native left Providence for Clemson in 1995 and went 74-48 over four seasons, including three NCAAs.

Tennessee coach Rick Barnes could meet up against his old school, the Texas Longhorns, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament if both teams win Thursday. Texas plays Colorado State at 5:50 p.m. followed by Tennessee vs. Saint Peter's.
Tennessee coach Rick Barnes could meet up against his old school, the Texas Longhorns, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament if both teams win Thursday. Texas plays Colorado State at 5:50 p.m. followed by Tennessee vs. Saint Peter's.

Rick Barnes made history with the Longhorns

Barnes replaced Tom Penders at Texas in 1999 and coached the Longhorns for 17 seasons, winning a school-record 402 games. Texas won at least 20 games 15 times, including a streak of 13 straight seasons from 2000 to 2012. The Horns also captured Big 12 championships in 1999, 2006 and 2008 and made the program's lone Final Four in the modern era in 2003.

NCAA tournament success

Barnes led the Longhorns to the NCAA Tournament in 16 of 17 seasons, including a school record of 14 straight appearances from 1999 to 2012. Texas played in five Sweet 16's, three Elite Eights and one Final Four in 2003 behind national player of the year T.J. Ford. And Barnes, who was a four-time Big 12 coach of the year, also coached another national player of the year, Kevin Durant in 2007.

After Texas, it was on to Tennessee

After parting ways with Texas after the 2015 season, Barnes was hired at Tennessee. He has a 199-100 record in Knoxville, including two SEC regular-season titles (2018, 2024) and a conference tourney title in 2022. He was named the Naismith national coach of the year in 2019.

Rick Barnes' career milestones

Barnes won his 800th career game this season with a win over Texas A&M. He enters the tourney with a career mark of 803-414 and a NCAA Tournament record of 27-26. His No. 2-seeded Vols play No. 15 Saint Peter's in Charlotte after Thursday night's Texas-Colorado State game.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas basketball could meet up with former coach Rick Barnes this week