Barnes

[TNCatfanforever]

i know we have given him grief on this board but he has actually done a decent job at UT without really any highly rated kids. I think they are 24th in AP this week.

 

[anon_q409idbs5m40a]

Some coaches do better with little or no expectations. Barnes seemed to be an "interim fix" for a hire but has done a fairly good job. He had some good teams at Texas for several years then it seemed as if he just couldn't get high level recruits as the Big 12 got better.

 

[Blue Decade]

i know we have given him grief on this board but he has actually done a decent job at UT without really any highly rated kids. I think they are 24th in AP this week.

It's still early, and Tennessee is no better than the 4th best team in the SEC. Barnes has a long career record. He has been a successful coach, although not particularly impressive with apex level competition. For all the talk of new SEC "parity", I don't see it yet. The main variable is actually UK. Some in the media sound ready to write an obituary on our team, but I believe Calipari will have the last laugh. Florida and Texas A&M are playing high level basketball, but that is nothing new. They are always good. Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, LSU are actually down compared to their historical standards. Missouri lost their best player. South Carolina is not impressing me. Unless Alabama and Auburn turn it up a notch or 2, this is not an atypical SEC season at all.

 

[St.PatterSoN-54-]

Good for the SEC. I just hope he doesn't take UT's name out of contention for postseason play.

 

[stenchymouse]

It's still early, and Tennessee is no better than the 4th best team in the SEC. Barnes has a long career record. He has been a successful coach, although not particularly impressive with apex level competition. For all the talk of new SEC "parity", I don't see it yet. The main variable is actually UK. Some in the media sound ready to write an obituary on our team, but I believe Calipari will have the last laugh. Florida and Texas A&M are playing high level basketball, but that is nothing new. They are always good. Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, LSU are actually down compared to their historical standards. Missouri lost their best player. South Carolina is not impressing me. Unless Alabama and Auburn turn it up a notch or 2, this is not an atypical SEC season at all.

I agree with this overall.

I think that our youth will hurt us on the road and we'll lose to some of the lower tier teams away from home, but yeah, the bottom half of the conference is weak.

 

[mj2k10]

I think Barnes does well with small teams, but isn't great with frontcourt talent that's not named Kevin Durant. Give him some decent guards and lower expectations, and he's OK. Give him a strong recruiting class with Top 10 expectations, be ready to be disappointed.

That's not likely to be a problem at UT.

 

[KY Long Rifle]

Barnes is a good coach and has been for a long time. He doesn't have a lot of success in the post season, but he is going to consistently field competitive teams.

 

[kydmb99]

Barnes is a great fit for Tennessee. If he just gets them to the tournament every other year they'll keep him around... and if Tennessee could be that successful it would be good for us and the SEC

 

[Jazzycat]

Every team in the top 25 is more experienced than UK, therefore, they should be playing at a higher level. UK will lose some games on the road, but bearing a major collapse, should be in a good position at the end of the season.