I don't think boosters have a love for Barnes the way they do for Mack. I think the explanation is simpler - there hasn't been a right time to let him go. 2010-11: They were ranked #1 midseason; fell short, but nothing seemed fundamentally wrong with the program 2011-12: Going down, but that was expected because they mostly recruited 4-yr players and had a young team. Kobongo was the big star and struggled a bit. No reason to fire him because this was an expected down year in the transition from recruiting lots of one-and-dones to building a stronger foundation. 2012-13: Were supposed to improve, but J'Covan was a dumbass and left and Kobongo was a dumbass and got suspended most of the season, so their top two players that were expected to return didn't. A very young team sucked, but it was young and this was the only season in his tenure that they missed the tourney. There was some reason to give up on Barnes, but also good reason to continue with the plan and see these guys as upperclassmen. After the logical firing period (March/April), there was a mass exodus of players. That's when the bottom dropped on the program, but it doesn't make much sense to fire him in June or July when coaches are already settled. So he gets another year by default. I doubt he survives another year, unless this ragtag team does something miraculous.
Was texas ever good before Rick Barnes? I know he is getting passed up by many programs in the state but he brought them to where they are in bball which is pretty good.
This is the main reason I haven't been a proponent of firing him yet, the grass isn't always greener. That being said this team isn't pretty good. they went 16-18 last year missed the tourney, and lost the top 4 scorers from that team so one would expect them to be worse this year. None of the player that left were seniors or in the NBA, players seem to be abandoning ship which is alarming to say the least. I never had a problem giving Barnes another year, but this years team has all the makings of a train wreck which could hurt future recruiting even more. They don't have to make the dance, but some positive momentum is a must to keep his job IMO.
I have my reservations...I tend to give him no credit and chalk it up to him lucking into some unexpected talent (and an easy schedule before tonight). Either way, it has certainly been a pleasant surprise of a season thus far. Mich St. Saturday at the drum should be a fun one.
Trust me..I'm waiting for it to fall apart, too. Still feels inevitable. However, I'm sure some thought they might not win 10 games all season...let alone in their first 11.
You sound like a fan who's been disappointed a lot recently.:grin: I thought this was a huge win for UT tonight. To control the glass & get the road W in a game where Ridley was almost a non-factor is telling. Michigan St will certainly be a bigger test though. Going to be a lot of parity in the Big 12 this year. First time in a long time where Kansas isn't chalked up as the favorite. Looking forward too it. Sic 'Em!
Same. Though if they continue to prove me wrong, I'll start becoming a believer. Their half court offense is pretty iffy, so thats where I think they'll struggle against great teams. But they do push the pace well to get easy buckets.
Also one who would trade 5 more years of Kubiak and 5 more years of Mack Brown for Barnes getting fired tomorrow (seems silly to say at the moment, but have been wanting/expecting him to get the ax for like a decade now).
No, they were not, outside of the BMW era. Barnes put Texas on the map, if they're even on it. UT is not and never will be a basketball school and has no basketball facility, so I'm not sure why anyone would have inflated expectations of what they should be doing out there.
I think it's because college basketball is a sport that you can turn the tide quite quickly. It's not like football where it takes some level of sustained success to even be in the championship picture. Even Barnes first few years at Texas show that, so he's kind of a victim of his own success. Add to that the recent boom in Texas-based talent, and you can see why people expect better results.
looks like Barnes is actually coaching the team, rather than just teaching streetball, i cant remmeber the last time i saw that many backdoor cuts and sets run on a Barnes coached team... this team really seems to like each other too, i still dont like the lack of talent on the team, if they can pull in Myles Turner( who has a strong intrest in the horns) it would be huge
i reluctantly agree with this, unfortunately. i've seen too much over the years for him to be able to redeem himself enough to not want him out of there though.
