Born and raised in Hickory, NC, Rick Barnes didn’t have to look far to continue his basketball playing career. He matriculated to his hometown college, Lenoir-Rhyne College (now University). A 3-year player for the Bears, Barnes graduated in 1977 and was a 2002 inductee in the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
Today he’s moved a mere 190 west to Knoxville, TN, where for the past 11 seasons he’s served as the head coach of the University of Tennessee Volunteers.
The 18th ranked team in the Associated Press’ Preseseason Poll, Barnes figures to do what he’s done the past seven non-COVID seasons as the Vols’ leader: take them to the NCAA Tournament.
With 837 career victories at five schools (George Mason, Providence, Clemson, Texas, and Tennessee), the 71-year-old Barnes – who agreed to a lifetime contract with UT this summer – is approaching the 900-win milestone, attained by only nine other coaches in NCAA Division I history.
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