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Sports => VTTW Message Board => Topic started by: VinnieVOL on April 16, 2019, 06:21:54 EDT



Title: Rick Barnes quote...
Post by: VinnieVOL on April 16, 2019, 06:21:54 EDT
Rick Barnes on staying at Tennessee: "It has to make sense from a financial standpoint. And the bottom line is, we just couldn't work it out, the buyout."

Another example of... Just because it's true, doesn't at mean you should say it. 


Title: Re: Rick Barnes quote...
Post by: BanditVol on April 16, 2019, 08:03:42 EDT
Hee hee, I guess he's being a bit too honest.  At the same time, it's interesting to know how it really went down.  Sports figures keep everything close to the vest these days.   For instance, neither the AD nor the coach at LSU has publically answered any questions about the mess they are in. I think a bit of transparency is refreshing, and at the end of the day, it doesn't matter because Barnes is at UT.


Title: Re: Rick Barnes quote...
Post by: VinnieVOL on April 16, 2019, 09:02:58 EDT
I think what he probably meant is that God answered his prayers with the buyout tripping up the deal and showing him that staying at TN was the Lord's plan.

That being said, I understand why people are reacting.  We just made him the 3rd highest paid coach in CBB (many say he wasn't worth it) and it sounded like he just said he didn't really want to stay but the deal fell through.

There are perfectly honest ways he could've answered the question without saying that.  But it won't matter as long as he wins.  I do think the way this went down ratchets up the pressure.


Title: Re: Rick Barnes quote...
Post by: Creek Walker on April 17, 2019, 02:41:05 EDT
He was asked a follow-up question about what would have happened if UCLA's buyout figure had been what he wanted and he responded, "I think I would've been the coach at UCLA."

I mean, I defended him through this process and I already knew it was the details of the buyout that prevented him from going to UCLA. But he lost me a little bit today. I don't blame people who are irate. He's making his job needlessly difficult.


Title: Re: Rick Barnes quote...
Post by: Volznut on April 17, 2019, 04:48:14 EDT
People forget it's a business. Rick Barnes isn't a Vol, he is a coach brought in to coach the basketball team, and he has proven to do a really good job, so others are interested. It's no different that any other profession, and fans shouldn't get hurt feelings.



Title: Re: Rick Barnes quote...
Post by: SmokeyJoe on April 17, 2019, 07:26:34 EDT
He is a prideful man. Competing with the likes of Calipari, and Coach K (can't spell his name :toothless: ) He hears the doubts. He has ego. I wish he would have said something other than what he said, but I'm glad he is still here. We'll find out how good he truly is next year.


Title: Re: Rick Barnes quote...
Post by: BanditVol on April 17, 2019, 07:36:17 EDT
People forget it's a business. Rick Barnes isn't a Vol, he is a coach brought in to coach the basketball team, and he has proven to do a really good job, so others are interested. It's no different that any other profession, and fans shouldn't get hurt feelings.



Exactly.  And as someone has posted somewhere below, when is the last time Tennessee had a coach anyone wanted?  It's pretty refreshing actually.  Yes he could have been more diplomatic, but it really doesn't bother me, I think he's just being honest.


Title: Re: Rick Barnes quote...
Post by: Creek Walker on April 17, 2019, 03:51:28 EDT
People forget it's a business. Rick Barnes isn't a Vol, he is a coach brought in to coach the basketball team, and he has proven to do a really good job, so others are interested. It's no different that any other profession, and fans shouldn't get hurt feelings.



Here's the deal, though: Rick Barnes had a lot of goodwill built up with a lot of people. Obviously a lot of it is because he's won a lot of games at Tennessee, but it's also about the way he has conducted itself. Fans appreciated him enough that he could use that goodwill to carry him through several lackluster seasons. He didn't necessarily have to win to be appreciated. He had endeared himself to the fan base that much.

Now, though, by proving that it IS mostly about the money after all, he has lost a lot of that goodwill and fans are going to see it as being all about the Ws and Ls. Someone on Twitter yesterday put it more succinctly than I can. He said, essentially, I have no problem with Barnes being a hired mercenary but now he better win at the same level as his salary or he'll be treated like a hired mercenary.

That's how he's made his job more difficult.


Title: Re: Rick Barnes quote...
Post by: Black Diamond Vol on April 17, 2019, 04:05:07 EDT
Regardless of his reasoning, I'm just glad Barnes is still here.

There's a certain former player who played under a certain former coach tweeting some things this morning that highlights just how much the culture has changed in this program. I'm not going to name names, but I'll just leave it at that, and you can go look for yourself.

Granted, Rick's going to have to keep winning at a high level to justify his salary, but at least his kids aren't embarrassing UT off the court. Quite the opposite, in fact.



Title: Re: Rick Barnes quote...
Post by: JeffCountyVolFan on April 17, 2019, 04:41:33 EDT
Personally I would rather he be honest than go all Butch Jones on us.  I agree with Brent Hubbs, who said that people want folks to be honest with them until they get an answer that they don't like.  We are all like that to some degree.

I believe that Rick Barnes is a completely honest and upstanding man.  He gave an honest answer to the question.  Maybe a PR person would have advised against this answer, and he could have phrased it differently and more diplomatically, but it was probably the complete truth and so that's what he gave us.

I think that so long as he continues to win, all will be good for Barnes.  If UT starts to tail off, though, both his salary increase and this statement could come back to haunt him in the future.


Title: Re: Rick Barnes quote...
Post by: Volznut on April 17, 2019, 05:37:32 EDT
Here's the deal, though: Rick Barnes had a lot of goodwill built up with a lot of people. Obviously a lot of it is because he's won a lot of games at Tennessee, but it's also about the way he has conducted itself. Fans appreciated him enough that he could use that goodwill to carry him through several lackluster seasons. He didn't necessarily have to win to be appreciated. He had endeared himself to the fan base that much.

Now, though, by proving that it IS mostly about the money after all, he has lost a lot of that goodwill and fans are going to see it as being all about the Ws and Ls. Someone on Twitter yesterday put it more succinctly than I can. He said, essentially, I have no problem with Barnes being a hired mercenary but now he better win at the same level as his salary or he'll be treated like a hired mercenary.

That's how he's made his job more difficult.

This is a capitalist country. It is always about the money. Of course he has built up good will, and why should that end? Because someone else offered him a job and he seriously considered it?



Title: Re: Rick Barnes quote...
Post by: Volznut on April 17, 2019, 05:38:42 EDT
Regardless of his reasoning, I'm just glad Barnes is still here.

There's a certain former player who played under a certain former coach tweeting some things this morning that highlights just how much the culture has changed in this program. I'm not going to name names, but I'll just leave it at that, and you can go look for yourself.

Granted, Rick's going to have to keep winning at a high level to justify his salary, but at least his kids aren't embarrassing UT off the court. Quite the opposite, in fact.



Yes, fans expectations are now high and going to be higher now that he has flirted with others, and gotten a huge raise.



Title: Re: Rick Barnes quote...
Post by: volsboy on April 17, 2019, 07:05:43 EDT
It happens all the time. Coaches play the I'm leaving card to get a raise. None of them have a halo around their heads either, including Barnes. He is a good coach.  Lets see if he can keep the Vols from falling back to a middle of the pack SEC team consistently. He didn't win the SEC with this years team. What kind of players will he need to win an SEC title?  Williams and Bone coming back would be a good start.


Title: Re: Rick Barnes quote...
Post by: VinnieVOL on April 17, 2019, 07:24:53 EDT

Now, though, by proving that it IS mostly about the money after all, he has lost a lot of that goodwill and fans are going to see it as being all about the Ws and Ls. Someone on Twitter yesterday put it more succinctly than I can. He said, essentially, I have no problem with Barnes being a hired mercenary but now he better win at the same level as his salary or he'll be treated like a hired mercenary.


Bingo.

To me it's kind of like that relationship with coworkers, where you're friendly and think your buddies... then when things get stressful the person you thought was your buddy changes their whole demeanor and is looking out for them self.  In the back of your mind you knew all along they were just a coworker but there were moments when you thought you were really friends.  After that you move forward with the mindset of knowing it's strictly a work relationship and nothing more, and to not really invest emotionally like you would your out of work friends.  Maybe things will continue to go really well and we'll kind of forget about this, but if things don't go well people are going to remember we're not buddies.


Title: Re: Rick Barnes quote...
Post by: Creek Walker on April 17, 2019, 08:42:44 EDT
This is a capitalist country. It is always about the money. Of course he has built up good will, and why should that end? Because someone else offered him a job and he seriously considered it?



Because fans don't see it in terms of dollars and cents. It's a business for Rick Barnes. That doesn't mean it's a business for fans. For fans it's a passion, something they wear on their sleeve. Their appreciation for Barnes was inevitably intertwined with his record, obviously, but it was dependent on more than just that...it was deeper than that. This fanbase had a love for Rick Barnes that extended beyond Ws and Ls. Let's say GW and J-Bone both leave. Next year could be a bit of a struggle. Let's say it's even more of a struggle than we anticipate. Let's say we come up short of the NCAAT. Before the UCLA deal, Barnes didn't need to get to the NCAAT next year for fans to still be enamored by him. That's how much he endeared himself to this fan base. Now, if he doesn't make the NCAAT as a $5m coach, there's going to be a miniature uproar start.

It's easy to dismiss the fans and say they're being unreasonable. Maybe they are. But since when are fans reasonable? Ultimately, if you don't make the fans happy, your job becomes very, very difficult. Just ask Cuonzo Martin. For that matter, just ask Butch Jones. Obviously, Butch's tenure at Tennessee was always going to end poorly. But he made his job a lot more difficult than it had to be. And Barnes job is now much more difficult.

That doesn't mean that he acted inappropriately. I'm not sure any of us would've done any differently if we'd been in his shoes. Loyalty is well and good, but you have to be loyal to self and family first and foremost. But it's still not hard to understand fans' discontent. It can be both ways.


Title: Re: Rick Barnes quote...
Post by: volsboy on April 17, 2019, 11:19:36 EDT
Because fans don't see it in terms of dollars and cents. It's a business for Rick Barnes. That doesn't mean it's a business for fans. For fans it's a passion, something they wear on their sleeve. Their appreciation for Barnes was inevitably intertwined with his record, obviously, but it was dependent on more than just that...it was deeper than that. This fanbase had a love for Rick Barnes that extended beyond Ws and Ls. Let's say GW and J-Bone both leave. Next year could be a bit of a struggle. Let's say it's even more of a struggle than we anticipate. Let's say we come up short of the NCAAT. Before the UCLA deal, Barnes didn't need to get to the NCAAT next year for fans to still be enamored by him. That's how much he endeared himself to this fan base. Now, if he doesn't make the NCAAT as a $5m coach, there's going to be a miniature uproar start.

It's easy to dismiss the fans and say they're being unreasonable. Maybe they are. But since when are fans reasonable? Ultimately, if you don't make the fans happy, your job becomes very, very difficult. Just ask Cuonzo Martin. For that matter, just ask Butch Jones. Obviously, Butch's tenure at Tennessee was always going to end poorly. But he made his job a lot more difficult than it had to be. And Barnes job is now much more difficult.

That doesn't mean that he acted inappropriately. I'm not sure any of us would've done any differently if we'd been in his shoes. Loyalty is well and good, but you have to be loyal to self and family first and foremost. But it's still not hard to understand fans' discontent. It can be both ways.
It is a success based job. He is making great money. He should be expected to provide results like the others in his profession at a similar salary. If he doesn't, hell should be raised over it. I do not begrudge him his raise. He earned it. Now he's got to keep on earning it. He's getting paid very well for not even winning an SEC title this year. There are only 3 coaches making more than him...Coach K, Calipari and Holtmann at Ohio State. Is he better than the rest of them?  That was the most anticlimactic 31-6 record possible. If you told me the Vols would end up 31-6 and not have anything significant to show for I would have thought you were crazy.


Title: Re: Rick Barnes quote...
Post by: BanditVol on April 18, 2019, 12:26:59 EDT
  That was the most anticlimactic 31-6 record possible. If you told me the Vols would end up 31-6 and not have anything significant to show for I would have thought you were crazy.

Nah.  Going out in the first round would literally have been "the most anticlimatic possible". 

And while it's disappointing we didn't go farther, making it to the Sweet 16 is an accomplishment.


Title: Re: Rick Barnes quote...
Post by: Tnphil on April 18, 2019, 12:56:32 EDT
IMO when you get 3rd best in the country pay you better get the results....We've never had a football coach at UT make this much money and now Barnes needs to show his worth...in recruiting and wins. He just had one of the best teams in UT history and didn't get any hardware to show for it....He made the Sweet 16 that Pearl did and Cuonzo did and then tells the fans if UCLA had come through on the buyout his butt was gone...He knew he was losing several players off this years team and we're going to be down next season and going into year 5 his honeymoon is way over here...He could go take over a downtrodden UCLA team have a 2 year honeymoon period and all is well. Now that Barnes has done what Pearl and Cuonzo had already done here and now gets double the pay they got he better win at a high level or you can bet the fans will be on his ass and should be.


Title: Re: Rick Barnes quote...
Post by: volsboy on April 18, 2019, 11:09:06 EDT
Calipari was on Dan Patrick Show today. He asked Calipari if it was true UCLA offered him 48 Mil for 6 years. Why would they offer him less than he makes now? Plus that's LA money, not Lexington money. It wouldn't go as far in LA. Calipari said no. He talked to them but they didn't discuss money. Do you believe Calipari?