I know this year didn't go as we'd hoped, the "Fire Barnes" talk on Twitter after we lost in both tourneys is pretty silly don't y'all think? I don't see how we could do better all things considered, and it could get much much worse.
I bet Texas would love to have a "Sweet 16 is the ceiling" type coach right about now.
It is incredibly silly, imo. This was one of my least-favorite Tennessee teams ever. But the only reason we're disappointed by a first round tournament exit is because Rick Barnes has elevated expectations, and because he has brought in talent that we all know should perform much better. The same Rick Barnes who coached his way into a first round tournament exit this year is the same Rick Barnes who coached those teams from two and three years ago that were so much fun to watch. He literally has built this program back from scratch.
With that said, the moment that Barnes flirted with UCLA and Fulmer went all out to keep him in Knoxville, his days were numbered, imo. If you're going to pay a coach $5m, it's not unreasonable to have $5m expectations. One year doesn't define a coach but if his teams continue to under-perform, the pressure is only going to get greater. I don't think it's unfair to have conversations about Barnes' ceiling. It's a reputation that he's built and it doesn't appear there's anything he can do or is willing to do to change the perception.
My biggest beef right now is this: As excited as I was when these 5-star kids were committing to Barnes, in hindsight I'd rather us get away from the one-and-dones and get back to recruiting kids like Admiral and Grant and Fulky.
