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A Tip of the Cap to Rick Barnes

Posted by Trips Right on April 20th, 2009 under Basketball

Each of us has a mentor, hero, role model, what ever you want to call it. A guy, gal, or mythical figure that is a source of inspiration. For Scipio it’s Tom Petty or Hoyce Gracie, ssr50 has Bill Little, and Sailor Ripley thinks he’s Rex Chapman. Hell, HenryJames still rocks the Cure’s Robert Smith war paint at all ages shows. For me, that person, outside of my Grand Torino-esque father, is Robert “Montgomery” Hack, my high school basketball coach. I added the Montgomery middle name because it fits the mold of the famous Indiana Hoosier General. It’s a good descriptor for how Coach Hack taught us vis a vis the actual General, and the impression it left on me as a young basketball player.

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The man.

UIL rules allowed high school basketball teams three hours of basketball practice to teach the fundamental science of the game. On coach Hack’s team, we spent half of that Marxist allocation on defensive slides. Ball-you-man defense? I have dreams about 4 man shell drills. I bump cutters in church league that make pastors cite scripture, and not in a good way. Coach Hack made me who I am as a man. His teaching of basketball principles and life principles, intentionally or unintentionally connected, has spilled over into every facet of my life. As Sailor Ripley would say, it has made me forged of a hotter fire, in my opinion. Like Dick Stockton doing an NBA game, Coach Hack’s familiar voice is always in the back of my mind, narrating life’s choices into neat hoops catch phrases like “do the little things that it takes to win basketball games”. Yes coach, I pay off my credit cards on time. Too many Dos Equis? I call a cab. One of my boys need a bone marrow transplant? I call timeout and run that 1-2-2 zone we’ve worked on over Christmas break.

What does all of this have to do with Rick Barnes? Well, I suspect there are a hundred plus student athletes that have played basketball at the University of Texas for the last decade that feel the same way about Rick Barnes. Guys like Freddie Williams, Darren Kelley, and James Thomas probably draw on their experience playing for Coach Barnes before they go into that job interview, before they make that big speech in the auditorium, or before they step into the delivery room. Why? Because men like Rick Barnes leave an indelible mark on their players not just in the context of the game of basketball, but in the game of life. He’s the reason why Kevin Durant spends one year in Austin and becomes a Texas homer on par with Rooster Andrews. Barnes the person is why guys like TJ Ford and LaMarcus Aldridge wanted to put Texas Basketball on the map in the first place. Hell, Rick’s the reason guys like Avery Bradley, Jordan Hamilton, and Nick Mr. Kabongo make sure the Horns stay there.

In case you were wondering what the muse for this article was, Rick Barnes won the 2009 John Wooden Legends of Coaching Award this past week. He can be seen here with great commentary from DeLoss Dodds and company as well as some lighthearted moments replete with a Kevin Durant hair mussing. To further illustrate Barnes’ impeccable resume, Rick has taken our beloved Longhorns to the NCAA tournament in each and every one of his 11 seasons on the 40. Coming from an El Paso dude that had to rely on Jeep Jackson and Chris Blocker making UTEP’s March Madness dreams come true growing up as a youngster, I’d have to admit this is a borderline spooky accomplishment for a coach of the University of by God Texas. As a 1996 graduate of the University, though, I have to say thank you for making basketball more than just an offseason football diversion. We’re legit folks, and we owe it all to Barnesy.

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Like KD? Thank Rick Barnes.

Is he the best coach in the nation? Maybe, maybe not. Who’s ahead on your list? I’ve got Coach K, Rick Pitino, Roy Williams, Coach Self, Donovan, Calhoun, and Tom Izzo ahead of Rick at this point. If Rick gets a championship without NCAA sanctions I’d put him ahead of all but Williams, Pitino, and Coach K. But, next to Billy Donovan, Barnes is certainly the best basketball coach coaching at a football school. And certainly the best that Texas has rolled out in, I don’t know, forever. And when it comes to nut cutting time in life for former players, I doubt I’d get any argument from any former Horns. They all love Rick. And as a fan of basketball, even if you grew up on motion offense and elaborate Peter Carril sets, you should love Barnes as well. Runnin’ Horns. Pfff. Coach Barnes is gonna straight up guard your ass and keep it in the 60’s.

Hook ‘Em.

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19 Responses

  1. Mark Turgeon said:

    April 20th, 2009 at 10:37 pm

    “(He’s) certainly the best basketball coach coaching at a football school.”

    Hey, what about m … oh. Never mind.

  2. scagnetti said:

    April 20th, 2009 at 11:39 pm

    Billy Donovan not coach at Florida anymore?

    Or is Florida not a football school?

  3. jonestopten said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 3:46 am

    Trips:

    You are the best basketball writer I read regularly. Thanks for some of the insights into where you learned the game. Great piece, I might argue that Barnes is a better coach than Donovan, but that’s picking nits.

    My Robert Hack is a man named Russ Gilmore, Amarillo Tascosa, 1985. We were 12-16 my senior year, although we did beat the state champions at a Midland tournament (they were the 2-A state champs and we were a 5-A school, but hey…).

    Gilmore went 16-12 the year after that and then reeled off a string of 20-win seasons, even making the final eight one year (almost impossible for a Panhandle school in 5-A).

    He is now at Hobbs, NM, where he replaced Coach Tasker (a legend you probably know about, being El Paso bred) and he has since won four state titles on his own.

    Thanks for the memories; there is nothing like your high school basketball coach is there?

    Ball-you-man indeed, I taught that to my son when he was 10.

  4. srr50 said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 3:52 am

    Several years ago I ran into Coach Barnes at Berts BBQ. I introduced myself, noting that I had worked at UT and had been the Basketball SID for a part of that time.

    He insisted on buying my lunch, and that I join him and Darren Kelley who was out of school by then.

    It was a helluva hour filled with fascinating conversation (very little of which involved college basketball) and it was also very evident that he enjoyed a great relationship with his players.

    He was as open and relaxed as I have ever seen a high profile personality in public, and that is not the norm.

    Rick Barnes is the man.

  5. bill simmons said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 6:13 am

    You should read my column sometime. I really really hate Barnes, and because I’m a giant douche bag and have a huge megaphone, I’ve successfully managed to destroy his reputation in the college BBall world.

  6. GoHornsGo90 said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 6:34 am

    Not sure if this is some kind of nickname or something, but Kabongo’s name is “Myck,” not “Nick.”

  7. Bob Weltlich said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 7:05 am

    Where’s my article?

  8. Myck Kabongo said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 8:16 am

    Who’s this “Nick” Kabongo?

  9. nismo265 said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 10:08 am

    Jeep Jackson eh??? How bout Gillespie, Davis, and Hardaway from back in the day? Those sure were the good ol’ days of UTEP basketball

  10. SizzleChest said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 12:23 pm

    Trips was shitting his diapers when the Hardaway gang was at UTEP.

    Of course, Trips wore a diaper into his mid-teens. Had rubber sheets on his bed, too.

  11. dahorns said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 12:23 pm

    I can’t wait for this 2009-10 season to start.
    Great read, thanks.

  12. HenryJames said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 1:38 pm

    Today is Robert Smith’s birthday.

  13. RansomStoddard said:

    April 21st, 2009 at 6:01 pm

    Barnes doesn’t get enough credit for the status of the program and gets too much blame when things don’t go right.

  14. dick said:

    April 22nd, 2009 at 1:24 pm

    Donovan was considered a shit coach before he pulled in the perfect college basketball recruiting class. Two seasons of not even making the tournament in a shit SEC has proved the title seasons to be a anamoly as far as donovan’s coaching acumen is concerned. Hell, they are going to be a lot worse next year too.

  15. Palmettohorn said:

    April 23rd, 2009 at 9:28 am

    Gracias, Trips.

  16. Crazy Joe Clark said:

    April 23rd, 2009 at 10:39 am

    Great recruiter, but no coach does less with more than Rick Barnes.

  17. the Bobs said:

    April 23rd, 2009 at 10:56 am

    let me guess, when you were coming up with your nickname you had to flip a coin betwen “Crazy Joe” and “Misinformed Joe”…

  18. 4th & 6 said:

    April 23rd, 2009 at 3:57 pm

    great write tripps, who knew?

  19. jimmyjazz said:

    June 6th, 2009 at 4:53 pm

    scagnetti is really on the ball these days.

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