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Rick Barnes comments on Tennessee future amid retirement speculation
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Rick Barnes told reporters on Thursday he plans to be the Tennessee head coach next season.
The Vols face Kentucky on Friday in the Sweet 16 at the NCAA Tournament. They stand 2 wins away from the program’s first-ever Final Four. Though he’s not yet the program’s all-time wins leader, Barnes would surely cement his status as the greatest coach in Tennessee basketball history if he breaks through that final barrier.
But Barnes will also turn 71 in July. Next season will be his 39th as a Division I head coach. The clock is certainly ticking. At a press conference on Thursday, Barnes was asked about speculation that he may retire at the end of the season.
“I really truly believe that God brought me to Knoxville for a reason and everything that I do, I want to live on that platform. … I think God will make it perfectly clear when He wants me to step down and my time will be up, but it’s not now” Barnes said. “If it is, I don’t feel that.
“I love coaching basketball. I love being around it. … We’re already planning to have a team next year, and I fully plan to be a part of it. I think when my time’s up, I truly believe God will make it clear to me and where He wants me to go next and do next, but I have not thought that in the least bit.”
Speculation has been ramping up since January when Barnes said, “I don’t know if I’d still be doing it if not for him,” as he was talking about senior guard Zakai Zeigler.
“I meant that, but I could have said that about my first point guard at George Mason 30-some years ago, Amp Davis,” Barnes said Thursday. “I loved coaching him. I think after that, people thought because I’m a young guy now, that it might be my last year. But the fact is, I’ve put it all in God’s hands.”
Barnes coached Providence (1988-94), Clemson (1994-98), and Texas (1998-2015) before landing in Tennessee. With the Vols, he is 231-108. He’s 47 wins away from matching Ray Mears (1963-77) for the most wins in Tennessee history. Barnes is also chasing Mears (3) in regular-season SEC titles.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
