New Assistant
So some of the biggest news going on in the world of Tennessee basketball these days is who is going to take over the second assistant position after Scott Edgar left to be the head coach at Southeast Missouri State. It appears right now that the two main candidates are Rod Barnes, former head coach at Ole Miss who was fired this year, and Bob Sunvold, who is the GM and head coach of the ABA's Kansas City Knights. So given these two candidates, heres my opinion on the situation.
Rod Barnes would appear to be the obvious hire here. He has a few things going for him. He has experience in the SEC and knows all the teams and coaches UT plays in the league. More importantly, he has probably a deeper knowledge about the Western Division teams that he played against twice a year at Ole Miss. Second, his teams have always been known to play tough half court defense. Plus, they always play hard. Being able to get your players to play hard is a tough thing to do and something that is usually overlooked when looking for a new coach to hire. Luckily, UT lucked out in that category with the Pearl hire, and look at the difference it made. Third, Barnes has a lot of connections into the Memphis, Alabama, and Mississippi area. Being in his location, he had quick access to all those areas, especially Memphis since its only about an hour away from Oxford. Some might argue that he isn't that good of a recruiter. Well, first, ask yourself this question. If someone was recruiting you to go to school, and you could basically have your pick of any school in the SEC, where would you go? Now, given I would say UT, but look at all the other options. Every other SEC town is better than Oxford, except for Starkville. Yes, Oxford is a very historical town, with lots of huge plantation houses and a gorgeous campus, but it's not exactly the happenin' town that most top notch basketball players are drawn to. And given that the program isn't that strong, it's a hard place to recruit to. However, if Barnes is hired, it won't be because of his recruiting. I'm sure he can more than hold his own in that category. I mean, how else did he become a head coach? Almost every head coach you ever meet is at least a good recruiter. Some are better than others, but almost every head coach is a great sales person.
But like I said, he won't be brought in to be a great recruiter. He will be brought in for his defensive knowledge, X's and O's, and his coaching experience. Many people don't realize how great it is to have a former head coach on your staff that knows exactly what the head coach is going through. So, I guess I endorse Rod Barnes for the open assistant position. And take this for what it's worth, but last week at the Kingwood Classic in Houston (one of the biggest AAU tournaments) Barnes was spotted in the crowd the day before current coaches were allowed to be there. And who was he watching, Cameron Tatum and Corperryale Harris, two of Tennessee's high profile recruits.
Rod Barnes would appear to be the obvious hire here. He has a few things going for him. He has experience in the SEC and knows all the teams and coaches UT plays in the league. More importantly, he has probably a deeper knowledge about the Western Division teams that he played against twice a year at Ole Miss. Second, his teams have always been known to play tough half court defense. Plus, they always play hard. Being able to get your players to play hard is a tough thing to do and something that is usually overlooked when looking for a new coach to hire. Luckily, UT lucked out in that category with the Pearl hire, and look at the difference it made. Third, Barnes has a lot of connections into the Memphis, Alabama, and Mississippi area. Being in his location, he had quick access to all those areas, especially Memphis since its only about an hour away from Oxford. Some might argue that he isn't that good of a recruiter. Well, first, ask yourself this question. If someone was recruiting you to go to school, and you could basically have your pick of any school in the SEC, where would you go? Now, given I would say UT, but look at all the other options. Every other SEC town is better than Oxford, except for Starkville. Yes, Oxford is a very historical town, with lots of huge plantation houses and a gorgeous campus, but it's not exactly the happenin' town that most top notch basketball players are drawn to. And given that the program isn't that strong, it's a hard place to recruit to. However, if Barnes is hired, it won't be because of his recruiting. I'm sure he can more than hold his own in that category. I mean, how else did he become a head coach? Almost every head coach you ever meet is at least a good recruiter. Some are better than others, but almost every head coach is a great sales person.
But like I said, he won't be brought in to be a great recruiter. He will be brought in for his defensive knowledge, X's and O's, and his coaching experience. Many people don't realize how great it is to have a former head coach on your staff that knows exactly what the head coach is going through. So, I guess I endorse Rod Barnes for the open assistant position. And take this for what it's worth, but last week at the Kingwood Classic in Houston (one of the biggest AAU tournaments) Barnes was spotted in the crowd the day before current coaches were allowed to be there. And who was he watching, Cameron Tatum and Corperryale Harris, two of Tennessee's high profile recruits.
posted by Big Bentley at 9:07 AM
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