For nearly two decades, Rick Barnes was the head coach of the Texas Longhorns, and he led some of the greatest college basketball players of all time through their careers.
From Kevin Durant to LaMarcus Aldridge to TJ Ford to PJ Tucker, there was seemingly one star after another walking the halls alongside Barnes.
However, other than an appearance in the 2003 Final Four, the Longhorns always fell short of expectations with Barnes at the helm, a theme that is now growing extremely familiar for the Tennessee Volunteers, who Barnes is coaching these days.
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This season, after leading the Vols to an appearance in the Elite Eight, it seemed like Barnes' coaching prowess was stopped dead in its tracks as Tennessee was blown out of the water in a 95-62 loss to the Michigan Wolverines.
Rick Barnes doesn't have what it takes to win a Natty
This isn't the first time that Barnes has fallen short of taking the next step toward achieving the ultimate glory: winning the National Championship.
Even when Durant was on the Horns' roster, Texas was eliminated in the Round of 32. When elite forward Tristan Thompson was on the team, Texas also lost in the Round of 32. In fact, despite taking the team to the NCAA Tournament in 16 of the 17 seasons he coached the Longhorns, Texas only appeared in three Elite Eights and just one Final Four.
There is undeniably something missing from Barnes' coaching skill set that is necessary to take the next step in the Big Dance.
Rick Barnes has been to the NCAA tournament 27 times in his Hall of fame career
— Austin Brown (@Austin_Vols) March 7, 2024
He’s only been 1 seed once and it was also the only time he made the final four… pic.twitter.com/wLe32Ucb7Y
His one appearance in the Final Four was with the 2002-03 Texas team, which was a No. 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament and the squad that went 26-7 overall, including the upset loss to the then-No. 3-seed Syracuse Orange in the Final Four.
Texas fans could have told Tennessee fans what to expect from Barnes: a rocky season, an incredible run through the NCAA Tournament, and bitter disappointment before anyone was ready for the season to end.