Rick Barnes shares thoughts on Texas joining SEC, favorite part about playing Longhorns
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Rick Barnes bleeds Tennessee basketball. But for many years, the veteran coach bled a different shade of orange — burnt orange, the color worn by Texas.
This season, with the Longhorns joining the SEC, 2 of Barnes’ worlds will collide. His current world, coaching the Volunteers since 2015, and his prior world, Texas, where he was the head coach from 1998 right up until he was fired in 2015 after the Longhorns failed to get to the Sweet 16 for the 7th straight season.
So, for the past quarter-century roughly, it’s been an orange planet for the 70-year-old Barnes, and now this season, Barnes’ Vols will be competing with Texas for SEC championships. And he absolutely is looking forward to it.
“The addition of Texas and Oklahoma solidifies that the SEC is the best league in the country across all sports,” said Barnes. “I have a special place in my heart for Texas, but I’ll go about that game the same way. My favorite part about playing Texas is I get to see my grandkids.”
Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes on Texas joining the SEC: "The addition of Texas and Oklahoma solidifies that the SEC is the best league in the country across all sports. I have a special place in my heart for Texas, but I'll go about that game the same way. My favorite part…
— TexAgs (@TexAgs) October 15, 2024
The line about seeing his grandkids just tells everyone how even though Barnes has long since left Austin, a lot of what he left behind is still there. The Vols and Longhorns have met in each of the last 3 years, including home-and-home meetings as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge and this past March in the NCAA Tournament.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
