Rick Barnes ready for emotional return to Texas

Rick Barnes spent 17 years as the head basketball coach at the University of Texas.

His time at Texas makes up half of his 34-year career as a collegiate head basketball coach. While in Austin, Barnes led the Longhorns to the NCAA Tournament 16 times. He made a run to the Final Four in 2004 on his way to compiling a record of 402-180.

Barnes’ time at Texas didn’t come to a storybook ending, however. Fans became frustrated with the lack of success in the NCAA Tournament and on the recruiting trail towards the end of his tenure and that frustration crept into the administration.

Texas wanted Barnes to retire so it wouldn’t have to publicly fire him, but Barnes wasn’t having it.

“I was told one thing one day and one thing the next — it was all over the place,” Barnes explained this week. “It was inevitable. I had told our players so many times about not quitting that I didn't think I could quit and just say that I was leaving because that's not how I felt. My time was up and they needed to tell me that it was up because I didn't want my players to ever say to me, 'Coach, why would you quit?'. That was important to me.

“To be honest, they wanted to have one of those really fun press conferences at the end where everyone sits up there and acts like it's a mutual parting of ways, and I said that I wasn't having any part of that. (Former Texas football coach) Mack (Brown) told me later that he wishes he would have done the same thing.”

Barnes didn’t last on the market long. After being fired by Texas on March 27, 2015, Barnes signed up to become the head coach at Tennessee just four days later.

“When I left that press conference (at Texas), Don Evans drove me to the airport and I got on a plane and flew straight (to Knoxville),” Barnes continued. “I did not really talk to the University of Tennessee until a couple days before that Sunday.”

Seven years and 137 wins at Tennessee later, Barnes now finds himself returning to Texas on Saturday night to coach against the Longhorns as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

Plenty of attention will be on the game. Barnes will have several former players in town, but he remains adamant that he won’t allow the emotions of his return to interfere with Tennessee looking for its fourth straight win.

“I’ve always been able to stay locked in to what we’re doing right here,” Barnes said following Wednesday’s win over Florida. “I have incredible respect for the University of Texas. I spent 17 years there. There’s not a person on that campus that I don’t have great respect for.

"I’m seven years removed. I’m a Tennessee Volunteer, I really am. Texas is a big part of me, and always will be. But I’ve been gone seven years."

Tennessee has become home to Barnes in part because he grew up just about three hours away in Hickory, North Carolina. His wife, Candy, graduated from Tennessee while the two were dating.

But Barnes has also impacted the Knoxville community as much as he has on the court. Obviously his success over the last seven years to stabilize what was a program in flux hasn’t hurt either.

“I love the people,” Barnes said. “I love people and as I've said before, we have a tremendous fan base here. Tremendous loyalty to this university. I mean our last two games we've put over 20,000 people in the stands and we had 4,500 students here the other night.

"It is a Volunteer state when you get here. Being able to get lost in this community, I've gotten so many people that I know with different things that we've been able to get involved with outside of the university. It's such a really caring, loving, generous fan base. They love this university and they love the state of Tennessee. I have fallen in love with it."

Texas plays its home basketball games in the Erwin Center. That is until next season when the brand new Moody Center will replace it.

The SEC/Big 12 Challenge has been going on throughout Barnes’ tenure at Tennessee. Yet the Vols and Longhorns haven't yet matched up despite the urgency for TV executives to link them up.

Barnes simply wasn’t ready to return to Austin. That is until now where in the Erwin Center’s final year, he’ll get the chance to coach one more game.

“I coached in there for 17 years,” Barnes said. “I have a lot of fond memories of it.”

Former players of Barnes helped create those memories and will be in attendance to celebrate them. His current players, however, are hoping to give him one more memory.

”We know this is a big game,” Vols guard Josiah-Jordan James said. “We know we want to go in there and play for each other but also go in there and do it for him, as he has left an amazing legacy at the University of Texas.

“He is the same, day in and day out. I have not really noticed a change (this week). I talked to him about it yesterday after film just with what his thoughts were. I know he knows they are going to be doing a lot for him pregame and the hours leading up to the game. But, he is just trying to stay as focused as possible. I think he is doing a great job of doing that. And just treating it, even though it really is not a regular game, just treating it as that."

No. 18 Tennessee (14-5) and Texas (15-5) are scheduled to tip off at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.