The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Rick Barnes: Remember where you come from
08.20.2007 | Men's Basketball
Despite blossoming into one of the elite college basketball coaches in the country over the past 20 years, he still prefers to be referred to as "Little Ricky from Hickory." And so you may begin to understand why May 14, 2007 is a date that University of Texas basketball coach Rick Barnes now considers one of the most meaningful in his life.
It was on this date that Barnes returned to his hometown of Hickory, N.C. That and in itself is not a story, as Barnes returns most every off-season to spend time with family and friends. But this visit was different.
Barnes was inducted into the Catawba County Hall of Fame on that spring night. From a distance, one might think it was just another honor for the all-time winningest coach in Texas Basketball.
When you appreciate where you come from, events like these take on a special meaning. In fact, Barnes was humbled.
Born in Hickory on July 17, 1954, Barnes graduated from Hickory High School in 1973 and moved on to Lenoir-Rhyne College. Well, he didn't really move, as Lenoir-Rhyne is right there in Hickory. In college, he lettered in basketball three times and won the Captain's Award for Leadership as a junior and senior. He earned a bachelor's degree in health and physical education from Lenoir-Rhyne in 1977.
Barnes coached his first team in a Hickory recreation league while he was still in high school. After a trip to see the 1978 Atlantic Coast Conference tourney in Greensboro, coaching at the collegiate level became his passion.
Just how good has Barnes' college coaching career been? Well, consider these numbers.
In 20 seasons as a head coach at George Mason University, Providence College, Clemson University and The University of Texas, he has compiled a 418-210 record, good for a 65.5 winning percentage. Along the way, he has guided his teams to a total of 15 NCAA Tournament berths, including a streak of 12 straight.
Barnes' current streak of 12 straight NCAA tourney appearances ties him with Duke's Mike Krzyzewski for the fourth-longest active streak among active Division I coaches. He trails only Lute Olson (23), Roy Williams (18) and Tubby Smith (14). That's not bad company to be in.
Barnes also is one of just seven active coaches in the nation to have led two different schools to Top Five rankings in The Associated Press Top 25 poll. He led Clemson to a No. 2 ranking in 1996-97 and has guided Texas to a No. 2 ranking in two separate years.
Barnes was hired as the 23rd men's basketball coach in University of Texas history on April 12, 1998. In nine years with the Longhorns, he has built the program into a national power.
Barnes has guided Texas to a school-record nine consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and a school-best eight straight 20-win seasons. The Longhorns have posted a 216-86 record in Barnes' nine years, an average of 24 wins per season. Texas is one of just nine programs to have advanced to each of the last nine NCAA Tournaments.
The Longhorns have advanced to at least the "Sweet 16" of the NCAA tourney in four of the last six seasons. UT is one of just five programs to accomplish that feat. Included in this stretch was a trip to the 2006 Elite Eight and the 2003 Final Four, marking the third time in school history and first since 1947 that Texas had advanced to the Final Four.
Texas is the only school to produce a pair of National Players of the Year in the last five seasons. T.J. Ford won the Wooden and Naismith Awards in 2003, and freshman sensation Kevin Durant captured all seven National Player of the Year awards this past year.
With all of these accomplishments, Coach Barnes' greatest impact may be in what he has given back to the city of Hickory. As he said to the students of Lenoir-Rhyne College when speaking at the school's 2005 Spring Commencement, "We need to remember where we come from and the people that help us get to where we're going." Barnes has certainly done that, and more.
One of his proudest moments came when Lenoir-Rhyne College presented Barnes with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree on May 7, 2005. A consistent contributor in the Hickory community and to his alma mater over the years, Barnes was instrumental in helping the Hickory Foundation YMCA build its new C.O. Miller Teen Center.
His message to both his players and to groups he speaks at regularly has been consistent. "Make a difference and remember to leave it better than you found it" Barnes often says.
Rick Barnes has definitely made a difference and has always left it better than he found it, especially in Catawba County.
