Big 12 Basketball: Top 10 head coaches of the century (2000-20)
By Joey Loose
2. Big 12 Basketball coach rankings – Rick Barnes (Texas, 2000-2015)
On this elite list of coaches, Barnes finds his place after nearly two decades of incredible performances with the Longhorns. The former head coach of George Mason, Providence, and Clemson found his way to Austin in 1998 and made an immediate impact in the Big 12. Despite Kansas controlling the conference, Barnes did a phenomenal job establishing Texas on the national stage.
He led the Longhorns to the NCAA Tournament in all but one of his seasons, winning a pair of Big 12 titles along the way. The 2003 team made the Final Four while two later squads made Elite Eight trips and won at least 30 games apiece. The Longhorns were a perennial contender in the league and were at their best in Barnes’ early years with the program. During his tenure, he won over 400 games in just 17 seasons.
Unfortunately, the Longhorns couldn’t make it past the opening weekend of the Tournament in Barnes’ last seven seasons and he was fired in 2015. He moved on to Tennessee and has already led them to the Sweet Sixteen. Seeing Shaka Smart struggle to put any kind of success together, it makes you appreciate Barnes’ achievements even more. He didn’t win a title but established this Longhorns program as a solid force in the Big 12.