11. Rick Barnes (Tennessee)
Barnes has built a long and successful head coaching career that began more than three decades ago at George Mason before stops at Providence, Clemson, and Texas. He’s been entrenched at Tennessee since 2015 and is coming off his best season with the Volunteers, taking this program to last year’s Elite Eight. Sensational defense has been the calling card in Knoxville, though these recent teams have shown that Tennessee is more than that.
Dalton Knecht is in the NBA, Jonas Aidoo is on a different SEC team, and other notable faces like Santiago Vescovi are gone from the program. Instead of panicking, Barnes built another contender in the offseason, got this team out to a 14-0 start, and briefly held the #1 ranking in the AP Top 25. The Volunteers have stumbled twice in SEC play but still sit in an enviable position, leaning heavily on new players like Chaz Lanier for great offense and defense alike.
Barnes finally got the Volunteers past the Sweet Sixteen and has another team that looks like it can make a postseason run. His squad has already upended Baylor, Illinois, and Louisville, but just have to keep churning out wins in league play. Barnes knows how to win these types of games and has outdueled several great programs already this year. However this season does end, seeing the Volunteers atop the country after what they lost is still quite remarkable.