Tennessee basketball finds itself two victories shy from the program's first Final Four trip. Rick Barnes has done wonders with the Volunteers the past 11 seasons. To the point he could be a contender for the North Carolina opening.
Barnes himself addressed the UNC rumors Thursday by cracking a joke shared via Nicole Auerbach of NBC Sports.
“Reporter tells Rick Barnes he'll be the one coach in Chicago who won't get asked about the UNC opening,” Auerbach posted on the social media website X, formerly Twitter.
But there's one more joke Barnes blurted that'll get the Tar Heels fanbase's attention: He's from North Carolina as he claimed.
Yes Barnes happens to be in the Windy City, where his Vols face Iowa State inside the United Center. Plus the 71-year-old coach is from Hickory, located less than three hours from Chapel Hill.
But does Barnes have a previous tie-in to North Carolina?
He coached at Davidson and Clemson, the latter one of his head coaching stops. Barnes went 74-48 with the Tigers including facing UNC in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
Barnes has a glistening resume that could win over schools like UNC. He took Texas to its last Final Four appearance in 2003. Barnes also resurrected Tennessee after some down years and a fallout from the Bruce Pearl regime.
His Vols turned to old school pound-the-paint tactics to beat Virginia in advancing to the Sweet 16. Tennessee enters the round of 16 as one of the underdogs capable of pulling an upset.
He likely won't be the top contender for UNC. Chicago Bulls HC and past Florida national champion Billy Donovan is rising as the top contender there.
