CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes was thrilled about his team’s performance in an 83-49 win over Saint Peter’s in a first-round NCAA Tournament game Thursday.
But that excitement doesn’t extend to Saturday’s second-round matchup against Texas. Barnes served as the Longhorns’ head coach from 1998-2015, and he remains good friends with many on the Texas staff.
Current Texas head coach Rodney Terry worked as an assistant coach for Barnes, as did current Texas assistant Frank Haith and Texas basketball’s general manager, Chris Ogden.
It is tough when you are playing against guys that have helped (and) been a part of my career for a long time,” Barnes said after Tennessee’s win Saturday. “Rodney, Coach Haith, Chris Ogden, so many guys there helped us while I was there and were a big part of our success there.
I’ve got dear friends that they’ll be friends until the day I die. The time I had there was special because, really, there’s a lot of people there that touched my life.
“It’s always tough when you (play each other), because we all are close. We stay in touch with each other.
We talk throughout the year. Those guys probably know me as well as anybody, and they know how I think. I think, if you ask both of us, would we rather be playing someone else, the answer would be yes.