Myles Turner commits to Texas, makes Rick Barnes' seat cool

Diposkan oleh silent aja 5:00 AM Post a Comment

I've long held the belief that when coaches get on the so-called hot seat with their fans they never really get off of it, and, still to this day, I think that's probably true.

But Rick Barnes is trying to become an exception to the rule.

The longtime Texas coach, this time last year, was at or near the top of everybody's list of coaches on the hot seat, and that's never a good place to be positioned. Barnes was coming off of a CBI appearance, recruiting was in the dumps, especially within the state, and there was no real reason to think things would get turned around considering the Longhorns were picked last preseason to finish eighth in a 10-school league called the Big 12. In other words, if the season would've gone as projected, Barnes would've missed the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year, and there were plenty of people in the industry who believed that reality would lead to a 'forced retirement,' at which point one of college basketball's very best jobs (for a variety of reasons) would be on the market.

As you know, things did not go as projected.

Texas was one of the nation's most surprising teams -- finishing 24-11 overall and 11-7 in the Big 12, which placed the Longhorns in a tie for third in the league standings. They advanced to the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament and didn't lose a single relevant player from that team, which is why they're ninth in the preseason Top 25 (and one).

So Barnes' seat has cooled considerably.

And the news got better Wednesday when Myles Turner committed to Texas.

'Kevin Durant has always been my favorite player,' Turner said while announcing his decision live on national television, and that's interesting because he's arguably Texas' best recruit since Durant enrolled in Austin in 2006. Whether the 7-foot center will or won't start as a freshman, and whether he can play beside Cameron Ridley, is mostly beside the point at this point because the point of this column isn't to debate lineup combinations. The point of this column is to highlight that Barnes suddenly, and surprisingly, has Texas headed back in the right direction, and he's now more likely to spend his 60th birthday this July recruiting to keep Texas on the national radar rather than, you know, recruiting to save his job.

Buried by some a year ago, Rick Barnes is still kicking.

He's got a good team on campus and a great recruit on the way.

All coaches who planned to make runs at the UT job should probably adjust their plans.