KNOXVILLE – Rick Barnes and Ben Howland have combined for 1,020 college basketball wins during their combined 49 seasons of coaching.
As first-year Southeastern Conference coaches, however, their record is 15-16.
Both Barnes and Howland, who face each other a fifth time when Tennessee visits Mississippi State today, are trying to move their new programs up the pecking order in the SEC standings after successful runs at other places in other leagues.
“I’m happy for him,” Barnes said before the Volunteers practiced Friday afternoon at Pratt Pavilion. “He belongs in coaching. Our coaching profession needs a guy like Ben, and he loves it.
“It’s really remarkable what he did at UCLA, when you think about what he did. I think there’s probably a mutual respect, just the fact we’ve been in it for a long time. He did a great job at Pittsburgh and obviously back there at UCLA, and he’s going to do a great job at Mississippi State.”