KNOXVILLE – If not for Frank Martin and unbeaten South Carolina, Tennessee’s Rick Barnes would be a front-runner for Southeastern Conference men’s basketball coach of the year.
At least that’s the opinion Georgia’s Mark Fox shared on the league’s coaches’ teleconference Monday, two days before his Bulldogs host Barnes’ Volunteers.
Barnes, however, does not share that opinion about the job he’s done at 8-7 midway through the season.
“Not good enough, because I don’t think we should have lost a game yet, and we’re almost .500,” he said Monday.
That record could be much better if not for some close losses when Tennessee faltered down the stretch.
All but one of Tennessee’s seven losses have come by eight points or less. A quick recap:
* Devon Baulkman missed a 3 at the buzzer in a two-point loss at Georgia Tech.
* The Vols missed two 3s in the final 15 seconds of a three-point loss to George Washington.
* Tennessee battled back from 19 down and was tied at 75 with Gonzaga with two minutes left and lost by seven.
* At the four-minute mark, Tennessee trailed by four at Butler and by six at Auburn and lost both games.
The cruelest defeat may have come last Saturday, when Tennessee led then-No. 21 Texas A&M by 13 in each half and let a 10-point lead with four minutes left wither away in a 92-88 loss.
“We just have to learn how to finish out games,” junior wing Robert Hubbs III said. “It’s tough to lose right there in the end. We’ve just got to play hard for 40 minutes and find that way to win.
“Once we get one, we have to get that momentum going.”
Barnes said the rule change that prohibits coaches from calling live-ball timeouts hurt Tennessee in some key moments in those close games early in the season, but he credited the improvements of some his players for the Vols winning the games they’ve won and being competitive in nearly every one.
“There’s not a game that goes by,” he said, “that I don’t look at that tape and say I could have done something different or something better to help these guys. You do get frustrated with players during games and things that they’re doing, but it ultimately comes back to you saying I’ve got to help them, because they’re young and they’re learning this game.”
Is it surprising to Barnes that his inexperienced, undersized bunch largely has punched above its weight this season?
Tennessee was picked to finish 13th in the SEC, after all.
“I would’ve never thought we could even be in a game if Armani Moore wasn’t scoring 12 or 14 points a game,” Barnes said, “but I think it’s a compliment to our other guys who are getting better. I’ve watched them all get better. The freshmen are getting better.
“I don’t know if I ever thought we wouldn’t be competitive, because when we scrimmaged Davidson, I think at that point we knew we were going to be competitive. We knew had a lot of work to do. We think there’s a long way to go in this season, and we’re trying to build a program here.”
The development and drive of some freshmen and what Barnes called a “nice group” of incoming signees – point guard Lamonte Turner will be eligible next season, too – have him and his staff looking to the future.
He believes the culture he wants is now in place. He also wants and expects to win now, too.
“We really hadn’t done anything this year other than what we’re supposed to do,” Barnes said.
“You look at the teams we’ve played this year – the games that we were supposed to win we won – but we hadn’t won games where we were probably considered the underdog until the Florida game. I know we were the underdog Saturday, but the fact is that’s from everybody else’s perspective.
“As a player, at some point in time – and we talk about winning time – you’ve got to find a way.”
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.