Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes was named by the Atlanta Tipoff Club on Friday as one of 10 semifinalists for the Werner Ladder Naismith Trophy for Men’s College Coach of the Year.
In his third season at Tennessee, Barnes has taken a team picked in the preseason to finish 13th in the 14-team Southeastern Conference to a 20-7 (10-5 SEC) record and second-place in the current league standings. The Volunteers are rated No. 11 in the NCAA’s RPI listing and have spent 12 consecutive weeks in the Associated Press Top-25 poll. Tennessee has won eight games away from home and defeated five “Power Five” opponents during non-conference play (Purdue, NC State, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Iowa State).
Other semifinalists include Texas Tech’s Chris Beard, Virginia’s Tony Bennett, Clemson’s Brad Brownell, Cincinnati’s Mick Cronin, Ohio State’s Chris Holtmann, Xavier’s Chris Mack, Purdue’s Matt Painter, Auburn’s Bruce Pearl and Villanova’s Jay Wright.
“In such a wildly competitive season, these 10 coaches have proven their mettle and have positioned their teams for a magical March run,” said Eric Oberman, executive director of the Atlanta Tipoff Club. “Our voters will be challenged to select four from this group, since they are all very deserving.”
The Naismith Awards master voting academy will trim the 10-man list to four finalists, who will be announced on March 15. A fan vote then will account for five percent of the final Coach of the Year selection tally, and fans will have the opportunity to cast their vote by visiting www.naismithtrophy.com/vote between March 19-30.
The Werner Ladder Naismith Trophy for Men’s College Coach of the Year will be announced on during the Naismith Awards brunch April 1 at Pearl Stable in San Antonio, Texas.
“Werner is excited to help recognize the hard work and dedication of these talented coaches again this year,” said Chris Filardi, vice president of marketing at WernerCo. “This group of semifinalists represent the best in coaching and leadership.”
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