Rick Barnes Is Staying

He’s earned it.

 

Through this that is evident, if one has a problem with how this unfolded. the question is why?

 

From Tony Basilio:


Did you see the reports last night from Tracy Pearson of 24/7's Bruinsreport.com? This guy has been reporting on the Bruins since 2001 and had some rather interesting reporting on the Barnes flirtation with UCLA. Do yourself a favor and search this out today. This is a paid site, and I don't want to post all of what he wrote here but I will hit some high points here. Rest assured you will leave his reporting even more confused than you think you are regarding what really went on between Barnes, UCLA and Tennessee.

Suffice it to say that it appears Barnes may have agreed to the terms of the job and UCLA agreed to the buyout and then Barnes went to Tennessee AND THEN contacted UCLA for more money. It was actually his financial advisor that called UCLA and demanded more money AFTER BARNES AGREED TO THE TERMS ORIGINALLY. Then UCLA wouldn't pony up more cash and UCLA told Barnes' financial advisor that they were pulling out. The report went on to say that Barnes then called UCLA to say he'd accept the original terms but UCLA told him they were out. If this report is right, Barnes had nowhere left to go when Tennessee made him that YUUUUUGE offer. No offense to Rick Barnes but when you open yourself and your business up to the world, it better pass muster.

Pearson in LA has been reporting on the Bruins for a long time. I'm not taking sides here in terms of where the truth lies but the truth always lies somewhere in the middle. Is there any more apropos way to end today's blog where we celebrated the weirdness that is this place than to try and wrap your head around what you just read. So reports out of LA last night are that Tennessee bid against themselves to make Rick Barnes the third highest paid coach in college basketball. You have to appreciate this place.

 

I would be more intrigued by the story if this wasn't the 2nd hire that UCLA botched in a few days.

I'm sure it was messy, but feel like UCLA is simply trying to save face there.

 

No one cares. He shared* an SEC title with Bruce Pearl and went to the Sweet Sixteen.

 

Yeah, this screams of "it's not us, it's them"

 

We invented the "it's not us, it's them". If it's anybody, it's us.

 

Pearson is a dipshit of the highest order though

 

UCLA doesn't have Rick Barnes as their head coach. Tennessee won

 

Is it winning if the story is true though? (I don't believe it as written)

 

Yada yada yada.

 

Need @lylsmorr in here to appreciate my Seinfeld references.

 

Sure, but I highly doubt it's true.

 

And they lost. Twice, and on the same play.

 

I'm as miffed about all this as anyone, but that version of events doesn't add up.

 

It's a classic spin by an embedded writer.

This is UCLA'S Wes Rucker defending an idiotic coaching search that ended poorly

 

I got it, Constanza.

 

That version of events is ridiculous. 0% chance it went down like that.

Barnes might be a fraud, but he’s not a goddam amateur.

 

I'm sorry sir, but the correct nomenclature is "[uck fay]ing amateur"

 

Andt for the UT version of the spin job...

Rob Lewis said Barnes' buyout quote referred to Sunday night before he had the UT counter offer. UCLA was still working out the buyout when UT blew him away with the counter offer.