KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Rick Barnes’ phone rang two weeks ago.
To his surprise, it was UCLA inquiring if the Tennessee basketball coach was interested in its vacant head coaching job.
His mind jetted back to when he was an eighth-grader in North Carolina. His mother and a friend spent $56 to send a young Richard Dale Barnes to a basketball camp at Campbell College, where legendary UCLA coach John Wooden was a featured guest.
Fifty-some-years later, Barnes had the opportunity to follow in Wooden’s footsteps as the UCLA basketball coach. And Barnes would have done so if not for a snag in negotiating his $5 million buyout at Tennessee.
Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes was named the 2019 Werner Ladder Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year. (Photo: Hannah Foslien, Getty Images)
“I asked God for total clarity,” Barnes said. “And when they came back with their decision, I knew that I’m not supposed to be the coach at UCLA. As soon as that happened, I’m like, ‘OK, I’m good with this,’ because I felt like, again, that God had made it crystal clear that I needed to be at the University of Tennessee.”
Barnes had a week-long flirtation with UCLA that lasted 24 hours publicly, ranging from Sunday night reports to a Monday night decision to stay in Knoxville.
Barnes and Tennessee reached a new deal that day, months after he negotiated a new contract following a breakout season with the Vols. That contract set Barnes' buyout, which proved the only obstacle keeping Barnes from heading to Westwood.
If it had been solved, Barnes saw a different outcome.
"I think I would have been the coach at UCLA," Barnes said. "I really felt at that time that that’s what would have happened."
Eight days later, Barnes and athletic director Phillip Fulmer detailed just how close Barnes was to bolting for a dream job at UCLA and how Tennessee kept him for a fifth season and beyond.
“The fact is I’m here because I feel like God wants me here,” Barnes said. “And I believe that with all my heart.”
UCLA’s pursuit of Barnes started with a phone call on April 2. He met with the Bruins in person. He was intrigued by the notion of coaching the historic program that held his affection dating back to staying up in the late 1960s to watch iconic teams.
“I’ve got pictures of myself sitting in John Wooden’s house and I’ve got pictures of me in restaurants with him,” said Barnes, who has an 88-50 record in four years in Knoxville.
Tennessee athletic director Phillip Fulmer held off UCLA to keep Rick Barnes
Mike Wilson, USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee
Fulmer, having recently wrapped up a Lady Vols coaching search that brought Kellie Harper to Knoxville, was at a Tennessee baseball game when Barnes’ financial adviser called and told him that Barnes was heavily involved at UCLA.
“Everybody was caught off guard," Fulmer said. "We had such a great year. He was caught off guard a little bit."
Barnes was in Minneapolis for the weekend, where he was honored as the Naismith national coach of the year after the Volunteers' 31-win season. Barnes told UCLA he had to talk to people at Tennessee before making any decision. Fulmer was in Knoxville, where the pair got together on April 7.
“I said, ‘I’m not going to walk out of here and not meet with my team. I’m not going to walk out of here and not meet with people that have been really good to me,’” Barnes said.
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Barnes admitted he was torn. He said he didn’t leave his house for two days and lost five pounds.
He felt the pull to coach at one of the blue bloods of college basketball. Barnes and Fulmer said it was the allure of UCLA and no issues at Tennessee that led to the situation.
He felt his affections for Knoxville tugging. Some of his players reached out to him to let him know they loved him and supported him. He leaned on a small circle of close friends. Local business offered Barnes free food for life if he stayed in Knoxville.
His wife, Candy, told him she would support whatever he wanted to do. Fulmer met with Tennessee administrators, including interim president Randy Boyd, to rally together to keep Barnes. UCLA’s offer reportedly neared $5 million annually. Tennessee countered with a new deal on what Fulmer called “a really tough Monday.”
Tennessee athletic director Phillip Fulmer met with the media Tuesday
Mike Wilson, USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee
"We weren’t going to let somebody come in here and buy our coach without putting up a great fight," Fulmer said.
Tennessee had not released the details of the new contract as of Tuesday. Barnes also had not signed the deal, which sets him up for “the last chapter of my coaching career.”
By the end of the day on April 8, Candy Barnes was sick of waiting and told her husband to decide. Barnes thought of “one of the last prayers” he prayed that day — the one for total clarity — and made the choice.
“It got to that point where I thought my prayer had been answered," Barnes said. “Once it happened, I called the people I needed to call and said I was staying at Tennessee. I haven’t looked back.”
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