Report: Texas Will Fire Head Basketball Coach Rick Barnes After 17 Seasons

Barnes is out after 17 years at the helm

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According to multiple reports, Rick Barnes, Texas's basketball head coach for the past 17 years, has been fired. 

Barnes, who took the Texas job in 1998, leaves behind a complicated legacy. Though he guided the Longhorns to the NCAA Tournament 16 of the 17 season he was coach, he reached the Final Four just once, in 2003. In ten of those seasons, the Longhorns failed to make it past the second round, which is somewhat inexplicable considering the talent Barnes cultivated during his tenure. From T.J. Ford to Kevin Durant to D.J. Augustin, Barnes's teams always seemed to underachieve, and many pointed to Barnes as why. ESPN's Bill Simmons has been one of Barnes's harshest critics, dropping this line in a 2007 column, Durant's only year in Austin:


"The way Rick Barnes butchers this team on a game-to-game basis is unconscionable. Seriously, did you SEE Wednesday night's game? What was your favorite bad coaching moment? They're going to get bounced from the NCAA Tournament this month solely because Barnes has no idea how to get Durant the ball ... and even worse, doesn't seem to feel any pressing need to get Durant the ball."

The Texas opening now becomes the hot job in college hoops, and ESPN's Jeff Goodman is reporting that VCU's Shaka Smart and Wichita State's Gregg Marshall are both heavily interested in the position. Barnes leaves Texas with over 400 wins. 

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[Via @GoodmanESPN]

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