Texas, Barnes have most to lose in tourney
KANSAS CITY — Who says Rick Barnes is hard to embrace? While the Texas basketball coach was addressing the media inside Sprint Center, Missouri coach Frank Haith snuck into his press conference, reached around and gave the lug a giant bear hug from behind.
As reporters guffawed, Barnes turned, recognized his former assistant, and grinned.
"I want THIS guy," the Texas coach said.
Haith quickly dashed away, beaming like a frat boy who'd just escaped with his rival's mascot. Barnes cracked that he'd recognized his cologne, then shouted back at the Tigers coach, each syllable framed by a smirk.
"What is that?" Barnes asked. "You still use that Old Spice?"
There was a different smell in the Longhorns locker room Wednesday, pitched somewhere between confidence and quiet desperation.
Of all the schools on the Big 12 tournament's fight card this week, Texas is the one with the most to lose. Drop Thursday's second-round matchup with No 25 Iowa State, and the Longhorns (19-12, 9-9 Big 12) can probably kiss an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament — and a streak of 13 straight visits to Bracketville — good-bye. It's that simple.
"I don't know where we are with the NCAA," offered Barnes, who's never missed the Big Dance since taking over the program in 1998. "I don't listen to any of the people here, because I don't think people here really know. I don't even think they really understand what weighs into it. And the reason I know that is I have a lot of people that I respect that have been on the committee for a long time, and that's what they tell me. So, I just believe in the integrity of the committee.
"But in terms of us, you've got to earn your way there. And I believe the teams that get there, they've done what they've need to do. So, it's pretty simple. You do your job, you'll be there. If you don't, you won't."
Texas wasn't supposed to be here — that is, teetering on the proverbial fence. Programs that swim in cash and bask in the glow of their own television networks are designed to be too big to fail. Barnes was supposed to spin so-called "down years" or "transitional rosters" into contenders for Big 12 championships, the way Bill Self did this winter at Kansas.
Maybe Texas isn't Kansas. Or maybe Barnes isn't Self. Whatever the cause, this Bubble thing is virgin territory for the folks in Austin, some of whom wouldn't mind seeing their coach — who flirted with the North Carolina State job a year ago and wound up with a $200,000 raise — run out on a rail.
"No one has set the expectations higher than we have," Barnes said. "Fans are fans. Really, I'm not concerned about that. I'm concerned about our team. (Fans) have no clue. They have no idea what goes into teams winning at any level in any sport. They have absolutely no clue. Now they think they do, obviously, but they don't. And that's why you respect consistency in programs. You respect that, because if you've ever been in it, (you understand)."
Consistency — his Longhorns have averaged 24 wins per season and never won fewer than 20 — has proven to be a double-edged sword for Barnes, his legacy and his albatross.
"I think the biggest thing that I've thought about the NCAA tournament this year is that I don't want to be the first team in — what is it? — 15 years that's not gotten into the tournament," senior center Clint Chapman said. "We go into the practice facility and there's (NCAA) banners up there on the wall, and I don't want to be part of that first team that skips there."
If the Longhorns are going to avoid history, they're going to have to account for Iowa State's array of long-distance shooters — the Cyclones have knocked down 10 or more treys in a game 14 times this season — and hold serve in the paint without maybe their best post defender, 6-foot-7 Alexis Wangmene, who broke his wrist last Saturday at Kansas. Iowa State's offense runs through Royce White, a 6-foot-8 bull of a forward who also dishes the rock like a point guard.
"I don't think there's a program in the country," Barnes said of White, the transfer from Minnesota, "that has a guy like him."
The 'Horns have talent, too, but it's still raw. Texas starts three freshmen and cycles three more in off the bench. Barnes' critics have wondered whether basketball karma and his predilection for one-and-done wunderkinds — Tristan Thompson, Jordan Hamilton and Cory Joseph all bolted for the pros last spring — have finally caught up with him.
"You can never get in his mind," first-year point guard Myck Kabongo said, chuckling, when asked about his coach.
"Some things you just don't understand."
But the consequences of a loss? These kids understand that — perfectly. If things go sour Thursday night, Barnes might be the one seeking out a hug.