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Life as a fan of Tennessee Flights is never easy.
On Sunday morning, supporters in Tennessee probably thought that the imminent departure of Admiral Schofield and the potential early departures of Jordan Bone and Grant Williams were their main concern.
Then the rumor started.
247Sports reported Sunday night that Rick Barnes had become a serious candidate to replace Steve Alford as UCLA's head coach.
The LA Times went a step further by announcing that Barnes would accept the job if it was offered. Barnes has already interviewed with the Bruins.
Losing Barnes to UCLA would obviously be a devastating blow to the Tennessee basketball program. After a few mediocre seasons, Barnes built UT into the national title contenders category. The Vols won the SEC in its third season and won 31 games last season.
But the potential loss of major talent in the coming weeks will make next season a challenge for Barnes. That's why it's not totally surprising that he can hold the position at UCLA (although at age 64 I think it does not do much.) It makes sense for Barnes to head west and again, but perhaps he considers that the path to success is easier at UCLA than at UT without his three big players).
If Barnes goes away, it would put athletic director Phillip Fulmer and the United States in a difficult situation. After who would they go to replace Barnes? If Barnes decides to leave Tennessee, there will be a lot of hot billboards, but many of these names will be unrealistic. Gregg Marshall does not leave Wichita State for UT. And Tony Bennett does not stop Virginia from coming to Knoxville (and getting ready for the inevitable discussion of Bruce Pearl if Barnes goes away).
The Flights will probably have to go with a younger coach who can help them through a mini-rebuild.
And I think I know the ideal candidate: Wes Miller from UNC-Greensboro.
Miller, who won a national championship in North Carolina in 2005, has been the head coach of UNC-Greensboro since 2011. After five grueling seasons, Miller has been able to convince the Spartans to move to the top speed in 2017, at the head of the UNC-Greensboro. to 25 wins. The Spartans have won at least 25 games in each of the past three seasons.
UNC-Greensboro, who won their team's record with 29 games last season under Miller, was in fact the last team to leave the NCAA tournament last month. It was the first time a Southern Conference team received a global offer (which did not even happen when Stephen Curry was in Davidson, as noted by Yahoo Sports).
Hiring a young coach like Miller (he turned 36 in January) would certainly be a little risky. But I think that it has more potential than many other options. The other concern about hiring Miller is that if he succeeds in Tennessee, he will eventually be chosen to succeed Roy Williams at UNC. But I do not think it's a problem for the fans of Flight if Miller should be taken into account.
Williams recently signed an eight-year contract extension with the Tar Heels. He is 68, but he does not seem to have any early retirement plans. If Miller came to Knoxville and had the kind of success over an eight-year period that gets UNC to hire him, then I think it would be a huge win for the Volunteers.
Of course, Barnes did not leave Tennessee at this point. And it is certainly possible that he receives an offer from UCLA and decides to stay at the UT.
One thing is certain, it's always an adventure when it comes to Flights.
Selected image via Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
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