Don't mess with Texas: State falls short in bid for Barnes

Posted at 7:20 AM, April 7, 2006

N.C. State offered him tons of money, a chance to come home and the challenge of going up against Duke and North Carolina for Tobacco Road supremacy. But in the end, Texas apparently offered Rick Barnes a little bit more.

According to sources close to the process, after a strong push from the Wolfpack, Barnes has decided to remain in Austin. State, meanwhile, has turned its attention to other candidates to replace Herb Sendek, who left for Arizona State this week after 10 years in Raleigh.

Barnes' decision ends a five-day period in which Wolfpack fans held their collective breaths while Barnes never publicly conceded he was even considering an offer.

But multiple sources said State and Barnes conducted the process through third-party attorneys.

Wolfpack officials had hoped they could offer a mix of nostalgia and opportunity that would appeal to Barnes.

As a teenager growing up in Hickory, Barnes followed State closely, particularly the years when David Thompson starred for the Wolfpack. Barnes had spoken fondly of how a Wolfpack alumnus, Paul Gavitt, helped give him his start in college coaching, first by taking him to the ACC Men's Tournament in Greensboro, then by setting up a job interview with Davidson coach Eddie Biedenbach, another State alumnus.

Barnes had confided to friends in the past that the State job had always interested him. And he had shown a clear willingness to battle with the titans of the ACC when he was a coach at Clemson, most famously having a confrontation with UNC coach Dean Smith at the 1994 ACC tournament.

But by staying in Texas, Barnes chose to remain at the head of a strong program he has built into a consistent national championship contender.

In recent years he has had the pick of the best recruits in Texas, which is loaded with basketball talent. And this year he even branched out to Maryland, where he beat out UNC for forward Kevin Durant, a top-five recruit in the class of 2006.

Barnes also will likely get a significant raise to stay in Austin.

State was offering a package worth considerably more than the reported $1.3 million in annual compensation Barnes currently receives. Texas athletics director DeLoss Dodds said this week that he intends to make sure Barnes is among the top 10 college basketball coaches nationally in compensation.

While Barnes is closing that deal with Texas, State athletics director Lee Fowler will be turning his attention elsewhere.

Fowler has kept details of his search to a minimum, but names that have surfaced in various media reports include Kentucky coach Tubby Smith, a High Point University graduate; Miami coach Frank Haith, an Elon graduate; and LSU coach John Brady, who guided the Tigers to the Final Four this season.