STAFF

RICK BARNES | HEAD COACH

Tennessee’s fortunes on the hardwood have never looked brighter, as Rick Barnes, the most decorated and accomplished head coach in school history, has led the Volunteers to new heights in his nine seasons on Rocky Top. The 2024-25 campaign is his 10th at Tennessee and his 38th as a head coach.

During the Barnes era, Tennessee has made six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (2018-24), won at least 25 games five times and earned and top-four NCAA Tournament seed on five occasions. The Volunteers have spent 113 weeks in the Associated Press Top 25 under Barnes, including 58 in the top 10, 27 in the top five—the program had 17 top-10 nods before his arrival—and has held the top spot in the nation four times.

Since the start of the 2017-18 season, Tennessee leads all SEC programs in total victories (171) and postseason victories (18). It also places a close second in overall winning percentage (.722), conference victories (86) and conference winning percentage (.688). During that time, the Volunteers have three SEC titles, winning the regular season in 2017-18 and 2023-24, along with the SEC Tournament in 2022, the latter the program’s first such crown in 43 years.

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An eight-time NABC district coach of the year and six-time conference coach of the year who, through 2023-24, is tied for No. 13 on the all-time Division I wins list, Barnes earned Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame first-time nominee status on the 2024 ballot. He joined names such as Vince Carter, Mike Gminski and Bill Laimbeer on the North American ballot.

In 2018-19, Barnes won Naismith Coach of the Year and USBWA Henry Iba Coach of the Year after guiding Tennessee to a 31-6 record to tie a school record for wins. The Volunteers, who reached the Sweet 16, authored a program-record 19-game winning streak, logged three wins over top-five opponents and spent a month ranked first nationally. Tennessee spent that entire season in the AP top eight and set single-season program records for points, assists and blocks.

The Volunteers have spent the entirety of the last three seasons, 2021-24, ranked in the AP Top 25. That streak of 59 straight weeks in the rankings is the third-longest active streak in the country entering 2024-25 and is 22 longer than the program’s prior record of 37 set from March 1999-Feb. 2001. Adding the 2020-21 season, Tennessee has been ranked in 73 of the last 76 polls, with 38 top-10 positions. Over that four-year stretch, Tennessee, Alabama, Baylor, Houston and Kansas are the only programs to enter the AP top six each season.

The marriage of Barnes’ elite résumé—highlighted by 806 career DI head coaching wins, the second-most among active coaches—and Tennessee’s world-class facilities, fervent fanbase and outstanding athletic and academic resources, clearly has the Vols poised to consistently compete for championships.

“Rick has built an incredible culture within our men’s basketball program that has spread throughout Vol Nation,” Vice Chancellor/Director of Athletics Danny White said after announcing a contract extension for Barnes in March 2022. “I’ve had a blast watching the best fanbase in the country embrace this team and create the most electric environment in college basketball. Coach Barnes’ leadership is steady, and his players exude high character. They take pride in representing our university and the state of Tennessee with class and an unrivaled competitive drive.

“I can't overstate how fortunate we are to have Rick Barnes leading our program. I am unbelievably excited about our bright future as we chase future championships on the hardwood.”

Barnes, who received another extension in September 2023 and is now under contract through 2027-28, began his Tennessee tenure on March 31, 2015. In his first season, Barnes worked personally with Kevin Punter Jr., on a complete mechanical overhaul of his jump shot. The endeavor helped Punter more than double his scoring average from his junior year, as he finished the season No. 13 nationally in points per game at 22.2, en route to Second Team All-SEC honors.

The next year, 2016-17, Barnes coached another Second Team All-SEC performer in Robert Hubbs III, who tallied 25 points in a win over fourth-ranked Kentucky. It marked the first time since 1993 an unranked Tennessee team beat a top-five Wildcat squad and, paired with a win in Barnes’ first year, proved to be a sign to come of the Volunteers’ success under Barnes in the rivalry.

In Barnes’ nine years at Tennessee, the Volunteers are 11-10 versus Kentucky, including 7-1 against AP top-10 Wildcat teams. Before his arrival on Rocky Top, Tennessee was 9-35 in the prior 22 years of the series, including 2-21 with Kentucky in the top 10. Barnes, who has led the Volunteers to at least one win over the Wildcats in eight of his nine years, is 4-3 in the last seven games at Rupp Arena after the program was 2-36 in the preceding 38 seasons.

Entering 2017-18, Tennessee was picked No. 13 in the 14-team SEC, but Barnes and his staff led the Big Orange to an SEC regular season championship and the SEC Tournament title game. The Volunteers went 26-9 (13-5 SEC), good for their most wins in eight years, and earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, in which they reached the Round of 32. Barnes won SEC Coach of the Year and finished as the runner-up for Naismith National Coach of the Year after Tennessee became one of only eight Power Five teams to increase its overall wins total by 10-plus games and one of 13 Power Five teams to win 13-plus games away from home. The Volunteers led the SEC in scoring defense (65.7) and assists per game (15.7) and achieved their success while playing, per KenPom, the 11th-hardest schedule in America. Grant Williams won SEC Player of the Year, while Lamonté Turner became the first and only Volunteer to earn SEC Co-Sixth Man of the Year plaudits.

That season also started a seven-year stretch during which Tennessee has become one of the premier programs in the country, with its 171 wins from 2017-24 ranking co-eighth nationally. In five of those seven campaigns, Tennessee has finished top-15 in KenPom, including placing top-10 four times. In each of the last three years the Volunteers have set a new program-best finish in the analytical website’s rankings, coming in at ninth in 2021-22, sixth in 2022-23 and fifth in 2023-24. Additionally, Tennessee has boasted a top-six KenPom defense in five of those years, placing top-three each of the last three years, highlighted by a first-place position in 2022-23.

Barnes followed up the 2017-18 campaign with the aforementioned 31-6 (15-3 SEC) showing in 2018-19 that garnered him multiple national coach of the year plaudits. Tennessee started the year 23-1, with the lone setback in overtime on a neutral court against second-ranked Kansas. It held a top-three spot in the AP Poll for 10 straight weeks, capped by a program-record four consecutive weeks atop the rankings. The Volunteers earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, tying 2007-08 and 2005-06 for their best position ever.

Williams won SEC Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, becoming the third Volunteer ever to do so and the first to do so in the league since Corliss Williams in 1993-94 and 1994-95. Williams, a finalist for the Naismith Trophy and Wooden Award, also became Tennessee’s third consensus First Team All-American since another back-to-back SEC Player of the Year, Dale Ellis, in 1982-83. Admiral Schofield gave Tennessee a second First Team All-SEC pick, while Jordan Bone collected Second Team All-SEC plaudits. All three were selected in the 2019 NBA Draft, with Williams going No. 22 overall, marking the first time since 1977 a trio of Volunteers heard their names called.

That began a stretch of NBA Draft success for Tennessee, as eight Volunteers have received the call in the last six years (2019-24), one of just six schools that can make such a claim. Four of those individuals have gone in the first round and four are also among the nine one-and-done collegians whom Barnes has coached, with 2021 draftees Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer on both lists. Tennessee is one of just six schools with at least one NBA Draft choice each year from 2021-24, notching five in that time. In total, 10 of Barnes’ players at Tennessee have reached the NBA, all since 2019.

In 2019-20, a young Tennessee team posted a 17-14 (9-9 SEC) record before the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Led by a career-high 27 points from Second Team All-SEC designee John Fulkerson, the Volunteers capped their road slate by rallying from a 17-point second-half deficit to win at sixth-ranked Kentucky. Yves Pons won SEC Defensive Player of the Year, the first player in program history to do so.

The Volunteers went 18-9 (10-7 SEC) during a 2020-21 season with limited games as a result of the pandemic. Tennessee won at Kentucky for the second year in a row—a first since 1975-76 and 1976-77—as well as beat Kansas in Knoxville, Tenn. The program started its four-year streak of top-five KenPom defenses and received a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

In 2021-22, Tennessee turned in a 27-8 (14-4 SEC) ledger, good for the fourth-most wins in a season in program history. A highlight came on March 13 in Tampa, Fla., when the Volunteers downed Texas A&M to win the SEC Tournament title for the first time in 43 years. Second Team All-SEC pick Kennedy Chandler became the second Volunteer, alongside Allan Houston in 1991, to win SEC Tournament MVP. Santiago Vescovi collected First Team All-SEC plaudits, helping the Volunteers to a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament and a spot in the Round of 32. Tennessee went 14-2 in its last 16 games and ended the year with seven AP top-25 wins and six AP top-15 victories, both new program records. It finished fifth in the AP Poll, matching 2007-08 for the best year-end spot in school history.

Barnes steered the Volunteers to a 25-11 (11-7 SEC) showing in 2022-23, with the team peaking at second in the AP Poll. Despite losing Second Team All-SEC honoree Zakai Zeigler to injury in the home finale, Tennessee reached the Sweet 16. The fourth-seeded Volunteers beat Duke, 65-52, in the second round, using one of the finest defenses in college basketball history to limit the Blue Devils to their co-lowest point total ever in the NCAA Tournament. Vescovi garnered his second straight First Team All-SEC nod and aided Tennessee to a 5-1 record versus AP top-15 foes. Tennessee also won the Battle 4 Atlantic crown in November, defeating Butler, USC and third-ranked Kansas in consecutive days.

Most recently, in 2023-24, Tennessee turned in arguably its best season ever, making the Elite Eight and winning an SEC title in the same year for the first time. The Volunteers went 27-9 (14-4 SEC), tied for their fourth-most wins ever and claimed the league’s regular season title outright for the sixth time and first since 2007-08. Tennessee collected seven AP top-25 wins to tie the program record set two years prior and received a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, tied for its best spot ever. It finished fifth in both major polls, tying the school record in the AP Poll and setting a new best mark in the Coaches Poll. Naismith Trophy and Wooden Award finalist Dalton Knecht, the runner-up for AP National Player of the Year, led the SEC in scoring and finished eighth nationally at 21.7 points per game. The SEC Player of the Year and Julius Erving Award designee, Knecht became the fourth consensus First Team All-American at Tennessee and second, alongside Williams, to play for Barnes on Rocky Top. Two other Volunteers earned All-SEC status, with Zeigler winning SEC Defensive Player of the Year.

In fitting with Tennessee’s mantra of “comprehensive excellence,” Barnes’ commitment to his players’ academic achievement cannot be overstated. His teams have posted a perfect 1,000 score in six of the last seven multi-year APR reports as well as perfect single-year APR scores every year from 2005-06 through 2014-15.

Prior to Barnes’ arrival on Rocky Top, he oversaw a prolific, 17-year run at Texas that included 16 trips to the NCAA Tournament, five Sweet 16 bids and three Big 12 regular season titles. He won four Big 12 Coach of the Year accolades during his tenure in Austin, Texas.

Previously, Barnes served as the head coach at Clemson for four seasons (1994-98), Providence for six seasons (1988-94) and George Mason for one season (1987-88), claiming CAA Coach of the Year in his lone campaign with the Patriots. He has reached the postseason in 32 of his 37 seasons as a head coach and won at least 25 games on 12 occasions, with 30-plus thrice.

Barnes has led his teams to 28 total NCAA Tournament berths, tied with Bob Knight for the fourth-most in DI history. His teams have made nine Sweet 16s, four Elite Eights and one Final Four (2003). In 2019, he became one of eight head coaches ever to lead three different DI programs to the Sweet 16 (Clemson, Texas and Tennessee) in the 64-team era (since 1985).

In addition, Barnes has worked as an assistant coach at Davidson for two seasons (1978-80), George Mason for five seasons (1980-85), Ohio State for one season (1985-86) and Alabama for one season (1986-87). He has coaching experience in the ACC, Big 12, BIG EAST, Big Ten, CAA, SEC and SoCon. Barnes also coached at North State Academy, a high school in North Carolina, in 1977-78 to begin his career.

His success on the sidelines is simply staggering. He coached Providence to three NCAA Tournament berths in six seasons. He then guided Clemson to the NCAA Tournament the last three of his four years there before leading Texas to the field in each of his first 14 seasons, making it a personal 17-year streak, the fourth-longest mark in the career of any active DI head coach.

Not only do his players find themselves perennially positioned to play for championships, but they are also consistently in the national rankings. Barnes’ teams have spent 329 total weeks in the AP Top 25, including 156 weeks in the top 10 and 73 in the top five. He is one of just seven DI coaches to lead multiple schools to the No. 1 spot in the AP Poll.

Barnes has guided three different schools—Tennessee, Texas and Clemson—to a total of 20 weeks in the top two of the AP Poll and led each to its highest ranking ever. Tennessee took the top spot for four weeks in 2018-19—it held the position from Jan. 21-Feb.17, 2019—to match the mark it held once in 2007-08. Barnes’ Texas squad earned the program’s first-ever No. 1 national ranking on Jan. 11, 2010, and held it for two weeks. He also steered Clemson to a No. 2 national ranking, its highest ever and still the only time it has reached that spot, on Jan. 20, 1997.

Additionally, Barnes has collected 130 career wins over AP top-25 opponents, including 49 versus top-10 foes and 26 over top-five teams. He has coached Tennessee to two wins over the nation’s top-ranked team, beating No. 1 Gonzaga in 2018-19 in Phoenix and toppling No. 1 Alabama in 2022-23.

Barnes is one of 15 DI head coaches to take four schools to the NCAA Tournament, one of 19 with 200-plus wins at multiple schools and one of 24 with 100-plus at three institutions. He has won 20-plus games 24 times, a mark that ranks top-15 in DI history.

Widely respected for his player development, Barnes is one of only two coaches who can claim two different National Players of the Year in the last 20 seasons (T.J. Ford in 2002-03 and Kevin Durant in 2006-07). Barnes, who also guided Dalton Knecht to a runner-up finish for 2023-24 AP National Player of the Year, has produced six 11 All-Americans, including six consensus first-team selections, and six conference players of the year (five individuals).

In his 37 years as a head coach, Barnes has sent 44 players to the NBA. He has produced 33 NBA Draft choices, including 19 first-rounders, eight lottery picks, six top-10 selections, three top-five choices and two No. 2 picks. The draft picks alone have totaled over $1.05 billion in on-court NBA earnings, while 10 of his players have combined for 12 NBA championship rings.

Including his eight years as an assistant coach, Barnes has helped 51 players reach the NBA, with 40 getting drafted. Of them, 23 went in the first round, with 10 in the lottery, eight in the top 10, four in the top five and three in the top three.

Durant—who has referred to Barnes as “more than a coach,” but also a “father figure”—was the second pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, one year after another Barnes protegee, LaMarcus Aldridge, also went second. A two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time NBA champion, Durant is a 14-time NBA All-Star, 11-time All-NBA selection, four-time NBA scoring champion and two-time NBA Finals MVP. He won the NBA MVP award in 2014 and NBA Rookie of the Year honors in 2008. Barnes is one of four active coaches who has produced an NBA MVP, a list that also includes Herb Sendek, one of the 13 former Barnes assistants who has gone on to become a DI head coach.

Durant and Aldridge are two of the 20 McDonald’s All-Americans whom Barnes has coached. He has inked four during his Tennessee tenure, signing them in consecutive years: Josiah-Jordan James in 2019, Springer in 2020, Chandler in 2021 and Julian Phillips in 2022.

A native of Hickory, N.C., Barnes was born on July 17, 1954. He was a standout player at Hickory High School, from which he graduated in 1973. Barnes then moved on to Lenoir-Rhyne University—then Lenoir-Rhyne College—in his hometown of Hickory. He lettered there for three seasons and won the Captain’s Award for Leadership as both a junior and senior.

Barnes earned a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education from Lenoir-Rhyne in 1977 and was named the college’s Distinguished Alumnus in 1997. He was inducted into the Lenoir-Rhyne College Hall of Fame on Oct. 5, 2002, and received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Lenoir-Rhyne on May 7, 2005.

In May 2022, Barnes was named chair of the NCAA Men's Basketball Rules Committee after serving on the committee for multiple years. In 2023, he was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame and was shortly thereafter recognized with the Dick Vitale Spirit Award at the annual Dick Vitale Gala, benefiting the V Foundation.

Barnes has a history of generous charitable giving and service not only in his hometown, but also in every community in which he has resided as a collegiate head coach. In East Tennessee, he plays an active role in supporting the Emerald Youth Foundation and sits on the Board of Trustees.

He and his wife, Candy, also a Hickory native, have a son, Nick, and a daughter, Carley. Carley and her husband, Josh Lickteig, have four children: Avery, Caleb, Emma and Isla. Nick and his wife, Rachel, have a son, Everett.

JUSTIN GAINEY | ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH

Justin Gainey is in his fourth year on the University of Tennessee men’s basketball staff in 2024-25, including his third as associate head coach.

One of head coach Rick Barnes’ most critical recruiting wins following the 2020-21 season was securing the services of Gainey, a proven veteran with previous coaching experience in the ACC, BIG EAST, Pac-12 and beyond.

Through the 2023-24 campaign, Gainey boasts 18 years of Division I coaching and administrative experience, with 12 of them at the Power Six level.

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“I coached against Justin when he was the point guard at NC State,” Barnes said. “He was an incredibly tough competitor then and he has that same tenacity now as a coach. Justin has a passion for on-court player development that fits well with our staff. Our players are going to love working with him to grow their game."

“He’s proven that he can recruit effectively nationwide and we’re particularly excited about his ability to maintain our strong ties throughout the state of North Carolina."

In three years at Tennessee, Gainey has helped the Volunteers to a 79-28 (.738) record, three NCAA Tournament berths, two Sweet 16 trips and one Elite Eight appearance, as well as two SEC titles. The team has been ranked in the AP top 25 for every week of Gainey’s tenure and twice finished a program-best fifth nationally. He has coached a top-40 NBA Draft pick each year at Tennessee, plus helped five individuals accumulate seven total All-SEC honors.

During Gainey’s first year on staff as an assistant coach in 2021-22, Tennessee went 27-8 (14-4 SEC) and, for the first time in 43 years, won the SEC Tournament. Tennessee amassed four AP top-10 victories to tie the school record set in 1976-77 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Round of 32. Gainey handled the scout for the team’s victories over sixth-ranked Arizona and No. 14 Arkansas.

Upon his promotion to associate head coach in 2022-23, Gainey also assumed duties as the team’s defensive coordinator. Under his tutelage, the Volunteers led the nation in KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency with a historically strong mark of 87.5 points per 100 possessions. Tennessee’s scoring defense (57.9 ppg) was the best by an SEC team since 2014-15 and its 3-point defense (26.5) was the second-lowest among all Division I programs since at least 2007-08.

Buoyed by its elite defense, Tennessee notched a 25-11 (11-7 SEC) record and logged a 5-1 ledger versus AP top-15 foes, including knocking off top-ranked Alabama. The Volunteers reached the Sweet 16 after beating No. 12 Duke, which they held to a season-low 52 points, tying the Blue Devils’ lowest scoring output ever in an NCAA Tournament game.

In 2023-24, Tennessee finished third in KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency (90.2) and totaled a 27-9 (14-4 SEC) record. It made the Elite Eight for the second time ever, won the SEC regular season title outright and tied the school record, set during Gainey’s first year in 2021-22, with seven AP top-25 triumphs. Dalton Knecht, a finalist for the Naismith Trophy and Wooden Award, won SEC Player of the Year and the Julius Erving Award plaudits, plus claimed consensus First Team All-America status.

With Gainey imparting the nuance of point guard play, Tennessee has finished top-15 nationally in assist rate every year, posting a mark over 60 percent in each campaign.
Additionally, Tennessee’s starting floor general—Kennedy Chandler in 2021-22, Zakai Zeigler in 2022-23 and 2023-24—has earned All-SEC status in all three years. Zeigler won SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2023-24, his third straight season collecting SEC All-Defensive Team status and second in a row leading the league in assists per game.

Prior to coming to Tennessee, Gainey spent the 2020-21 season as the associate head coach at Marquette. It was his second stint on Steve Wojciechowski’s staff, as he also worked with the Golden Eagles from 2014-17 as the director of basketball operations.

In between his stints in Milwaukee, Gainey spent one year as an assistant coach at Santa Clara, 2017-18, and two as an assistant coach at Arizona, 2018-20. While with the Wildcats, Gainey assisted in the recruitment and development of 2020 NBA Draft picks Josh Green, Zeke Nnaji and Nico Mannion, the former of whom were top-25 picks.

The Wildcats led the Pac 12 in scoring in 2019-20 and owned the league’s third-best scoring defense. Nnaji was the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and a First Team All-Pac 12 honoree, while Mannion earned second-team distinction.

At Santa Clara—where Gainey worked for his college head coach, Herb Sendek, a former Barnes assistant—Gainey worked closely with the Broncos’ perimeter players, including first-team All-WCC performer K.J. Feagin. He also was instrumental in assembling a 2018 signing class rated among the 10 best mid-major classes in the country.

From 2010-14, Gainey spent four years on Jason Capel’s staff at Appalachian State University. Before that, he got his first on-court coaching role at Elon, where he worked in 2009-10.

Gainey began his coaching career at his alma mater, North Carolina State University. He spent two seasons, 2006-08, as an administrative coordinator before head coach Sidney Lowe elevated him to director of basketball operations for the 2008-09 campaign.

A standout college point guard, Gainey played four seasons at NC State from 1996-2000. The Wolfpack’s record steadily improved throughout his career and the program earned postseason appearances all four years. Gainey was elected team captain as a senior in 1999-2000 and led that squad to the NIT semifinals.

At the conclusion of his playing career at NC State, Gainey ranked second in program history in starts (103), fourth in steals (190), co-fifth in games played (128) and ninth in assists (344).

Gainey earned ACC All-Tournament Team honors as a freshman in 1997. Three years later, in the quarterfinals of his last ACC Tournament, Gainey recorded nine steals during a win over Virginia on March 10, 2000, good for a mark still stands as the second-most steals in a game by a Wolfpack player.

In 1998, Greensboro (N.C.) Day School, where Gainey earned NCISAA Player of the Year honors in 1995 and 1996, retired Gainey’s No. 12 jersey.

A two-time graduate of NC State, Gainey received his degree in business administration, with a concentration in marketing, in 2000 and earned a master’s degree in sport management in 2006.

Gainey and his wife, Courtney, have three sons, Jordan, Jayson and Jaxson. Jordan spent his first two years of college at USC Upstate University, winning Big South Freshman of the Year in 2021-22, before transferring to Tennessee in advance of the 2023-24 season.

GREGG POLINSKY | ASSISTANT COACH

In March 2022, University of Tennessee head men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes promoted Gregg Polinsky to an assistant coach role after he served one year as a volunteer analyst. The 2024-25 season will be Polinsky’s fourth with the Volunteers, including his third as an assistant coach.

A native of St. Louis, Mo., Polinsky was a Division I head coach at Georgia Southern University from 1995-99 before transitioning to a successful scouting and front office career in the NBA.

“GP added so much to our program this season,” Barnes said upon Polinsky’s promotion. “Elevating him into this role was an easy decision after observing the way he’s impacted our players and staff. His knowledge of the game is so extensive and he’s spent a large chunk of his career in the NBA, which is the goal destination for most of today’s players. He understands what it takes to make it there—and, more importantly—have longevity there. GP is a world-class talent evaluator and an outstanding relationship builder. He fits the culture of our program perfectly.”

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Over the course of his three seasons at Tennessee, the Volunteers are 79-28 (.738) with a trio of NCAA Tournament berths, two Sweet 16 appearances, an Elite Eight trip and two SEC crowns. They have earned an AP top-25 ranking every week of his tenure and twice finished a program-best fifth nationally.

In 2021-22, as a volunteer analyst, Polinsky helped the Volunteers to 27-8 (14-4 SEC) record and won the program’s first SEC Tournament title in 43 years. Tennessee claimed four AP top-10 victories during the year, tying the school record set in 1976-77, and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

With Polinsky serving as a full-time assistant for the first time in 2022-23, the Volunteers went 25-11 (11-7 SEC) and advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. Tennessee posted a 5-1 record against AP top-15 opponents, including a memorable win over top-ranked Alabama, for which Polinsky led the scout.

Most recently, in 2023-24, Polinsky aided Tennessee to a 27-9 (14-4 SEC) mark and the second Elite Eight trip in school history. The Volunteers won the SEC regular season title outright and tied a program record with seven AP top-25 wins, matching the ledger set in 2021-22, his first year at UT. Fifth-year guard Dalton Knecht, a finalist for the Naismith Trophy and Wooden Award, won SEC Player of the Year honors and claimed the Julius Erving Award, as well as collected consensus First Team All-America status.

Across his three seasons, Polinsky has coached five individuals to seven total All-SEC honors, while two have made the SEC All-Freshman Team and two have combined for four SEC All-Defensive Team plaudits. A Volunteer has been selected top-40 in the NBA Draft after each of Polinsky’s years on staff.

Polinsky served in various scouting roles with the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets for 19 years, including tenures as director of scouting and director of player personnel, from 1999-2018. He was hired by the Detroit Pistons as director of player personnel in 2018 and held that position for three years. In total, he spent 22 years in the NBA.

Polinsky’s first foray into college coaching came as an assistant at Howard Junior College in Big Spring, Texas, from 1981-83. He then ascended to the Division I ranks, initially as a part-time coach and later as a full-time assistant, under Bob Weltlich at the University of Texas, where he worked from 1983-86.

Prior to the 1986-87 season, Polinsky accepted an assistant coaching position at the University of Alabama, a job that opened when Barnes left Tuscaloosa, Ala., for an assistant job at Ohio State. Polinsky spent nine years on staff at Alabama during the head coaching tenures of Wimp Sanderson and David Hobbs. He was the associate head coach in his final year with the Crimson Tide, 1994-95, before departing for Georgia Southern.

Polinsky was a standout high school point guard at LaDue High School in St. Louis before beginning his collegiate playing career at New Mexico. He later transferred to Northern Arizona, where he completed his degree in secondary school education in 1981.

Polinsky and his wife, Cindy, have adult twin daughters, Abby and Brooke.

BRYAN LENTZ | ASSISTANT COACH

Bryan Lentz joined the University of Tennessee men’s basketball staff in May 2018 as the director of player development. Now in his seventh year on Rocky Top, he earned a promotion to his current role as assistant coach in July 2024.

With Lentz on staff, Tennessee owns a 145-57 (.718) record, an SEC regular season title (2024), an SEC Tournament crown (2022) and four AP top-20 finishes. The Volunteers have played in all five NCAA Tournaments since his hire, thrice advancing to the Sweet 16, including earning an Elite Eight bid in 2024.

"Bryan has a strong basketball mind and possesses nearly a quarter-century of coaching experience," Barnes said upon announcing Lentz’s promotion. "His passion for assisting the young men in our program become the absolute best they can be, both on and off the court, is unrivaled. We have shared a great deal of success together, both during his first six seasons at Tennessee and previously at Texas, and I know he will help our program continue its upward trajectory in his new role."

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LUCAS CAMPBELL | ASSISTANT COACH

Lucas Campbell returned to the University of Tennessee in June 2022 to serve his alma mater as the director of recruiting on Rick Barnes’ men’s basketball staff. He earned a promotion to assistant coach in July 2024.

In addition to his coaching role, Campbell coordinates all aspects of the program’s recruiting efforts. He oversees all logistical elements of on-campus visits, organizes recruiting travel for the Tennessee coaching staff and more.

"Over nearly a decade, I have seen Lucas grow from an eager walk-on freshman my first season here at Tennessee into now a rising star in the coaching profession," Barnes said upon announcing Campbell’s promotion. "This school and this basketball program mean so much to Lucas. He has been a key part of our staff over the past two years and has played a major role in our strong recruiting efforts, which he will continue to do while taking on additional responsibilities he is assuredly ready for."

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Campbell is a Tennessee alumnus who competed for the Volunteers during Barnes’ first four years on Rocky Top, 2015-19. He has been a part of the Tennessee program for all but one of Barnes’ seasons at the helm.

This is Campbell’s second stint on staff at Tennessee, as he served as a graduate assistant from 2019-21, following the conclusion of his playing career. During those two seasons, he spent hours in the gym daily, coordinating skill development workouts. He assisted heavily in the training of 2021 first-round NBA Draft picks Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer.

Across his eight full seasons with the Volunteers, Tennessee is 175-93 (.653), with five NCAA Tournament bids, three Sweet 16 runs, an Elite Eight appearance and four AP top-20 finishes. Tennessee won the SEC regular season crown in both 2018 and 2024.

Campbell’s first full-time job came in 2021-22 as the director of basketball operations at East Tennessee State University. He accompanied former Tennessee assistant coach Desmond Oliver when he accepted the head coaching position in Johnson City, Tenn.

A native of Knoxville, Tenn., Campbell began his college career as a member of the Volunteers’ track & field team, competing in long jump and high jump, before transitioning to the basketball team as a walk-on in October 2015.

Campbell, who appeared in 16 career games, helped the Volunteers win the SEC regular season title in 2017-18 and then tie a school record with 31 wins in 2018-19, a campaign during which the team spent a month ranked first nationally. He played on back-to-back NCAA Tournament teams as an upperclassman.

In May 2019, Campbell graduated from Tennessee with a degree in supply chain management and a collateral in marketing. He later received his master’s degree in sport management from UT in May 2021.

As a prep standout, Campbell starred in both track & field and basketball at the Christian Academy of Knoxville.

Campbell and his wife, Elliana—also a UT graduate—reside in Knoxville, with their daughter, Garland, and family dog, Mia.

STEVE MCCLAIN |ASSISTANT COACH

University of Tennessee head men's basketball coach Rick Barnes announced May 13, 2025, the hiring of Steve McClain as an assistant coach.

McClain brings 43 years of college coaching experience to Rocky Top, including 31 at the Division I level, 13 with Power Five programs. He has been a head coach for 17 years, including 14 with Division I teams.

“Steve is a veteran coach who has accomplished so much over four-plus decades. It was an easy decision to seize the chance to hire him here at Tennessee and we’re happy to have him,” Barnes said upon announcing the hire. “His experience, coaching acumen and care for his players will be invaluable. I am confident Steve will give his all for Tennessee on a daily basis and that our program will benefit from his passion.”

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Most recently, McClain worked at the University of Texas the past three seasons, 2022-25, the first as special assistant to the head coach and the latter two as an assistant coach. The Longhorns amassed a 69-38 (.645) record and made the NCAA Tournament each year, including advancing to the Elite Eight in 2022-23.

During that same 2022-23 campaign, McClain aided the Longhorns to the Big 12 Tournament title and a No. 5 finish in the AP Poll to tie the program record. Texas won 10 games over AP top-25 foes, a program best, and finished 29-9 overall, good for its third-most victories ever. He helped tutor Marcus Carr to First Team All-Big 12 honors, the first such nod for a Longhorn in seven years, while Sir'Jabari Rice claimed Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year plaudits.

Before going to Texas, McClain spent two years, 2020-22, at Georgia. During his first season, he coached SEC assist leader Sahvir Wheeler and future NBA draftee Toumani Camara.

McClain served as the head coach at UIC for five seasons, 2015-20. Inheriting a program that won five games his first year, McClain led the team to 16-plus wins four years in a row, the only time the program has done that at the Division I level. After making the CBI semifinals in 2016-17, UIC was the CIT runner-up during a 2017-18 campaign in which it reached 20 wins for the first time in 14 years (2003-04).

The Flames earned three straight top-five Horizon League finishes to cap McClain's tenure, including a third-place spot in 2017-18. McClain led UIC to program single-season records in points (2,749 in 2016-17), 3-point field goals made (303 in 2018-19), rebounds (1,426 in 2016-17), assists (524 in 2016-17) and blocks (242 in 2017-18). He coached the 2015-16 Horizon League Freshman of the Year (Dikembe Dixon), the 2016-17 and 2017-18 Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year (Tai Odiase) and the 2017-18 Horizon League Sixth Man of the Year (Godwin Boahen).

From 2010-15, McClain spent five years on staff at Indiana, the first two as an assistant and the latter three as associate head coach. He helped the Hoosiers post a 105-75 (.583) record and earn a trio of NCAA Tournament berths, including trips to the Sweet 16 in both 2011-12 and 2012-13. The latter year, Indiana went 29-7 (14-4 B1G), won the outright Big Ten regular season crown and claimed a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

McClain helped bring two top-10 recruiting classes to Bloomington, Ind., and tutored three top-10 NBA Draft choices in Victor Oladipo (No. 2 in 2013), Cody Zeller (No. 4 in 2013) and Noah Vonleh (No. 9 in 2014). Oladipo (first team) and Zeller (second team) were both consensus All-Americans in 2012-13, with Oladipo winning The Sporting News National Player of the Year plaudits.

For three seasons, 2007-10, McClain worked at Colorado, the first as an assistant and the next two as the associate head coach. Taking over a program that won just seven games before he and the rest of the staff arrived, McClain pushed the Buffaloes all the way to a 15-win campaign in his third season. He also helped tutor 2009-10 Big 12 Freshman of the Year Alec Burks, the No. 12 selection in the 2011 NBA Draft.

McClain got his first Division I head coaching job at Wyoming, where he spent nine seasons, 1998-2007. He led the Cowboys to a 157-115 (.577) record and a pair of Mountain West regular season championships (2000-01 and 2001-02), with the second—a campaign in which he won Mountain West Coach of the Year—the first outright crown for the program in 20 years.

Wyoming reached the NCAA Round of 32 in 2001-02 after upsetting sixth-seeded Gonzaga in the opening round. The Cowboys also made the NIT in 1998-99, 2000-01 and 2002-03 under the leadership of McClain, who led the team to 17-plus victories six times and became the second coach in program history to register three straight 20-win campaigns.

McClain's first Division I opportunity came at TCU, where he worked from 1994-98. After the program won seven games before he and the new staff arrived, the Horned Frogs went 81-44 during his four years there. TCU went 27-6 in 1997-98, won the WAC regular season title with a perfect 14-0 record and reached the NCAA Tournament. That came following a 22-13 campaign in 1996-97 that featured a spot in the second round of the NIT.

From 1991-94, McClain was the head coach at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas. He led the program to a dazzling 91-16 (.850) record, including a 27-9 ledger in KJCCC league play, with 27-plus victories and an NJCAA Tournament bid each year. He concluded his tenure by guiding the Blue Dragons to a 35-4 record and a national championship. The team averaged 90 points per game and McClain won NJCAA and NABC-Kodak National Coach of the Year.

Preceding his run as head coach, McClain was an assistant at Hutchinson for five years, 1986-91, a tenure during which he claimed his first national title. The Blue Dragons won the NJCAA crown in 1987-88.

McClain worked as an assistant coach at Independence Community College in Kansas in 1985-86 after serving as an assistant coach at Sioux Empire Junior College in Iowa in 1984-85. He got his start as an undergraduate student assistant at Chadron State, a Division II school in Nebraska, from 1982-84.

A native of Orient, Iowa, McClain graduated from Chadron State in 1984 with a bachelor's degree in health. McClain and his wife, Kim, have one son, Dylan.

AMORROW MORGAN | ASSISTANT COACH

University of Tennessee head men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes announced May 2, 2025, the hiring of Amorrow (Uh-MARR-Oh) Morgan as the program’s newest assistant coach.

Morgan brings 12 years of collegiate coaching experience with him to Tennessee, including eight at the Division I level. He worked at Cal for the last two seasons.

“I am thrilled to welcome Amorrow to Rocky Top. As soon as we knew we had a decision to make, it was immediately clear Amorrow would be our first choice,” Barnes said upon announcing Morgan’s hire. “He is a young, energetic coach with a sharp basketball mind who will make an impact with our program from day one. I know he will do all he can to help our players excel and that he will mesh with the strong culture we have in place.”

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Morgan’s two campaigns in Berkeley, Calif., came during a transition period that featured the Golden Bears’ final year in the Pac-12 and first year in the ACC. Nonetheless, his recruiting efforts helped the program sign a top-12 transfer class in both 2023 and 2024, per On3.

During his first year, Morgan helped Cal post a 10-win improvement from the prior season, tie for sixth in the Pac-12 and defeat three NCAA Tournament teams. Jalon Tyson averaged 19.6 points per game, en route to being a First Team All-Pac-12 designee and the No. 20 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

Entering his second year at Cal, Morgan played a pivotal role in signing both Andre Stojakovic and Jeremiah Wilkinson for the 2024-25 campaign. Stojakovic, the son of Peja, averaged 17.9 points per game and was an ACC All-Tournament pick, while Wilkinson put up 15.1 points per game, collecting ACC Sixth Man of the Year and ACC All-Rookie Team plaudits.

Morgan spent the prior two campaigns at Loyola Chicago, also during a transition, featuring the program’s final year in the MVC and first in the A10. His stint there included a superb 25-8 (13-5 MVC) showing in 2021-22 under a first-year head coach. The Ramblers won the fourth conference tournament title in program history and earned a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Five Loyola Chicago players collected postseason league honors during Morgan’s tenure. Lucas Williamson won MVC Defensive Player of the Year and garnered First Team All-MVC distinction in 2021-22.

Additionally, Morgan helped the Ramblers sign Sheldon Edwards and Jayden Dawson, who went on to post the top two single-season 3-point makes marks in program history, and Miles Rubin, who logged Loyola’s two best single-season blocks totals.

Morgan worked at South Alabama from 2018-21, the latter two years as associate head coach, and aided the Jaguars to 54 victories. He helped the team log a 20-11 (13-7 SBC) mark during a 2019-20 campaign in which it tied for second in the league before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled postseason play. It marked the program’s first 20-win total in 11 years (2008-09).

In 2017-18, Morgan got his start at the Division I level at Nicholls State. The Colonels turned in a 21-11 record and tied for the Southland regular season crown at 15-3, their first such title in 20 years (1997-98) and first time exceeding 20 victories in 23 years (1994-95). He helped Roddy Peters, the Southland Newcomer of the Year and a First Team All-Southland pick, average 19.7 points per game.

Morgan worked at Henderson State, a Division II school in Arkadelphia, Ark., from 2015-17. The team doubled its win total from his first year to the second, finishing 16-13 in 2016-17.

In 2014-15, Morgan served as an assistant at Our Lady of the Lake in San Antonio, Texas. He helped the Saints go 25-6, win the Red River Conference regular season title at 17-3 and reach the NAIA Sweet 16. Before that, in 2013-14, he got his coaching start at a Division II institution, Illinois-Springfield.

A Volunteer State native, Morgan hails from Memphis, Tenn., where he attended Cordova High School before doing a post-graduate year at The Patterson School in Lenoir, N.C. He then went to Idaho State, from which he graduated in 2012 with a degree in sport management.

Morgan scored 1,221 points during his career with the Bengals and was a two-time All-Big Sky honoree. The three-time team captain, who averaged 16.6 points per game as a senior, also served as the president and vice president of the school’s student-athlete advisory committee (SAAC).

After college, Morgan spent multiple years playing professionally in Europe, including a season in which he was the top scorer for the SC Itzehoe Eagles in Germany. Morgan is married to the former Michelle Bailey.

GARRETT MEDENWALD | director of MEN'S BASKETBALL SPORTS PERFORMANCE

Garrett Medenwald (MAY-dihn-wald) is in his 10th year as Tennessee’s director of men’s basketball sports performance in 2024-25.

His basketball-specific training methods and emphasis on injury prevention began to bear fruit for the Volunteers quickly upon his arrival on Rocky Top. Eight players who trained under Medenwald’s supervision at Tennessee have been selected in the NBA Draft, including four in the first round.

In three straight years, 2021-23, a Volunteer led the NBA Draft Combine in max vertical leap: Keon Johnson in 2021 (all-time record of 48 inches), Kennedy Chandler in 2022 (41.5 inches) and Julian Phillips in 2023 (43 inches).

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At the 2019 NBA Draft Combine, point guard Jordan Bone posted the top overall result in four separate performance tests: no-step vertical leap (36 inches), lane agility drill (9.97), shuttle run (2.78) and three-quarter court sprint (3.03). In 2021, Johnson shattered the event’s all-time record in the max vertical jump with an unprecedented leap of 48-inches—surpassing the 20-year-old mark by 2.5 inches.

Most recently, in 2024, Dalton Knecht, a consensus First Team All-American after reshaping his body under Medenwald’s tutelage, led all players at the combine in shuttle run (2.79) and placed second in lane agility (10.56). See the chart below for more impressive combine testing/drills results.

“G is a very direct and consistent coach,” said VFL Admiral Schofield, who worked closely with Medenwald to dramatically reshape his physique before getting drafted No. 42 in 2019. “I loved getting a new challenge from him every day. His energy and passion are what motivated me when it was time to ‘get jacked.’”

In Medenwald’s nine years at Tennessee, the program has three SEC championships and made six straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 2018-24. The Volunteers have thrice reached the Sweet 16, including advancing to the Elite Eight in 2023-24.

Medenwald, who came Tennessee at the start of Rick Barnes’ tenure in 2015-16, has helped the Volunteers win 25-plus games in five of the past seven years. That includes a program-record-tying 31 in 2018-19 during a season the Volunteers spent a month ranked No. 1 in the country.

“Garrett’s methods and approach to elite performance training are on another level,” Barnes said. “He’s a star in his profession, and our students enjoy not just how he trains them, but also the personal relationship he develops with each of them.”

In the summer and fall of 2016, Medenwald played an instrumental role in the design and planning of a $98,000 renovation to the expanded, 4,350 square-foot Tennessee basketball performance training area in Pratt Pavilion. Additions included a full-court-length stretch of synthetic turf, a custom rubber floor, a 40-foot, steel-reinforced throwing wall, six Keiser Functional Trainers, four TRUEStretch Cages, three custom, 10-foot Power Lift pulley units (ideal for taller student-athletes), seven sets of 90-pound PowerBlocks and a zoned, high-powered stereo system.

In May of 2019, Medenwald was a featured speaker at the 12th annual High Performance Basketball Symposium in Las Vegas. His presentation was entitled The Strength in Culture: The Process of Building Your Environment.

The Green Bay, Wis., native arrived in Knoxville, Tenn., with three years of experience working alongside Barnes, as Medenwald served the Texas basketball program as both a graduate manager and a graduate strength and conditioning intern from 2012-15.

Medenwald worked with both the men’s and women’s basketball programs at Texas, focusing in on-court development and sports performance. During his tenure with the Longhorns, Medenwald honed his philosophy as an elite performance coach while working closely with nationally known industry innovator Todd Wright—assistant coach/vice president of player performance with the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers—and learning the philosophies of Shaun McPherson.

Medenwald simultaneously spent two years as the Director of Athletic 3D Performance Training Systems at the “Train 4 the Game” facility in Austin, Texas, where he programmed for numerous NFL and NBA athletes.

Medenwald graduated from Wisconsin-Whitewater in 2013, earning a bachelor’s degree in health, human performance and recreation while minoring in athletic coaching education. He then received his master’s degree in kinesiology from Texas in 2016.

He married the former Brittny Henderson of Burlington, Wis., in May 2016. They have a son, Case, and twin daughters, Cleo and Ari.

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