In some circles, Rick Barnes is the Rodney Dangerfield of college hoops: he don’t get no respect.

That explains why, should the Texas Longhorns win the NCAA tournament's South Regional in Houston, some pundits will claim they succeeded in spite of their head coach.

Chances are, those detractors will credit a partisan crowd for any Texas success. Or maybe they’ll assert that it was Barnes’ players, not his strategies, that landed the Longhorns in the Final Four (somehow overlooking the fact that he coaches these players).

Should the Longhorns fail to take two at Reliant Stadium, however, it’ll be another indictment of Barnes’ perceived inability to maximize his athletes’ potential and prevail on the big stage. After all, Texas boasts one of the country’s best point guards in sophomore D.J. Augustin, one of its deadliest perimeter threats in junior A.J. Abrams, and one of its most gifted rebounders in sophomore Damion James.

Never mind that Texas' bench accounts for less than eight points per game, or that Abrams and Augustin are listed at 5-foot-11 and 6-0, respectively (which is generous enough to qualify for a tax write-off), or that James is actually a swingman. In other words, Texas is short in the backcourt, thin across the board and AWOL inside.

None of these facts matter to Barnes’ critics, though. For them, anything less than a cutting of the nets will be considered proof of his incompetence.

Last year, 25 wins, a third-place finish in the Big 12, an NCAA tournament victory, and every major National Player of the Year award for Kevin Durant puts Barnes in the same standing as the Bush Administration? Tough crowd.

Barnes’ dissenters aren’t seeing the complete picture. They’re only noting his shortcomings, such as his often-unsophisticated offenses, or his curious habit of sitting on timeouts.

In those regards, they’re probably right. Barnes seems to prefer to allow his players to work their way out of jams, and offense isn’t his passion. He more or less admitted as much to reporters earlier this week, saying, “Some days, [offense] is there. Other days, it’s not. I’m not concerned about making shots.”

That’s sound thinking. No matter how smooth the shooter’s release or how open he might be, the shots just won’t fall on some nights. Teams can improve shooting percentages by getting closer to the basket or finding the open man, but they can’t control them.

They can control their defensive intensity, however, and that’s why Barnes has preached defense since arriving at the Forty Acres.

Those sermons have paid dividends this year. The Longhorns spent the majority of the season ranked in the Top 10, tied a school record with 30 wins, split the Big 12 regular-season title with Kansas and earned an No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Yet one can’t help but wonder what some will say if Texas loses this weekend. Barnes, it seems, is faced with a classic no-win situation, which is odd because he’s done nothing but win his entire career.

NCAA tournament coverage Slideshows: UNC | Kansas | UCLA | Memphis Beyond the Arc: Flip a coin to pick winners Updated tourney brackets  |  Slide shows Results, schedules, TV times, more They've got spirit! Cheerleaders  |  Mascots Women's bracket  |  Schedule  |  Scores   Discuss: Sound off on tournaments | MORE

In less than a decade, he’s turned a football school into a consistent hardcourt power by setting school records for career victories (246), consecutive NCAA tournament appearances (10) and consecutive 20-win campaigns (nine). Of course, Texas can’t compare to a UCLA, Kansas, Kentucky or North Carolina in terms of basketball tradition. Heck, it barely shares the same court with UMass, Wisconsin, Oklahoma State and Gonzaga.

But Texas is well on its way to joining the elite, especially if Barnes hangs around Austin another decade. Case in point: the Longhorns are one of only three programs to reach the Sweet 16 in five of the past seven years (Duke and Big 12 rival Kansas are the others). And all 10 of Barnes’ Texas teams have earned NCAA invites (only seven other schools can match that feat during the same span).

Criticize his tactics all you want, but realize this: just twice have the Barnes-coached Longhorns been fortunate enough to avoid the unfortunate (injuries, NBA defections, academic disqualifications or NCAA suspensions). Those teams reached the Final Four in 2002-03 and the Elite Eight in 2005-06.

Will this year’s squad make it as far? Who knows? But rest assured that if it doesn’t, Barnes’ boo birds will be crowing about it.

In short, he won’t get no respect.

Print this Email this Blog this  IM this

MORE FROM COLLEGE BASKETBALL

College basketball Section Front

Crean guiding Indiana through it's tough time Next season's freshmen won't measure up Beyond the Arc: Friday links and Kentucky musings Huggins hospitalized after tripping over cone Complete list of early entries to NBA draft Slideshow: Top NBA prospects Slide show: NCAA Tournament images Images: Cheerleaders from NCAA men's tournament   Sound off in our message boards Full coverage of every men's team College basketball Section Front   Add College basketball headlines to your news reader: