Photo from Google Images
Rick Barnes took over the University of Tennessee men’s basketball program in 2015. The Vol’s were a 16-16 team in 2014-15. Barnes was the programs third head basketball coach in three years. In Barnes first three seasons, the Vol’s were 15-19 (2015-16), 16-16 (2016-17) and 26-9 (2017-18) with an SEC championship banner.
Now, in his fourth season, the Vol’s are currently 21-1 and ranked #1 in the country with zero active starters ranked in the top 100. Rick Barnes should be the Naismith College Coach of the Year for Tennessee’s success, but that award is not one of his goals.
Barnes had two goals when he arrived in Knoxville; to win games and have a spiritual impact on his team. Barnes is getting the national attention for goal one, but he’s most proud of goal number two. Barnes told 10News Knoxville “I think if you can plant a seed so that somebody comes to know Jesus Christ then it’s the greatest victory of all.”
Former Vol football player, Chris Walker, is now the UT campus director for Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Barnes reached out to Walker to develop a spiritual plan for the team. The team calls Walker’s meetings before each game “power talks” where the message is focused on faith, not winning. The most powerful talk has been AO1; Audience of One. Walker said “I literally try to get these guys to imagine Thompson-Boling Arena being empty except for one seat, and that (seat) is for God.” AO1 can be seen on players wrist and shoulders.
This team is focused on being fueled in faith and they give God all the glory. Jordan Bowden’s one arm raised with his index finger pointing up and his head bowed is Bowden way of giving praise to God on the court. Most of the team does the same move for the same reason.
This is team so special on and off the court. They are so, so, so talented and fun to watch. Their chemistry on the court is a pure reflection of their friendships off the court. They play with class and root for each other. This is a mature team that defines the reflection of learning and growing from great coaches. They are the number one team in country for so many reasons.
Tennessee basketball went viral when their pre-game dunk was posted on social media. Other colleges and NBA teams are now adding the team dunk to their pre-game routine. You will not see the team’s favorite dunks on TV or on any sports stations highlight reel. On November 18th, both Kyle Alexander and Jordan Bowden were both baptized. Coach Barnes and the entire team were all there to witness what they call the best dunks of the year.
We live in a world where this story will not gain media coverage for the fear of offending another religion. But this team is courageously real to defend their religion and play for an Audience of One.