INDIANAPOLIS — Rick Barnes and Kelvin Sampson are such old friends that they played against each other in college in North Carolina nearly 50 years ago, back when Barnes had long, flowing hair.
They’ve coached long enough that Sampson recalled them going on trips together sponsored by Converse. Their friendship survived eight years of overlap in the Red River Rivalry with Barnes at Texas and Sampson at Oklahoma.
And as Sampson’s No. 1 seed Houston team squares up against Barnes’ No. 2 seed Tennessee team in the Elite Eight on Sunday, it’s clear that their relationship transcends the traditional trading of compliments that serves as an annual March rite.
“I love Kelvin Sampson,” Barnes said Saturday.
“I love Rick Barnes,” Sampson said. “That’s my guy.” He then paused and smiled: “Except for the two hours tomorrow.”
From both growing up in North Carolina to coaching in the Big 12 to thriving past adversity late in their career, there’s ample connective tissue between the old friends. Sampson teases that Barnes’ North Carolina twang is strong because he’s from the mountains — Little Ricky from Hickory — and Sampson is from closer to the coast.
Along with friendship and dialect, they are also the active coaches with the most wins without a national championship. That’s a distinction that highlights their Hall of Fame-caliber careers and underscores the urgency of the opportunity Sunday.
Barnes, 70, has 836 wins. He has the most Division I wins of any active coach without a title. He’s 33 wins behind Bob Huggins, who has the most all-time wins without a national title. Sampson, 69, has 797 wins, which includes his time at Montana Tech early in his career. That puts him second on the active list without a title.
“If we don’t win it, I hope he does,” Sampson said. “That’s how much I respect him.”
Sampson has two Final Four trips, back in 2002 at Oklahoma and one at Houston in 2021, which was played here at Lucas Oil Stadium. Barnes last reached the Final Four in 2003 at Texas, a team led by T.J. Ford. He has Tennessee in the Elite Eight for the second-straight year, as Tennessee again finds itself one game from the school’s first Final Four.
Both project as Hall of Fame coaches, but they’d push through the process quicker by burnishing their impressive résumés with a national title.
Each has a distinct style, defined by a hard edge and intensity that seeps from the sideline to the floor. It’s not surprising that Houston has the country’s No. 1-ranked defensive efficiency on KenPom.com and Tennessee is No. 3. Both teams have thrived this season because of stronger-than-usual offenses — Houston is No. 12 and Tennessee is No. 17 — but this game will much more likely be in the 50s than the 90s.
The winner will be one of the Final Four’s feel-good stories, a veteran coach searching for that shining moment. A win for Houston would mark its seventh trip to the Final Four; its six appearances already mark the most by a program without a national title. The Vols, meanwhile, are eager for a breakthrough.
“It would be a great honor for us to do that,” Barnes said.
Each coach has done some of their best work in what’s presumed to be their final stop, as Sampson has led Houston to six consecutive Sweet 16s after his firing at Indiana led to a stint in the NBA from 2008 to 2014. While that’s the longest active Sweet 16 streak, Sampson says that number would be seven if not for Michigan’s Jordan Poole hitting a miracle buzzer-beater against them in 2018.
Barnes has Tennessee in a golden era, as they’ve reached seven consecutive NCAA tournaments and never been seeded worse than No. 5.
Sampson and Barnes’ success comes at a time when many of their peers have become turned off by the transient nature of the transfer portal and NIL. Sampson said he has tried to remain optimistic and see the positives in the sport.
“Tomorrow’s going to be a great game between two very proud programs in Tennessee and Houston,” he said. “I hope just for two hours people realize it’s still a great game.”
One will walk off the court a winner, but a friendship is certain to endure.
“Warmed my heart last night to see him holding his grandson,” Barnes said of Sampson. “We’ve grown up together and we’re growing old together.”
