Rick Barnes Gets Real When Discussing Justin Gainey's Decision to Leave Tennessee

The Tennessee Volunteers are set for their next season under head basketball coach Rick Barnes, who is by far one of the better basketball coaches in the country. In fact, some may call him one of the greatest basketball coaches at the college level ever, as he has coached some greats, including Kevin Durant, before he took a job at Tennessee.

The Tennessee Volunteers will be without one of their assistant coaches this season, as they will be without Justin Gainey, who is now the head coach of the North Carolina State Wolfpack, a team that he played for in college. While some coaches could be bitter, Barnes was the complete opposite.

This is something that Barnes was asked about at SEC Tipoff, as the Vols and the Wolfpack are set to play against each other before the Vols begin their SEC play. Here is what he had to say about his former assistant and the matchup.

What Rick Barnes Said About Former Assistant Justin Gainey

"Well, I am really thankful and blessed to spend the time that I was able to spend with Justin. You know, I coached against him when he was with NC State as a player from the time that he walked on to that campus, and I have just the upmost respect for him as a person. There's not a finer human being that you'll ever meet."

"Basketball-wise, it's really neat. He has worked with some terrific coaches through the years. He's always had a great basketball mind, great evaluator. He came in, and again, left our program better. And the fact is, NC State made a great hire in Justin. He's the kind of guy that I would want my son to play for. He's the kind of guy that is going to demand the most from the players."

"He's going to do what he does. He's very mature for his age in terms of already having a vision in terms of how he wants his teams to play, and he's going to do great. You know, you always hate going up against guys that know what we are going to try to do. I'm sure there's going to be similarities there, but the fact is I'm just ecstatic for him, because his dream job was to be the head coach at North Carolina State University, and for him to get that opportunity, I mean, he's a Wolfpack and always has been, and I'm just excited for him. But he definitely earned the job. He deserves to have a shot at it," Barnes said.

The Vols and Wolfpack will play on December 6th.

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