Sanning: Latest signing proves that Rick Barnes and Tennessee basketball are here to stay

Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes has been no stranger to controversy in 2019, but since the infamous UCLA fiasco in March, he's done nothing but make splashes.

And they've been big.

After Tennessee landed the nation's no. 16 overall recruit in Jaden Springer on Tuesday, the pool might be empty.

Let me start by saying that I'm no skeptic when it comes to Barnes. Never have been, never will be. I believe he is one of college basketball's brightest minds and his track record, despite having not won a national championship, shows it.

While the inevitable conversation surrounding the UCLA buyout will likely always come up amongst Tennessee fans, they can take solace in knowing that the Hickory, North Carolina native is here to stay.

UT basketball is no different.

Losing Grant Williams, Admiral Schofield, Jordan Bone and Kyle Alexander to the NBA following last season hurt the Vols' chances to be as competitive this season - but not longterm.

Tennessee enters the regular season unranked in the AP Top 25 despite coming in at 25th in the coaches' poll, which is quite a far cry from last season, when the Vols opened at no. 5.

Honestly, that's understandable.

Not many teams lose four of their five starters, including a large chunk of their scoring, and find themselves at the top of the rankings the following year.

Despite that, Barnes continues to pluck away at top recruits. So far, he's been able to bring on Springer, five-star shooting guard Keon Johnson and four-star small forward Corey Walker. Overall, UT has the nation's fourth-ranked recruiting class.

Given that the Vols were able to develop three-star talents into one of the country's best teams last season, it should come as no surprise that the third-highest paid coach is making moves.

For those who felt last season was an anomaly - shame on you.

Does that mean I'm "rooting" for the Vols this season or surrendering my journalists integrity? Absolutely not. It's my job to call things how I see them, and Tennessee basketball is in no way on a downward spiral.

This program has never been in this good of hands, not even when Bruce Pearl was sweating up and down the sidelines of Thompson-Boling Arena.

The two five-star recruits he landed? Tobias Harris and Scotty Hopson. Barnes has already topped that total in just the past year.

That’s not a knock against Pearl, he’s doing a fantastic job for the Auburn program and he should be commended for he and the Tigers’ improbable run to Minneapolis.

He had some good years in Knoxville as well, but he was never able to bring it talent quite like this. Hindsight is always 20/20, but it's easy to see why players would want to come to Tennessee now.

The facilities are top-notch, the fans are passionate, the coaching staff is knowledgable and UT's player development program may be the best in the country.

I'm not over-exaggerating either. Have you been able to see the before/after pictures of Williams and Schofield? If I was required to wear glasses, I probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference. It almost seemed like two completely different people.

But there they were. Two chiseled-up three-star recruits that led Tennessee back into the national spotlight. For four weeks straight, the Vols topped the AP poll.

While they didn't end up win the national championship or advance to the Final Four, folks in and around Knoxville are going to remember the 2018-19 season for years to come.

A group of, by national scouting standards, underwhelming talent somehow worked its way to becoming one of the country's top teams.

Now, the Vols are getting the top talent. With Josiah-Jordan James leading the charge of newcomers this year, Tennessee basketball is only going to get better from this point.

Recruits want to come to Knoxville and compete for championships. Thompson-Boling Arena was recently voted as the "toughest place to play in the SEC" by The Athletic. There's even a new tradition called the Rocky Top Rowdies, spearheaded by a man now known as the "TBA Taco."

Basketball is here to stay on Rocky Top. Tennessee may never be known as a "basketball school," but out of all SEC programs that are rich in football tradition, it's the closest.

Thank Barnes, Vols fans. He's the primary reason why.