Tony Barbee
 Barbee coaching in 2013 | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Auburn |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | August 10, 1971 Indianapolis, Indiana, USA |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 117–110 (.515) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
| 2010 Conference USA Coach of the Year | |
Tony Barbee (born August 10, 1971) is an American college basketball coach and the head coach of the men's basketball program at Auburn University. Barbee played college basketball for the University of Massachusetts under Coach John Calipari. Barbee later served as an assistant under Calipari at Memphis and often cited Calipari as his mentor. Barbee had previously coached at UTEP. On March 24, 2010, Barbee was named the new head coach at Auburn University, becoming Auburn's first African-American head coach in a major sport.[1]
Early years
Barbee was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and grew up as a fan of the nearby Butler University Bulldogs. Butler recruited him to play for the team, but Barbee chose to play for UMass instead.[2] In his four years as a Minuteman, Barbee averaged double-figures in scoring every year. He finished with 1,643 career points. The Atlantic 10 named him to the league Freshman Team in 1989–90, and the Second Team in 1990–91 and 1992–93. The Minutemen compiled a 91–39 (.700) overall record during Barbee's four years, and advanced to two NITs and two NCAA Tournaments. He graduated from UMass in 1993 with a degree in Sports Management.
After UMass, Barbee played professional basketball in Spain and France.
Assistant coaching
For the 1995–96 season, Barbee returned to college basketball as a graduate assistant at UMass, helping as the Minutemen reached the Final Four for the first time in program history. After Calipari moved to the NBA and Bruiser Flint was promoted to head coach, Barbee was also promoted to assistant coach, where he would work with the Minutemen for two additional seasons.
Barbee spent the 1998–99 season as an assistant coach with Wyoming. He then returned to UMass for one more season, and then moved to Calipari's staff again, this time at Memphis, starting in the 2000–01 season, where he would establish a reputation as an excellent recruiter.[3] Barbee spent six years with the Tigers, as the team compiled a 148–59 (.715) record.
UTEP
Barbee was hired as the coach of the Miners on August 14, 2006, succeeding Doc Sadler, who moved to coach Nebraska.[4] Barbee was the first African-American head coach in UTEP men's basketball history. This was another milestone for the program, as their 1966 team, then known as Texas Western, became the first team with five African-American starters to win a title game, defeating Kentucky and their all-white team.
Barbee spent four seasons in El Paso, and the Miners improved steadily each year. The 2009–10 season was the highlight during Barbee's tenure. The Miners made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five seasons. Their regular season conference title was the first since the 2003–04 season, when UTEP was a member of the WAC. Barbee was named the C-USA Coach of the Year, as well as the NABC District 11 Coach of the Year.[5]
The Miners went 82–52 (.612) under Barbee's leadership.
Auburn
Barbee was hired as the coach of the Tigers on March 24, 2010, succeeding Jeff Lebo.[1] Barbee was the first African-American head coach in a major sport at Auburn.[1] His first year at Auburn also coincided with the inaugural year at the new Auburn Arena, and the Tigers finished 5th in the SEC West with an overall record of 11–20 (.355). He currently holds a conference record of 12-38(.240) and an overall record of 35-59(.372) after 3 seasons with the Auburn Tigers.
Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UTEP (Conference USA) (2006–2010) | |||||||||
| 2006–2007 | UTEP | 14–17 | 6–10 | 10th | |||||
| 2007–2008 | UTEP | 19–14 | 8–8 | 6th | CBI First Round | ||||
| 2008–2009 | UTEP | 23–14 | 10–6 | 4th | CBI Finals | ||||
| 2009–2010 | UTEP | 26–7 | 15–1 | 1st | NCAA 1st Round | ||||
| UTEP: | 82–52 (.612) | 39–25 (.609) | |||||||
| Auburn (SEC) (2010–present) | |||||||||
| 2010–2011 | Auburn | 11–20 | 4–12 | 5th (West) | |||||
| 2011-2012 | Auburn | 15–16 | 5–11 | T–10th | |||||
| 2012-2013 | Auburn | 9–23 | 3–15 | 14th | |||||
| Auburn: | 35–59 (.372) | 12–38 (.240) | |||||||
| Total: | 117–111 (.513) | ||||||||
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National champion
Postseason invitational champion
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References
- ^ a b c Katz, Andy (March 25, 2010). "UTEP's Barbee to coach Auburn". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
- ^ "Barbee, A schoolboy fan of Butler, now out to beat them". ABC 7, KVIA El Paso. 2010. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
- ^ "Coach Bio: Tony Barbee". Auburn Athletics Department via CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
- ^ "Tony Barbee named men's basketball head coach at UTEP". UTEP Athletics Department via CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
- ^ "UTEP's Barbee Named NABC District 11 Coach of the Year". C-USA.com. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
External links
- 1971 births
- Living people
- African-American basketball coaches
- African-American basketball players
- Auburn Tigers men's basketball coaches
- Basketball players from Indiana
- Memphis Tigers men's basketball coaches
- Sportspeople from Indianapolis, Indiana
- UMass Minutemen basketball coaches
- UMass Minutemen basketball players
- UTEP Miners basketball coaches
- Wyoming Cowboys basketball coaches