Dave Hunziker, who is the play by play man for Oklahoma State, mentioned something to this extent last night...that Rick Barnes changes to meet the strengths of UT's personnel is a major reason why the Horns make the NCAAs every year and sometimes get mentioned in the national title chase.
Watching UCONN struggle the past 2 years makes me appreciate Rick even more. UConn's class of freshmen last year supposedly rivaled ours (their class was actually better according to most recruiting services), yet they didn't sniff post season play and are barely mediocre with a 12-5 record this year.
The one thing Rick Barnes has done in his career that is innovative is the introduction of an S&C coach exclusive to the basketball team. We all understand the importance of Todd Wright, whom Barnes brought over to basketball from the football program while he was at Clemson, but actually Barnes created the position while he was still at Providence. I do not consider Barnes an innovative coach. Adaptive? Sure. Willing to change his leopard spots? While plenty stubborn and set in his ways, to a remarkable degree for someone with his level of success as a head coach, yes. He was a man on man disciple until after Syracuse won the national championship by blistering through the best the Big 12 had to offer, and since has employed a significant amount of 2-3 zone. He's run low post offenses. Slow down half court offenses. Up tempo transition offenses. Offenses dependent on the 3 point shot. Iso offenses. About the only kind of offense I've never seen him run is some kind of motion offense, which is interesting given that he spent a year at Ohio State with Gary Williams, who runs the flex motion offense. He's an amazing people person, able to see positive qualities in other people they don't even realize they have, and empower them to achieve levels of success they otherwise might not have attained. He's a demanding personality, yet is able to get the people around him to buy into the idea he cares about them as individuals, even as he eviscerates everyone around him. I think he's a remarkable personality. But innovative? No. That's a bad word to use with Barnes, IMO.
