In Reply to: Is Rick Barnes a better head coach than many give credit for? posted by NorthBruin40 on March 28, 2026 at 11:08:22
Everyone remembers Jim Harrick as a championship coach, but were it not for Tyus Edney's miracle play, his entire legacy at UCLA would be six embarrassing NCAA tournament losses in eight years. In fact, one could make a case that he's one of the worst NCAA tournament coaches ever. Even before and after UCLA his teams folded time after time in March Madness games:
Pepperdine
1982 - lost to Oregon St by 19
1983 - blew a six point lead with 24 seconds left against NC St in a game which could have changed the course of basketball history
1985 - lost to Duke by 13
UCLA
1991 - lost to #12 Penn State in first round
1992 - lost to Indiana by 27 in the regional final with arguably his most talented UCLA team (considering future NBA players)
1993 - blew 19 point lead and lost to Michigan
1994 - lost to #12 seed Tulsa in first round giving up 112 points
1995 - Came within a fraction of a second losing to an #8 seed with the top ranked team in the nation
1996 - lost to #13 Princeton in first round
Rhode Island
1998 - blew a 6 point lead with less than a minute left against Stanford
1999 - outscored 16-5 in overtime period by Charlotte
Georgia
2001 - started game with Missouri 0-15
2002 - win over Murray St vacated