Great Article on Barbee!!

[AUBigCat 17]

If you are like me and knew absolutely nothing about this man, you'd probably still welcome him into the family because he is our coach now.  But let me give you another reason to love this guy:

http://epmediagroup.com/people/564-people-of-note-coach-tony-barbee

People of Note: Coach Tony Barbee

by Sarah McCoy

The UTEP Miners men’s basketball coach has big dreams for his players and he plans to stick around long enough to see them come true.

I always picture Coach Tony Barbee pacing the sidelines of the Haskin’s Center in a tailored, pin-stripe suit, reading his opponent’s moves and strategizing a team offense. So it was a bit hard to imagine him reading Dr. Seuss’ One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish with two kids snuggled at his side or laughing at Martin reruns with his wife Holly. But, yes, that’s Tony Barbee, too. Coaches of successful university teams are often seen as sports machines, geniuses with a master plan for absolute victory, but we forget they are people just like us.

“There’s so much in the title ‘Coach’,” Barbee explains. “Coaching is probably ten percent of this job.” Like the title, we only know Coach Barbee, a fraction of Tony Barbee.

The stats: He was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, and attended the University of Massachusetts where he was a 1993 graduate earning a B.A. in sports management and played for renowned basketball coach John Calipari. After college, he played professionally in Spain, France and Venezuela before returning to the University of Massachusetts as a graduate assistant to the basketball team. From the University of Massachusetts, he went on to Wyoming and eventually reunited with Coach Calipari in Memphis where he remained for seven years. In 2006, he came to El Paso as the head coach of the UTEP Miners men’s basketball program.

The accolades: Street & Smith’s 2005-06 preseason college basketball yearbook named Barbee the top assistant coach in Conference USA as one of the top recruiters in the nation. “Not only will Tony recruit student-athletes that will make the El Paso community proud, but he will coach them up and the fans will be proud to watch,” says Calipari.So those are the season box scores for Barbee’s career, but like he said, that’s only ten percent. He’s eager for his new hometown to get to know the rest of him.

“It’s such a great community, great people, great fans. They’re all supportive. They want you to do well,” says Barbee.

Coaching a successful team has been Barbee’s childhood dream. “I knew at an early age that I wanted to be a coach. Growing up, I played everything—baseball, basketball, football, my dad even got me into golf… but I came to the realization that basketball was the sport for me.”

Barbee’s father played high school basketball with Oscar Robertson and college football at the University of Tennessee. “I kind of grew up with a sports background family,” he explains. “And like any kid, I dreamed of taking basketball as far as I could go. I got to play overseas and see a lot of the world…I knew everything I did as a player was to prepare myself for the opportunity to coach.”

This former-player perspective makes him an easy mentor

to the men of UTEP’s basketball team. Freshman forward Gabriel McCulley was recruited by Barbee and eagerly moved to El Paso from Memphis: “I heard a lot of things about Coach Barb and he definitely was all the good things I heard. He’s a great coach and role model. He’s one of those guys you look at everyday and want to be like.”

Those sentiments are shared by the senior players. “Coach Barbee’s like a father figure. Some of these guys on the team never had a father so they look at Coach Barbee like their father,” says senior guard Stefon Jackson.

hile Barbee considers his players family, he also has a team of Barbees at home: wife, Holly, and two children, seven-year-old daughter, Hayden, and three-year-old son, Andrew. But the playground and basketball court are two different arenas. “Being a father has taught me a lot…you’ve got to have patience. My players are like my kids I’m working on bringing that patience to the court like I have with my own children,” says Barbee.

Parenthood has influenced his coaching in other ways, too. “This is more than just basketball. I’m helping my players prepare for life, understand life skills and life situations. If they need me—no matter what time of the day it is—my phone is always on, my office is always open. They can come to me.”

His players are living proof of this commitment. “I go to Coach Barb about anything, not just basketball. He gives you the utmost respect,” says McCulley.

Barbee wants to establish more than just a winning record at UTEP. His goal is to usher in a new era of community pride in the Miners basketball family. “I’m trying my best to get this basketball program back where it deserves to be, among the upper echelon teams in the country. That’s my passion and I won’t stop working until I get it back there.”

And he sets the example for his men to follow. “Usually the team takes on the personality or some traits of the head coach,” explains Barbee. He hopes to infuse his team with determination and drive for the ultimate goal, but also with a sense of humility and honor for the history of the university, El Paso, and the predecessors who made both great.

“I can see where people might struggle to identify with me,” he says. “Everyone was so attached to Coach Haskins and now every two years another guy breaks their hearts. So fans aren’t willing to fully invest themselves in a coach because they don’t know if he’s going to stick around.”

That’s just the mentality Barbee is here to dispel. “I want the fans to understand that I’m fully committed to El Paso and this UTEP community.”

Two years after his arrival, we’re still getting to know the head coach of our beloved Miners. So next time you see him buying chips and salsa (a true El Pasoan) at Albertson’s or thumbing through a Dr. Seuss book at Barnes and Noble, say hello. He’s happy to meet you.

“I love it here and my family loves it here. My intention is to be the head coach at UTEP for as long as they’ll have me,” says Barbee.

***

Editor's Note: This article was originally published in the March 2008 issue of El Paso Magazine.

[InfernoOrangeSS 321]

Thank you!

[WarNole 141]

Great article.  I am excited we are getting Coach Barbee in the Family !!