Chris Beard got ejected at Tennessee trying to do what Rick Barnes once did

Chris Beard got ejected at Tennessee trying to do what Rick Barnes once did Chris Beard wasn’t arguing one call in particular when he ran onto the court in the second half at Tennessee Tuesday night, having to be held back from by his coaching staff and players while attempting to go toward all three of the game’s officials. Instead, he said he was fighting for Ole Miss basketball. And he was doing so with Rick Barnes in mind. “You have a Hall of Fame coach here,” Beard said after the 84-66 loss to the 25th-ranked Vols. “First ballot. One of the best that’s ever done it. And I think if you look back at different spots in his career, he had to fight for his program. “And so I kind of think that’s where we are with Ole Miss right now.” Beard didn’t like the foul count. Ole Miss was called for 25 to Tennessee’s 18. He didn’t like the free-throw differential. The Vols went to the line 34 times and the Rebels shot 21. “Just frustrating,” Beard said, “from a coaching standpoint and a playing standpoint.” Chris Beard ejected with 6:34 left in second half Tennessee, after leading by one at halftime, opened the game up in the second half and led by 17 after two Nate Ament free throws with 6:34 left. After the next Ole Miss possession, Beard stormed off the bench and onto the floor to argue a call that his team didn’t get. “At some point as a coach you have to fight for your players,” Beard said. “That’s exactly what happened tonight.” Beard, the third-year Ole Miss head coach, was trying to fight the way Barnes did at the ACC Tournament 30 years ago. “Do your homework tonight,” Beard said. “All that stuff is on YouTube.” That “stuff” was Barnes, in his first year as Clemson’s head coach, going nose to nose with Dean Smith in 1995, taking exception to claims made against his Tigers and Smith’s insistence of yelling at Clemson players during games. The Barnes-Smith beef started when the legendary North Carolina coach accused Clemson of playing dirty basketball under Barnes. It escalated in the ACC Tournament when Smith yelled at Clemson’s Iker Iturbe for his foul on Jerry Stackhouse. The two coaches went to the scorers table to address the issue, but it quickly turned into a shouting match. Top 10 - 1Breaking Trinidad Chambliss NCAA makes waiver ruling - 2 National Signing Day Remembering the madness - 3Hot Charles Bediako case Attorneys request delay - 4 Top Spenders NIL battle for 2026 recruits - 5Trending Joey Aguilar Judge grants restraining order Get the Daily On3 Newsletter in your inbox every morning By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein. Smith and Barnes were eventually called to a meeting with then-ACC commissioner Gene Corrigan to settle the situation, but it was back on the following season at Clemson. According to reports in 1996, Smith yelled at Clemson’s Bill Harder to play defense without grabbing jerseys. “He’s fighting for his players and I’m fighting for mine,” Smith said at the time. “It’s that simple. As any coach does, he wants loyalty from his players and you’re loyal to your players. Fathers are loyal to their sons and daughters.” ‘At some point you’ve got to fight for your players’ Beard on Tuesday jogged off toward the Ole Miss locker room, only to turn around, run back toward the bench and charge into his team’s huddle for one final message before leaving the floor. Afterward he said he was fighting both for those in the huddle and against what he described as inconsistent officiating from Courtney Green, Ron Groover and James Breeding. “I think all we ask for is a consistent whistle,” Beard said. “If you are going to call a post-defense foul on that end, call a post-defense foul on the other end. It wasn’t the difference in the overall final score of the game. “But at some point you’ve got to fight for your players. That was the objective tonight in that moment.”

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Source: On3.com

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