Tony Barbee to be named new Auburn basketball coach

Tony Barbee, a 38-year-old up-and-comer who rejuvenated UTEP basketball over the past four seasons, will be named Auburn’s new head basketball coach, the Opelika-Auburn News has confirmed through sources close to the program.

Auburn is expected to announce the news later tonight and a press conference will be held tomorrow afternoon.

Barbee will become Auburn’s first black basketball coach in program history and will join track coach Ralph Spry Jr. as the only two minority head coaches at the university.

Barbee was also linked to openings at DePaul and Iowa. Barbee, who was making $300,000 annually at UTEP, is likely due for a big raise at Auburn. Athletic director Jay Jacobs said the Tigers would be competitive in the SEC arena of coaching salaries after letting go of Jeff Lebo, who made an SEC-low $785,000 salary.

Barbee has been with the Miners for four seasons now, compiling an 82-52 record. The Miners just pulled off one of their best seasons in recent history, as they went 26-7, won the Conference USA regular season title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The Miners, a 12-seed, bowed out in the first round Thursday in a loss to Butler.

Barbee played his college ball at UMass under John Calipari and then had his career elevated when he served as an assistant with him at Memphis. Barbee was Calipari’s top recruiter with the Tigers and was considered one of the best in the nation before moving on to UTEP in 2006.

The key to Barbee’s success has been his tenacity on the recruiting trail. Two of Barbee’s players this season, center Derrick Caracter and guard Randy Culpepper, are considered potential 2010 NBA Draft selections if they opt to go pro one year early.

Barbee’s teams have been known for toughness on defense and rebounding. UTEP ranked 13th in the country in field goal percentage defense and 17th in steals.

Though Jacobs originally said the Tigers’ search could last two or three weeks, only 12 days elapsed since Lebo, who went 96-93 over six seasons, was fired. The search that landed head football coach Gene Chizik lasted just 10.

Lebo was hired earlier this week as East Carolina’s new head coach. Auburn owes him $1.5 million over the next three seasons.

Barbee was one of at least four serious candidates in the mix. North Texas’ Johnny Jones interviewed for the job and would have accepted the position if offered, according to a source close to Jones. The Tigers also showed interest in Minnesota’s Tubby Smith and former Auburn superstar Chuck Person.

Wright State’s Brad Brownell, Morehead State’s Donnie Tyndall, Sam Houston State’s Bob Marlin were also reportedly interviewed for the job.

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