Over the years, wearing an orange blazer in games vs. Kentucky and Vanderbilt has been a thing for Tennessee basketball head coaches. Ray Mears started the tradition in the 1970’s and Bruce Pearl, Cuonzo Martin, and Donnie Tyndall kept the tradition up; however, for the first time since 2005, Tennessee’s head coach won’t be in orange for tomorrow night’s game vs. Kentucky. A few weeks back, Rick Barnes said he won’t wear an orange sports coat on the sidelines for Tennessee’s rivalry games.
“I appreciate tradition, but I don’t want this program to ever be about me,” Barnes told reporters.