Tony Barbee will coach college basketball in Kentucky, again

A familiar face is returning to the college basketball sidelines in Kentucky, but you probably won’t be seeing him on the same floor as the Wildcats anytime soon.

Murray State is hiring Tony Barbee to be the Racers’ associate head coach, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports. Barbee will work for head coach Ryan Miller, who posted a 20-13 record in his debut with the Racers’ last season. They went 12-8 in league play, earning a No. 4 seed in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

Tony Barbee has a long history with John Calipari. Barbee played for him at UMass, then immediately joined Cal’s staff in Amherst. He also joined Calipari at Memphis on his way to ascending the coaching ranks at Auburn.

Once things went sideways on The Plains, Barbee reunited with Calipari at Kentucky. He was on the Kentucky sideline for the Wildcats’ 38-1 campaign in 2015, and remained in Lexington until the abysmal Covid-19 campaign.

Once Calipari revamped his coaching staff, Barbee found a landing spot in the MAC. It took three years for him to get a winning record at Central Michigan. When the Chips dipped to 14-17 in year four, he was fired.

Last year, Barbee was an assistant at Incarnate Word. Now he’ll join a competitive program that is looking to find its feet in a bigger league.

Murray State was an NCAA Tournament regular as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference. They advanced to the Big Dance 10 times in 17 seasons between 1990 and 2006. The Racers won opening round games of the NCAA Tournament in 2019 and 2022, but have not finished better than fourth since joining the MVC in 2023.

Murray State appears to be trending in the right direction under Miller, but that direction is not from Western to Central Kentucky. Throughout each program’s storied history, Murray State has never played Kentucky in basketball, much to Steven Peake’s chagrin.

Want more coverage of the Cats? Join KSR+

KSR has been delivering UK Sports news in the most ridiculous manner for almost two decades. Now, you can get even more coverage of the Cats with KSR+. In the middle of a pressure-packed Kentucky basketball offseason for Mark Pope, now is the perfect time to join our online community. Subscribe now for premium articles, in-depth scouting reports, inside intel, bonus recruiting coverage, and access to KSBoard and House of Blue, the most vibrant message board communities in BBN. Join now for $1.