Why Mike Schwartz felt it was important to complete Tennessee basketball season
Mike WilsonINDIANAPOLIS — Mike Schwartz sat in a hotel room in Indianapolis on Wednesday afternoon.
The Tennessee basketball associate head coach wore a purple pullover with the ECU Pirates logo on the chest, answering questions about the job he has accepted and soon will begin.
Schwartz was more than 700 miles away from his future home in Greenville, North Carolina. There was no chance he would be anywhere else.
“It is all Tennessee and all orange right now,” Schwartz said. “Once this part of our season is completed and, hopefully, that’s three weeks ... I am so fired up to get to Greenville.”
Schwartz was introduced as the next East Carolina basketball coach Wednesday. He has spent the past six seasons at Tennessee, including the past three as the associate head coach on Rick Barnes’ staff.
Schwartz will be with No. 3 Tennessee (26-7) when it faces No. 14 seed Longwood (26-6) on Thursday (2:45 p.m. ET, CBS) in Indianapolis. He will remain with the Vols as long as their NCAA Tournament run goes.
“There would be no other way,” Schwartz said. “The Tennessee players, coach Barnes, the coaching staff. This is as special a group as I have ever been with. (Leaving) was never even a thought, obviously.”
Schwartz has worked with Barnes three different times. He was a walk-on at Texas in the 1998-99 season before spending two seasons as a graduate assistant. He rejoined Barnes’ Texas staff as a video coordinator for two seasons. Barnes brought Schwartz to Knoxville in 2016.
BELIEF:Tennessee's Rick Barnes always thought Mike Schwartz would be a head coach. It happened with ECU.
He called Barnes “one of the best coaches in the history of this game.”
“The simplest way I can say it is I owe him everything,” Barnes said. “He has given me foundation for me in coaching. But he has also provided a foundation for me in the way I live my life as a father, as a husband.
“I am so indebted to coach Barnes for everything he has meant to me and my family.”
The Los Angeles native played a key role in recruiting several Tennessee players, including Josiah-Jordan James, Jahmai Mashack and Santiago Vescovi. He was the first Vols coach to contact Zakai Zeigler.
Schwartz raved about the players on Tennessee’s team Wednesday. They raved about him earlier Wednesday. James and Vescovi both adding that Schwartz deserved the opportunity.
But they want to enjoy some more time with him before he leaves for his first head coaching job. The feeling is mutual.
“I am so thankful for our players here that I hope I can be with them as long as possible before I get to Greenville,” Schwartz said.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.