Rick Barnes Speaks At Funeral Of Aide He Hasn’t Worked With In 37 Years
Image: Tennessee Athletics
By Cody McClure
Rick Barnes apparently spoke recently at the funeral of an office assistant he had many, many years ago.
Carolyn Marsh, a longtime men’s basketball administrator at George Mason, died on Thursday, May 15.
She was referred to by some in the George Mason program as “the godmother of George Mason basketball.”
Barnes was the head coach at George Mason in 1987-88 and previously worked as an assistant with the school from 1980-85.
Somewhere along the way, he must have interacted with Marsh, who began working for GMU in 1975 as a sports information assistant.
She clearly had a lasting impact on Barnes — despite the fact that he hadn’t worked with her in almost 40 years.
“I don’t care if Rick Barnes ever wins another [college basketball] game,” Bill Rohland, the George Mason play-by-play man, posted on X. “Dude came all the way central [Virginia] to speak at the funeral of his office assistant that he hasn’t worked with in *37* years.
“Class act. Great speaker. I’ll never say a bad word about that man.”
Very cool. Just another story among hundreds if not thousands about what a good person the Vols’ head coach is.