 Barbee at Kentucky's 2015 Blue-White scrimmage | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Team | Incarnate Word |
| Conference | Southland Conference |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | (1971-08-10)August 10, 1971 (age 54) Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Massachusetts Amherst (1998) |
| Playing career | |
| 1989–1993 | UMass |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1995–1998 | UMass (GA/assistant) |
| 1998–1999 | Wyoming (assistant) |
| 1999–2000 | UMass (assistant) |
| 2000–2006 | Memphis (assistant) |
| 2006–2010 | UTEP |
| 2010–2014 | Auburn |
| 2014–2021 | Kentucky (assistant) |
| 2021–2025 | Central Michigan |
| 2025-present | Incarnate Word (assistant) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 166–185 (.473) |
| Tournaments | 0–1 (NCAA Division I) 3–2 (CBI) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| |
| Awards | |
| |
Anthony Michael Barbee (born August 10, 1971) is an Americancollege basketball coach, who is currently an assistant coach at theUniversity of the Incarnate Word. He was previously the head coach atUTEP,Auburn, andCentral Michigan. Barbee played college basketball forMassachusetts underJohn Calipari, winning twoAtlantic 10 regular season andtournament championships in 1992 and 1993.
Barbee was born inIndianapolis, Indiana, and grew up as a fan of the nearbyButler University Bulldogs. Butler recruited him to play for the team, but Barbee chose to play for Massachusetts instead.[1] In his four years as a Minuteman, Barbee averaged double-figures in scoring every year. He finished with 1,643 career points. TheAtlantic 10 named him to the league Freshman Team in 1989–90, and the Second Team in 1990–91 and 1992–93. The Minutemen compiled a 91–39 (.700) overall record during Barbee's four years, and advanced to twoNITs and twoNCAA Tournaments. He graduated in 1993 with a degree in Sports Management.
After UMass, Barbee played professional basketball inSpain andFrance.[citation needed]
For the 1995–96 season, Barbee and former teammateDerek Kellogg returned to college basketball as a graduate assistant at UMass, helping as the Minutemen reached the Final Four for the first time in program history. AfterJohn Calipari moved to theNBA andBruiser Flint was promoted to head coach, Barbee was also promoted to assistant coach, where he would work with the Minutemen for two additional seasons.
Barbee spent the 1998–99 season as an assistant coach withWyoming. He then returned to UMass for one more season, and then moved to Calipari's staff again, this time at Memphis, starting in the 2000–01 season, where he would establish a reputation as an excellent recruiter.[2] Barbee spent six years with the Tigers, as the team compiled a 148–59 (.715) record.
In 2002, Barbee received a letter of reprimand from the University of Memphis for pushing an Arkansas player. J.J. Sullinger fell into the Tigers' bench and into Barbee during the second half of a game at The Pyramid. Barbee pushed Sullinger, an action replayed several times during throughout the game that Memphis ultimately lost. Barbee was also required to write apologies to Arkansas coachNolan Richardson and J.J. Sullinger.[3][4]
Barbee reunited with Coach Calipari for the 2014–2015 season, this time at the University of Kentucky where he served as the Special Assistant to the Head Coach. In this role Barbee assisted in a multitude of roles, including game-plan preparation and practice plans. With Barbee's help the Wildcats enjoyed one of the most storied seasons in program history, becoming the first team in NCAA history to begin a season 38–0 while claiming the SEC regular-season and tournament crowns, advancing to the program's fourth Final Four in five seasons, and helping six players go in the NBA draft.
Barbee was hired as the coach of the Miners on August 14, 2006, succeedingDoc Sadler, who moved to coachNebraska.[5] Barbee was the first African-American head coach in UTEP men's basketball history.[6] This was another milestone for the program, as their 1966 team, then known as Texas Western, became the first team with five African-American starters to win a title game, defeatingKentucky and their all-white team.
Barbee spent four seasons in El Paso, and the Miners improved steadily each year. The 2009–10 season was the highlight during Barbee's tenure. The Miners made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five seasons. Their regular season conference title was the first since the 2003–04 season, when UTEP was a member of theWAC. Barbee was named the C-USA Coach of the Year, as well as the NABC District 11 Coach of the Year.[7]
The Miners went 82–52 (.612) under Barbee's leadership.
Barbee was named the head coach of theAuburn men's basketball team on March 24, 2010, and was formally introduced the following day inAuburn Arena.[8] Barbee became the first black head men's or women's basketball coach at Auburn.[9]
Barbee lost his first game as Auburn's head coach on November 12, 2010, toUNC Asheville in overtime 70–69. This was also the first men's basketball game played in Auburn Arena.[10] Barbee did not get his first win at Auburn until the 4th game of his first season, beatingMiddle Tennessee 68–66.[11] However, after this rough start, Barbee's first Auburn team managed to remain competitive in the SEC, so much so that his former coachJohn Calipari went as far as to say that Barbee should be considered for SEC Coach of the Year.[12]
Despite showing promise at the end of his first season, Barbee never had a winning season at Auburn. His best record came in the2011–12 season when Auburn finished 15–16. Auburn then lost 16 of 17 SEC games during a stretch of the2012–13 season under Barbee, and had yet another losing season in2013–14.
The Barbee era at Auburn was fraught with off the court issues. Following the 2011–12 season, Auburn point guard Varez Ward was arrested on charges ofpoint shaving.[13] This case was later dismissed when Ward went into a pre-trial diversion program and with full cooperation with the FBI, neither Auburn nor Ward were found guilty of any wrongdoing.[14] Of the 21 players that Barbee signed while at Auburn, only 9 remained on his roster in his 4th season due to player dismissals and transfers.[15]
Barbee was fired on March 12, 2014, minutes after losing in the first round of theSEC tournament toSouth Carolina 74–56.[16] He finished with a cumulative record of 49–75 (.395), the lowest winning percentage of any Auburn head coach with more than a two-season tenure.
On April 23, 2021, Barbee was announced as the next head coach of theCentral Michigan Chippewas Men's Basketball team.[17] Barbee took over following the firing ofKeno Davis, who served as head coach of the Chippewas for nine seasons. Barbee would take over a program that hadn't made an appearance in theNCAA Division I men's basketball tournament since 2003. After four seasons and a 49–75 overall record, he was fired on April 3, 2025.[18]
In October 2025, Barbee was hired by his former assistantShane Heirman to be an assistant coach for theIncarnate Word Cardinals.[19]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UTEP Miners(Conference USA)(2006–2010) | |||||||||
| 2006–07 | UTEP | 14–17 | 6–10 | 10th | |||||
| 2007–08 | UTEP | 19–14 | 8–8 | 6th | CBI first round | ||||
| 2008–09 | UTEP | 23–14 | 10–6 | 4th | CBI Runner-up | ||||
| 2009–10 | UTEP | 26–7 | 15–1 | 1st | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| UTEP: | 82–52 (.612) | 39–25 (.609) | |||||||
| Auburn Tigers(Southeastern Conference)(2010–2014) | |||||||||
| 2010–11 | Auburn | 11–20 | 4–12 | 5th(West) | |||||
| 2011–12 | Auburn | 15–16 | 5–11 | T–10th | |||||
| 2012–13 | Auburn | 9–23 | 3–15 | 14th | |||||
| 2013–14 | Auburn | 14–16 | 6–12 | 12th | |||||
| Auburn: | 49–75 (.395) | 18–50 (.265) | |||||||
| Central Michigan Chippewas(Mid-American Conference)(2021–2025) | |||||||||
| 2021–22 | Central Michigan | 7–23 | 6–12 | 8th | |||||
| 2022–23 | Central Michigan | 10–21 | 5–13 | T–9th | |||||
| 2023–24 | Central Michigan | 18–14 | 12–6 | 4th | |||||
| 2024–25 | Central Michigan | 14–17 | 7–11 | 9th | |||||
| Central Michigan: | 49–75 (.395) | 30–42 (.417) | |||||||
| Total: | 180–202 (.471) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989–90 | UMass | 30 | 26 | 29.3 | .405 | .316 | .809 | 4.9 | 1.2 | 1.1 | .6 | 11.4 |
| 1990–91 | UMass | 30 | 27 | 29.5 | .450 | .236 | .695 | 4.2 | 2.8 | 1.2 | .3 | 15.3 |
| 1991–92 | UMass | 35 | 34 | 28.2 | .425 | .392 | .663 | 5.1 | 2.5 | 1.1 | .4 | 12.1 |
| 1992–93 | UMass | 31 | 31 | 30.4 | .403 | .361 | .763 | 5.5 | 2.4 | .9 | .5 | 13.5 |
| Career | 126 | 118 | 29.3 | .422 | .340 | .726 | 4.9 | 2.2 | 1.1 | .4 | 13.0 | |
