Rick Barnes saw a lot of Kim English in his Big 12 days coaching Texas against Missouri.

Now, the Tennessee coach is hiring English as an assistant coach for the Vols.

Tennessee made the announcement Friday. The New Sentinel reported Tuesday that English was the choice of coach Rick Barnes.

"Kim is outstanding," Barnes said in a school release. "When I coached against him, I loved his competitive fire. And when he got into coaching and I spent time with him on the road recruiting, I knew there was something special about him. He's got tremendous energy and drive and is a great communicator. Our players will love working with him.



"He's going to make a huge impact on our program, and I'm excited to welcome him and his wonderful wife and family to Knoxville."



Former UT associate head coach Rob Lanier left for Georgia State, creating the opening.

The 30-year-old English started his coaching career as an assistant at Tulsa under Frank Haith, whom he played for at Missouri. Haith was an assistant on Barnes' staff at Texas from 2001-04.

English spent the past two seasons coaching at Colorado.

English averaged 11.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals during his four-year career at Missouri, and his 1,570 points rank 13th in program history. He had a dynamite senior season, averaging 14.5 points and 4.2 rebounds with 78 3-point field goals to lead Missouri to a school-record 30 wins.

He played at Missouri from 2008-12.

The Baltimore native was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in 2012 NBA. He played most of his career overseas before joining the coaching world.

UT could have another opening this offseason as Desmond Oliver is among the leading candidates for the Kennesaw State head coach position.

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