LEXINGTON, Ky. — There is this peculiar quirk that is not limited to sports but comes up fairly frequently in such conversations, exemplified by the words, “What if?” What if the ball had bounced one way, instead of the other? What if the official had actually been in the proper position to ma ke the call? Or what if Coach B had taken a particular job, instead of Coach A? We’ll never know the answers, of course, because you only get a first chance once. But the question was particularly intriguing Saturday night here, in the runup to Tennessee’s 67-58 victory over UCLA in a second-round NCAA Tournament matchup, sending the Volunteers to the Sweet 16 next Friday in Indianapolis. Mick Cronin wound up with the Bruins’ job in 2019 after Steve Alford was let go in midseason and Murry Bartow finished the 2018-19 campaign. But Rick Barnes, then as now Tennessee’s coach, was also mentioned as a candidate, and the job did hold some appeal for a guy who had spent much of his coaching career at Clemson, Texas and Tennessee. In fact, Barnes’ interest in UCLA – the program and not necessarily the coaching position – went back to his own very first head coaching job, at George Mason in 1987-88. One of his players, Bill Johnson, was good friends with John Wooden and his family. Later, Barnes would have frequent interactions with Wooden, and also had chances to talk to him when two of his Texas players were up for the Wooden Award, T.J. Ford and Kevin Durant. “My son was living out there, and we had a chance to go to Coach’s home and spend time in his home with him and talk basketball,” Barnes said. “Also a number of times I would go to dinner with him. That was a wonderful experience for me, to get to talk to him, and he was in his 90s. And just hearing so many wonderful stories about his coaching career. So when UCLA called, it was certainly an honor because obviously of the respect growing up.” How deep was his respect for the UCLA program? This is a guy who spent his life in other parts of the country, but he recalled “staying up late at night in the ’60s when Dick Enberg would come on at 11:30 on East Coast time. And they might play once a year. And watching those games and the great run he put together.” (Barnes almost certainly didn’t realize it at the time, but those of us who lived in Southern California in the ’60s and ’70s would have to stay up late for UCLA basketball as well, since KTLA/Channel 5 aired home games at 11 p.m. on tape delay.) When UCLA approached Barnes in 2019, he’d just come off a 31-6 season, his fourth at Tennessee, and had gotten to the Sweet 16 that spring but lost to Purdue in overtime. Barnes, now 70, is in his 38th season as a head coach and, going into Saturday, has a lifetime record of 834-422 (.664) at George Mason, Providence, Clemson, Texas and Tennessee. “When I got the call, obviously for a lot of reasons I listened,” he said. And he mentioned that he’d been asked recently what he remembered most and said, “I remember a lot of prayer. Because I felt really blessed to have had the opportunity to come to Tennessee, and I will forever be thankful to (University of Tennessee president) Randy Boyd and when we were in that part of the negotiation, the commitment that he made. “Again, I look at it now and I thank God that he gave me the guidance to be where I am. And certainly UCLA hired a great, great basketball coach in Mick Cronin, and it’s worked out well for him.” Cronin returned the favor. As a defense-first coach himself, he appreciates the way the Vols play the game. “You have to do everything with strength and conviction or you’ll be running your offense at half-court,” he said Thursday. “Defending their offense is hard. Coach Barnes is a great coach, they got a great four-year starter at the point, numerous veterans. … They play the game the way it’s supposed to be played. So looking in the mirror a little bit with that.” For all of those Cronin critics in the UCLA fan base, then – and there are more than a few – coach B would likely have played the same style as Coach A, albeit with a lower volume on the sideline. Coach B’s team played it better Saturday night. UCLA shot 37 percent for the game and increasingly had trouble running its offense against Tennessee’s increased intensity in the second half. The Vols, meanwhile, kept draining 3-pointers in the second half, seven of them, many wide open. Still, Cronin, now 53, has more than earned his keep in Westwood. The Bruins are 138-63 in his six seasons and 10-3 in the postseason, and that in itself is a story. The three losses were two to Gonzaga by a total of six points, one in overtime, both on improbable shots from the logo. The other was a 73-66 loss to North Carolina in the 2022 Sweet 16 in Philadelphia, when Caleb Love torched the Bruins with six 3-pointers and 30 points. The NCAA Tournament wasn’t played in Cronin’s first season because of COVID-19. After last year’s miss, Cronin reloaded his roster to get the Bruins back to the tournament. And a reminder: Last month Cronin became the youngest coach to reach 500 career victories. All told, at Murray State, Cincinnati and UCLA, he’s 503-234. Fans may grumble occasionally, especially when Cronin is stalking the sideline, going full blast on his own players. But, as Barnes repeated, “I don’t think there is any question they made the right hire.” Consider, too, that both coaches are subjects of speculation about their futures. Barnes turns 71 in July, and ESPN’s Myron Medcalf reported “retirement rumors floating around,” but the coach talked during Friday’s media session about the possibility of scheduling a home-and-home series with the Bruins. That doesn’t exactly sound like he’s ready to pull the ripcord. Meanwhile, Adam Zagoria of New Jersey Advance Media reported earlier this week that Cronin is a “dark horse” candidate for the now vacant Villanova job, along with Northwestern’s Chris Collins. But, as Cronin put it in Indianapolis during last week’s Big Ten conference tournament: “I’m not leaving UCLA until they make me leave, OK?” jalexander@scng.com Related Articles College Sports | Alexander: Tennessee Volunteers prove too much for UCLA in NCAA Tournament College Sports | Alexander: Does the road get harder for UCLA men’s basketball? When wasn’t it? 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