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Kentucky promotes former Auburn coach to assistant coach

Tony Barbee

Auburn head coach Tony Barbee encourages his team during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Missouri Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013, in Columbia, Mo. Missouri won the game 91-77. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)

AP

Kentucky had a spot to fill on its coaching staff with the departure of Barry “Slice” Rohrssen to St. John’s and promoted special assistant Tony Barbee to be an assistant coach late this week.

Barbee, a former head coach at UTEP and Auburn, served as head coach John Calipari’s special assistant last season and will now have a hand in recruiting and other elements as a full assistant on the Wildcat staff.

Coming from the Calipari coaching tree, this is a natural hire for Kentucky, since Barbee played for Calipari at UMass and has also been either a graduate assistant or assistant coach for Calipari for nine years.

As a head coach, Barbee owns a 131-127 career record in his two stops. He will get a chance to recruit at a high level and be apart of one of America’s best programs. Barbee has spent time as an assistant coach at UMass, Wyoming and Memphis before his head-coaching jobs.