TCC’s Eddie Barnes joins the FCSAA Men’s Basketball Hall of Fame
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (March 11, 2015) – Tallahassee Community College’s Eddie Barnes is the newest member of the Florida College System Activities Association’s (FCSAA) Men’s Basketball Hall of Fame.
Barnes, along with current Broward College head coach Bob Starkman, comprised the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2015. Both gentlemen were inducted into the Hall of Fame on Friday evening as part of the FCSAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in Ocala, Fla.
Barnes recently wrapped up his 14th and final season as the head men’s basketball coach of the Tallahassee Eagles and 24th overall as an NJCAA head coach – he coached at Wallace Community College-Dothan (Ala.) from 1991-2001.
At Tallahassee, Barnes put together a 274-144 record, which includes a trip to the NJCAA Championship Game in 2006.
Under the direction of Barnes, the Eagles were Panhandle Conference Champions in 2006 and advanced to the postseason five times. His teams won NJCAA Region 8/FCSAA State Championships in 2006 and again in 2011.
He posted a 12-6 postseason record throughout his career with the Eagles.
For Barnes, it is not only his success on the court but his student-athletes’ accomplishments off it that he feels is what made him a successful coach.
“You have got to have good players; good players make you a better coach and hopefully you can make those players a little bit better”, Barnes says, “and they can become a better person and be self-sufficient in life and be successful. Because of that, you put yourself in positions where you have opportunities such as this.”
For his success, Barnes won Coach of the Year for NJCAA Region 8/FCSAA in each of the Eagles’ state championship seasons (2006, 2011).
The success of the 2005-06 season also earned Barnes national honors by being named the National Association of Basketball Coaches Junior College Coach of the Year.
However, of all the achievements Barnes has enjoyed over his career, the Hall of Fame nod ranks near the top.
Barnes says, “I’m humbled by it and I certainly worked really hard to make everybody feel comfortable around me and worked hard at being successful on and off the court. I am very honored that my peers elected me into the Hall of Fame.”
Throughout his career, Barnes has felt fortunate to have had an opportunity to coach players who have gone on to continue their careers past TCC and, at the same time, made him a better coach.
“I think it’s the byproduct of what we do, and I certainly have been very fortunate to have coached a lot of really good young men, student-athletes who have turned into really good players,” says Barnes.
Among those players are six All-FCSAA honorees – Marcus Johnson (’02), Steve Cherry (’04), Abdullahi Kuso (’06), Dustin Scott (’07), Bernard James (’10), and Marvell Waithe (’10). James is currently in his third NBA season as a member of the Dallas Mavericks.
Barnes is Tallahassee Community College’s fourth member of the FCSAA Men’s Basketball Hall of Fame, joining former head coach Mike Gillespie and former players Jason Cipolla and Kerry Thompson.