Kentucky elevates Barbee to assistant coach

From the no-surprise file came an announcement from Kentucky on Friday that Tony Barbee would become an assistant coach.

Barbee was widely believed to be the replacement for Barry "Slice" Rohrssen, who left the UK staff this spring to become an assistant at St. John's.

Barbee, who played for UK Coach John Calipari at UMass in the 1990s, joined the UK staff last season as a "special assistant to the head coach." He came to UK after being fired as Auburn's coach. He posted a four-year record of 49-75 (18-50 in the SEC) for Auburn.

"I really enjoyed my first season in Lexington and I'm looking forward to returning to the bench as a coach," Barbee said in a UK news release. "I'm grateful to Coach Cal for giving me the opportunity to represent this prestigious program and university in this capacity."

Prior to Auburn, Barbee coached four seasons at UTEP (82-52 record). He had been an assistant coach for Calipari at UMass and Memphis.

"The knowledge and experience Tony brought to our staff last year was invaluable," Calipari said in a tweet. "To have him a part of our staff is a blessing for all of us."

As a player for UMass, Barbee scored 1,643 points.

UK fans with good memories may recall Barbee scoring 13 points against the Wildcats in Rupp Arena on Dec. 4, 1991. UK led 46-41 at halftime and won 90-69.

Perhaps UMass hit a wall in the second half. Cal's Minutemen played at UK on the way back from the Great Alaska Shootout.

Barbee and Richie Farmer led UMass and UK, respectively, with two three-point baskets.

A native of Indianapolis, Barbee played professionally in Spain and France after his college career.

He earned a bachelor of arts in sports management with a minor in African-American studies from UMass in 1993. He and his wife, Holly, have a daughter, Hayden Alexandra, and a son, Andrew Marsh.

This story was originally published May 22, 2015 at 11:15 AM with the headline "Kentucky elevates Barbee to assistant coach."