Byrd's-eye view from Belmont

The man had already coached 541 victories. He had already guided a program from NAIA to Division I, scarcely missing a beat.

His teams had already played the role of David, slaying several of college basketball’s Goliaths.

He had, in short, already assembled a lifetime body of work any of his colleagues would applaud and most would envy.

But then last March, two hours changed everything.

Changed everything for Belmont University and for Rick Byrd.

“That Duke game,’’ Byrd said this week in his office on the Nashville campus. “It literally changed the perception of our program.

“And it’s a little unfair, in a positive way for us.’’

Anybody that truly followed college basketball knew that Belmont was a nice little program. They knew Byrd, a 55-year-old Knoxville native and University of Tennessee graduate, was held in high esteem in the coaching profession.

The true fan knew the Bruins could give the big boys trouble on a given night.

But it wasn’t until they watched mighty Duke make a late basket to escape 71-70 in an NCAA tournament first-round game on prime time TV last March 20, that the nation at large got in on the act.

It’s not for nothing it’s called March Madness.

“It shouldn’t be this way,’’ said Byrd, “but that one game became more important than the preceding 23 years I’ve been here.

“That one game did more for us than the cumulative efforts of all the teams and coaches and players that have won a lot of games and a lot of championships prior to that.

“I don’t think it’s fair, but none of us notice people until they somehow reach a national stage.’’

Tennessee fans will notice Belmont on Saturday. The Bruins visit Thompson-Boling Arena for a 3 p.m. tip against the 16th-ranked Vols.

UT coach Bruce Pearl was wise to Byrd’s act before last March.

“Coach Byrd,’’ said Pearl, “he’s got some Tennessee in him.

“He’s one of the best coaches in the country, I’m gonna tell you right now. He gets more out of his players as good as anybody does.’’

Byrd’s got plenty of Knoxville in him.

A Doyle High School grad and son of former Knoxville Journal sportswriter Ben Byrd, Rick grew up hanging around Stokely Athletics Center.

The first team he ever coached was a group of six-graders when he was still a student at Doyle in South Knoxville. From that experience, he knew how he wanted to make a living.

“I had fun coaching those games,’’ Byrd said. “I need to have more fun coaching now like I did then.’’

He graduated from UT in 1976, stuck around for a master’s degree and began his coaching apprenticeship under Ray Mears during the Ernie Grunfeld-Bernard King years.

Byrd played a little point guard when UT started a jayvee team, then helped coach it the next year.

“I’d actually practice with the varsity after I practiced with the junior varsity, so I would be out there five or six hours some days, soaking stuff in,’’ said Byrd.

Mears sent him on a few scouting assignments, but his break came when he got an assistant coaching post at Maryville College. Two years later, at 24, he was head coach of the Scots.

Byrd would later coach at Lincoln Memorial University. In 1986 he moved to Nashville to take over a middling NAIA program at Belmont. He’s never left nor has any plans to — despite interest after the Duke game.

“They (other schools) may pay me twice as much,’’ he said, “but it wouldn’t be worth it to me.’’

A perfect fit

Byrd loves Belmont and he loves Nashville. Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings and country music star Vince Gill are among his close pals.

Byrd remarried last year and is a picture of contentment. Belmont is growing, and in the 5,000-seat Curb Event Center, the Bruins have a home to rival any program at their level.

He won’t even complain about having to give up his gym for a few weeks to refit it for a presidential debate.

“There’s a lot of little things about our program I’m proud of,’’ Byrd said.

For example, his long-tenured staff and his team’s academic prowess. To find players, Belmont recruits against the likes of Samford, Davidson or sometimes Ivy League teams.

“Nobody in the SEC wanted any of our players,’’ Byrd said. “That gives you an idea what you’re up against to begin with.’’

There was one exception. Former UT coach Buzz Peterson broke Byrd’s heart by signing forward Matthew Dotson in November 2004. But Pearl replaced Peterson and released Dotson, who then signed with Belmont and has been a four-year contributor.

“Maybe (Pearl) did Matthew the biggest favor he could do him,’’ said Byrd, “even though it was hurtful at the time.

“No matter what, Matthew has played on three NCAA tournament teams and played a ton of minutes.’’

The only time Byrd recruited against Pearl didn’t involve UT.

The same year Dotson was in play, Byrd went to Cincinnati to woo Ryan Childress. He left pleased with the home visit.

“The next day Bruce Pearl goes in and the next day after that he committed to Wisconsin-Milwaukee,’’ Byrd said with a laugh. “That’s how good I did.’’

But Byrd gets his share. And he coaches them up.

The Bruins have won at nationally ranked Missouri. Last season they won at Alabama and Cincinnati.

Those made for good headines, but the picture that hangs on Byrd’s wall is from the 2006 Atlantic Sun Conference tournament. Belmont beat neighbor and arch-rival Lipscomb in overtime to land the school’s first NCAA tournament bid.

“That picture right there, it totally says it all,’’ said Byrd.

It doesn’t get any better than that.

Well, maybe it does.

Belmont lost handily to UCLA and Georgetown in its first two NCAA trips. Last season, the Bruins, a 15 seed, were assigned to Duke in Washington, D.C. Byrd, a professional pessimist, tried to stay even-keeled.

“During the season,’’ he said, “I had watched Duke manhandle North Carolina in Chapel Hill and thought that was as good as I’ve ever seen a team play.’’

But that night in the Verizon Center, for two magnificent hours, Belmont played about as good as any team anybody’s seen.

The crowd got in the Bruins’ corner. A nation was tuned in on the first evening of March Madness.

After all these years on the sideline, Byrd is virtually oblivious to the crowd, focused entirely on the 94 feet in front of his bench. But when one of his players swished a 3-pointer in the final minutes to cut Duke’s lead to one point, it hit him.

“By that time everybody was in the arena, all the people from the next game, and 90 percent of them were for us,’’ he said.

“When the shot went in, literally the hair stood up on my neck. At that moment, I thought, ‘Now I remember why I decided to coach.’ ’’

For the same reasons he discovered back at Doyle High School, coaching those sixth-graders.

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276 or strangem@knoxnews.com.