FirstCuts: Rick Barnes appears on ‘Lights’

By Chris Littmann
Sports don’t start and end with a referee’s whistle. FirstCuts, a blog dedicated to sports culture, will cover everything outside the lines, from the games to the gear.
One good Longhorns cameo deserves another. And sure as Texas football coach Mack Brown appeared in Season One of Friday Night Lights on NBC, Texas basketball coach Rick Barnes made an appearance in tonight’s episode, the 11th of Season Two.
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[quote="USAToday.com"]They shoot here in Austin and I flew in one day with one of the producers on the show and we started talking. Mack Brown has done a spot there and some different people, so that’s how it all came about.[/quote]
Barnes played a recruiter for mythical Texas Methodist University, the school Dillon coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) abruptly left at the beginning of Season Two. I won’t ruin the ending, but I’ll only say Barnes is in town to talk with Smash Williams (Gaius Charles) about his college of choice. Let me just point out the man brought in Kevin Durant. Smash Williams, you sir, are no Kevin Durant.

Mack Brown appeared in the first episode of Season One as Pete, a booster for the Dillon Panthers, putting the squeeze on Coach Taylor the night before his first game. Video upcoming once the fine folks at Hulu.com update with tonight’s episode.
Bonus footage: Mack Brown’s Season One appearance

> Rick Barnes Q&A | USAToday.com↵