ESPN's Dick Vitale shares daily prayer sent by Tennessee Vols basketball coach Rick Barnes during Vitale's cancer battle

ESPN's Dick Vitale recently shared a special routine between him and Tennessee Vols basketball coach Rick Barnes.

Vitale is undergoing treatment for lymphoma and is also battling dysplasia in his vocal cords. Vitale called a handful of college basketball games earlier in the season before the inflammation in his vocal cords forced him to rest for the remainder of the season.

Vitale has continued to be active on Twitter, with plenty of observations about college basketball and life. On Sunday, Vitale shared on Twitter that Barnes sends him a prayer each day.

"During Texas game vs Vols I shared that ⁦@RickBarnesUT sends me a DAILY PRAYER to lift my spirits in my battles vs Melanoma, Lymphoma, & my vocal cord problem," Vitale tweeted Sunday morning. "I was shocked when he started doing this. This AM after a tough L at Texas he sends me this Rick is special!"

The game Vitale is referring to is Saturday's 52-51 loss by the Vols at Texas in Barnes' return to Austin. Texas honored Barnes before the game, and an intense game ended with a go-ahead free throw by the Longhorns with 6.2 seconds left.

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“I wanted to win this basketball game," Barnes said after the game. "I know my guys wanted to win this game for me; I know they did."

During the game, Vitale first shared the prayer routine between him and Barnes.

"His KINDNESS brings tears to my eyes when I read his daily text," Vitale said on Twitter on Saturday.

Vitale underwent treatment last year for melanoma and announced in August that he was cancer-free. In October, Vitale announced that he had been diagnosed with cancer for a second time. Vitale said then that tests showed he had lymphoma and that the treatment plan involved six months of chemotherapy.

Vitale said in October that medical experts have told him that there is a 90% cure rate. Vitale had planned to manage his work schedule around his chemotherapy schedule before his vocal cords required rest in December.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: ESPN's Dick Vitale shares prayer sent by Tennessee coach Rick Barnes