Rodney Terry Deserved This Chance and the Work Starts Now
Texas hired Rodney Terry as its men’s basketball coach on Tuesday. Right call. He deserves the shot. He earned it after the work he did this season.
For those who want to try and minimize and say, “Well, he did it with Chris Beard’s players,” I’m unlikely to dissuade you from your opinion. Fine. But Beard’s arrest, subsequent suspension and dismissal could have torpedoed this season. Seasons have gone down the drain under less trying circumstances.
All Terry did was take “Beard’s players” and lead them to the program’s first Elite Eight appearance since the Rick Barnes days. You know, the days when Terry was a Barnes assistant coach? He did the job Beard was hired to do.
So, yes, Terry gets his shot, and deservedly so.
As athletic director Chris Del Conte said on Tuesday, “Coach Terry, we gave you the whistle and we said ‘go earn this job.’ It belongs to you.”
Now comes the hard part. The next day.
The Job Ahead
Terry doesn’t need your reminder that before he was elevated to interim head coach in December that his record as a head coach was barely .500. He took Fresno State to the NCAA Tournament once and the NIT once. After a 12-12 season in 2020-21, Terry actually left UTEP to take an assistant coach job at Texas under Beard.
What did he learn?
“Having a chance to step back that one year, it put a lot of things in perspective,” he said. “I vowed to myself that if I ever got another opportunity as a head coach, I was going to be Rodney Terry.”
Head coaches don’t always find their identities the first time around. Or, even the second time around. Terry looked like a coach that found his comfort zone, finally, this time around.
Terry’s five-year deal is worth a reported $13.5 million. That’s $2.7 million per year. My guess is the contract features a smaller buyout than one might expect, in case Terry isn’t the guy.
Terry faces his first offseason as Texas’ head coach working through a roster that looks fairly stable, but with some significant roles to fill.
Guards Marcus Carr and Sir’Jabari Rice, along with forwards Timmy Allen and Christian Bishop, are out the door and out of eligibility. That’s two starters in Carr and Allen, and a third player in Rice who produced like one. Combined that’s nearly 40 points out the door. Bishop chipped in nearly seven points per game.
That’s a lot of experience to replace.
Unknown Futures
Among the players that can return are senior forward Dylan Disu, who was the Big 12 Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and averaging a double-double in the NCAA Tournament. He has a COVID waiver to use. Forward Brock Cunningham has already announced he’ll return for a sixth season.
From there, Texas has a pretty young roster, all with multiple years of eligibility — guard Tyrese Hunter, guard Arterio Morris, guard Rowan Brumbaugh, forward Cole Bott, guard Gavin Perryman, forward Alex Anamekwe, forward Preston Clark and forward Dillon Mitchell.
Mitchell might have a decision to make. At times he’s been projected as a first-round pick. His athleticism is off the charts, as evidenced by some of the shots he blocked against Miami. But he would benefit from another year to develop his offensive game.
Keeping him would be a coup for Terry. Given the standing ovation the players gave him as he entered Tuesday’s press conference, it’s safe to say no one is thinking about hitting the transfer portal right now.
Speaking of the portal, Terry could use a little of that to augment not only what he has, but what he has coming in. It’s a two-player class — Duncanville (TX) forward Ron Johnson, who is a McDonald’s All-American, and Castaic, Calif., guard AJ Johnson, who plays at Southern California Academy. They’re among the Top 20 players in the country.
Prove It
As Terry said on Tuesday, “This brand right here is powerful… it made me leave a head coaching job… you’re going to get an elite level basketball experience… we can go anywhere because of this brand.”
Terry is right. No question about it. Now, like every other Division I coach in the country, he has to prove he’s the right guy.
Yes, he proved he deserved the shot. Yes, he earned it. Yes, Tuesday was all about celebrating that.
But, let’s be real. The job never really ends. Today, for Terry, the hard work really begins.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
