Tag: Texas basketball news

Texas Women’s Basketball: Vic Schaefer leaves Starkville for Austin

Athletic director Chris Del Conte made a power move on Sunday stealing Vic Schaefer away from Starkville to become the next women’s coach.

It sure didn’t take long for the Texas women’s basketball team to get their new coach. Athletic director Chris Del Conte tweeted out that Vic Schaefer was in Austin on the Forty Acres on Sunday.

Vic Schaefer is a Texas native that was born in Houston. He comes in with a rather impressive resume that should give Longhorn fans some excitement in regards to their new leader of the program.

  • Two-time NCAA runner-up (2016-17, 2017-18)
  • Sweet 16 (2015-16)
  • Elite Eight (2018-19)
  • Five-straight NCAA tournament appearances before this year
  • 221-62 record at Mississippi State
  • 301-172 overall record
  • Three-time SEC Coach of the Year (2015, 2018, 2019)
  • WBCA National Coach of the Year (2018)
  • Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year (2018)
  • Second-fastest coach to win 200 games behind Joe Ciampi (Auburn)

Given what Schaefer has been able to accomplish, this should raise some eyebrows down in Waco, Texas. This is obviously a power move for the Longhorns as they look to steal state bragging rights away from the Baylor Bears who have owned the Big 12 Conference since Kim Mulkey arrived.

It won’t be immediate but given time, Schaefer should be able to close the gap and bring prominence back to the Forty Acres. The Texas Longhorns women’s team is still in search of their first National Championship since 1986 and first Final Four appearance since 2003.

Texas women’s basketball: Players react to Karen Aston’s exit

Current and now former Texas Longhorn women’s basketball players took to social media to show support for former coach Karen Aston.

On Friday the news broke that Karen Aston would not be returning to lead the women’s basketball team in 2020-21. That ended an eight-year run for Aston. The news came as quite a shock to many given the fact that she led the team to four-straight appearances in the sweet 16 or better for the Longhorns. That streak ended last season after losing in the first round.  Even more shocking given the fact that Shaka Smart was retained and his Texas resume is less than stellar.

Aston’s now former players took to social media to voice their opinions regarding the somewhat surprising exit of their beloved coach. It was easy to see that the players loved Aston.

Now Chris Del Conte will begin a national search for the next women’s head coach. Here are a list of the accomplishments that Karen Aston achieved while leading this program:

  • 184-83 overall record (.689 winning percentage)
  • 93-51 conference record (.646)
  • four-straight Sweet 16 appearances (2014-2017)
  • one Elite Eight appearance (2015-16)
  • six straight NCAA Tournament appearances

Texas interested in two more transfer guards

Texas has put their name in the running for two more guards. Tyrese Martin and Trey Murphy have recently announced they will be transferring.

After making the final six of Illinois sophomore guard Alan Griffin, Texas has put their name in the running for two more guards. Tyrese Martin out of Rhode Island and Trey Murphy from Rice have recently announced they will be transferring and Shaka Smart has reached out.

Starting with Martin, he will also be entering his junior season after two seasons with the Rams. A decent scorer averaging 12.8 points per game, Martin brings length to the perimeter, standing at 6 feet 6 inches. His seven rebounds a game ranked 12th in the Atlantic-10 last season.

Martin does struggle behind the three-point line though, a huge part of Shaka’s offensive strategy. Shooting 32% from deep last season, Martin’s freshman year was worse, shooting 31%.

Murphy may be a more desirable option for the Longhorns going forward, especially because he is a better shooter. While he dropped off 6% from his freshman year to his sophomore season, Murphy still connected on 36% of his three-pointers, fourth-best in Conference USA.

Scoring just over 13 a game, Murphy is even bigger than Martin, coming in at 6 feet 8 inches. His rebounding isn’t as efficient, grabbing 5.5 per game, but Martin’s scoring is what makes him the more attractive transfer option.

Between Griffin and now Martin and Murphy, Texas has a solid chance of adding a transfer guard this offseason to bolster the roster. The core three of Coleman, Ramey, and Jones is nice, but Shaka Smarts needs more behind them.

Those three and one of the transfers could even play on the court at the same time if the Longhorns wanted to go small ball. Either way, a transfer this offseason opens up opportunities for how Texas’ offense will look next season.

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Texas and Gonzaga schedule home and home series

UT has scheduled a home and home series with Gonzaga. It begins next season at home, with the return trip occurring in the 2021-2022 season.

Shaka Smart and Texas continue a busy early offseason by scheduling home and home series with Gonzaga. The first game will occur next season in Austin, while the Longhorns will travel out west to Spokane, WA the following season in 2021.

The schools have met three times throughout history, with the latest coming in 2017. Playing in Portland, OR for the Phil Knight 80 Tournament, the Longhorns took the Zags to overtime but came up short 76-71.

The other two games also came before the turn of the century, with Gonzaga coming out on top in those matchups as well. All-time, the Bulldogs are 3-0 against the Longhorns.

Texas will be looking to get their first win in the series with a home win next season. Since Smart took over as head coach in 2015, the Longhorns are 33-8 in non-conference home games.

With Gonzaga projected to be one of the best teams in all of college basketball next season, it will be a good early-season test for Texas.

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Texas makes final six of Illinois transfer

Texas has made the final six for Illinois transfer Alan Griffin. The sophomore guard would add incredible depth to Smart’s team in 2020-2021.

Returning 100% of their production next season, Texas is going to be one of the most experienced teams in the country next season. Shaka Smart could be looking to add experience, bringing in a transfer.

Sophomore Alan Griffin is leaving Illinois after two full seasons in Champaign. The guard from Ossining, NY has narrowed his list down to six schools, with Texas making the cut. Other power conference members Miami, Syracuse, Iowa State, and Arizona join the Longhorns, while mid-major school Dayton is also in the mix.

Griffin improved greatly from his freshman year, averaging 8.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. His three-point percentage went up 11%, shooting 41% on the year.

If he were to transfer to Texas, Griffin would add to a loaded roster the Longhorns have at guard. He would join Coleman, Jones, and Ramey, and create incredible depth for the 2020-2021 season.

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Texas Basketball: What does success look like in 2020?

With Shaka Smart returning for the 2020-21 season, what does success look like for the Texas Longhorns?

The Texas Longhorns’ athletic director Chris Del Conte recently announced that head coach Shaka Smart will be returning for the 2020-21 college basketball season. This was big news on the Greg Brown recruitment front as it had been reported multiple times that if Smart was out so was he. So with his retainment, Brown still has Texas in his top five schools. 247 Sports crystal ball predictions have the Longhorns at 90 percent to land his recruitment. The Longhorns could use his athletic ability inside.

So what does success look like for the Texas men’s basketball team in 2020?

Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports

It starts with the Longhorns putting together another solid non-conference together. During the 2019-2020 basketball season, the Longhorns were able to put together some wins but losses against Providence, Georgetown and Louisiana State. Those hurt their tournament chances especially after beating a top 25 Purdue team early on. Teams can’t make the tournament during non-conference play but they can certainly make it a lot tougher down the stretch.

The Longhorns need to find a way to capture their late season magic from the 2019 campaign where they won five of their final seven games to capture the third best conference record. Texas needs to be more consistent in the next year and not sit back a hope for another late season push. Smart needs to coach with a sense of urgency and the players need to play that way. The seat will still be hot in 2020 so no need to get complacent. However, success for the Texas Longhorns is more than just doing well in conference play.

The Texas men’s basketball must make it to the big dance in March for the season to be considered a success. Not just making the tournament and exiting on the opening weekend. Under Shaka Smart, the Longhorns have failed to see the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. The team hasn’t moved onto the third round since 2013-14 or seen a regional final since 2007-08. Both of those came under Rick Barnes.

So quite simply, for the Texas Longhorns and Shaka Smart to have success in 2020-21 they must advance to the round of 16 to really feel like they are building the program back to where it once was during the Barnes era. It is likely the only way that Smart coaches in Austin beyond next season.

Texas sticking with Shaka Smart for the 2020-2021 season

Chris Del Conte announced Texas will be keeping Shaka Smart for the 2020-2021 season. Smart has three years left on his contract.

Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte spoke with the Austin American-Statesman on Friday and said Shaka Smart is “our coach.” Smart will now get the opportunity to coach the Longhorns for a sixth season, the same amount of time he was coach at VCU.

“Nothing’s changed. We won five of the last six down the stretch, finished third in the conference. We have a good team coming back. Nothing’s changed on my end,” said Del Conte.

Going into the 2019-2020 season, Smart was already on the hot seat as Texas had only made the NCAA Tournament twice under his tenure. Even when in the tournament, the Longhorns have failed to make it past the first round, losing to Northern Iowa in 2016 and to Nevada in 2018.

In the middle of February, it looked as if Smart was going to be fired at the end of the season, with Texas struggling in the Big 12. Lucky for him, the Longhorns turned it around, winning five out of their last six games, including victories against Oklahoma and Texas Tech.

Being in position to make the 2020 NCAA Tournament with a Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal win against Texas Tech, nobody will ever know what will happen as the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of now, Smart’s contract has three more years on it, running through the 2022-2023 season. Back in 2015 was he was hired, Smart signed a seven-year, $21.7 million contract.

To keep his job after this season, the Longhorns must at minimum replicate their standing in the Big 12, but more than likely do better. Third place in the conference sounds nice, but going 9-9 and getting third place via tiebreakers does not sound as great.

100% of Texas’ production next season is returning so Smart should pick up right where they left off. Guard play from Matt Coleman, Courtney Ramey, and Andrew Jones were exceptional down the stretch.

Mix in Jase Febres, Gerald Liddell, Jericho Sims, and Kamaka Hepa all returning from injuries and the Longhorns’ outlook look positive for next season.

Smart must now take advantage of it and make (and advance) in the 2021 NCAA Tournament to save his job.

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WATCH: New Orleans Pelicans Release Video Of Jaxson Hayes’ Dunks

To celebrate his great rookie season, the Pelicans put out a video showing Hayes’ best dunks of the season. You can watch it here:

The NBA was at the center of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, being the first of many sporting leagues to cancel their season. Before the issue became prevalent in the association though, Jaxson Hayes was enjoying a stellar rookie season with the New Orleans Pelicans.

Being drafted 10th overall in the 2019 Draft, Hayes had been playing with five other rookies, including Zion Williamson. On average, he was playing 17 minutes a game and putting up good numbers.

Scoring 7.5 points, securing four rebounds, and blocking nearly one shot per game, Hayes was a presence in the paint on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball.

To celebrate his great rookie season, the Pelicans’ Twitter account put out a video showing Hayes’ best dunks of the season. You can watch it here:

The young center played in 56 of New Orleans’ 64 games this season. When the NBA does return to either finish up the 2019-2020 season or to start new in 2020-2021, Hayes will continue to be a key piece for a young Pelicans squad.

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WATCH: Kenton Paulino Sends Texas To The Elite Eight In 2006

Kenton Paulino’s shot against West Virginia in 2006 sent Texas into the regional final for the first time since 1946. You can watch it here.

The 2005-2006 Texas team was a special one, led by future NBA stars PJ Tucker and LaMarcus Aldridge. Winning the Big 12 regular-season title with a 13-3 record and a 30-7 overall record, the Longhorns earned a two seed in the 2006 NCAA Tournament.

After beat Penn and North Carolina State in the first weekend, Texas came up against then Big East team West Virginia in the Sweet 16. Tied with five seconds left in the game, the Longhorns pushed the ball down the court in search of a game-winner.

Freshman guard A.J. Abrams made it to the top of the three-point line, passed it off to his left where Kenton Paulino knocked down the buzzer-beating three-pointer to send Texas into the Elite Eight.

You can watch the shot here:

Before the game-winner, Paulino was 1-6 from behind the three-point line. Luckily he made the one that counted, sending Texas to the regional final for the first time since 1946.

The Longhorns would end up losing in the next round to LSU, but Paulino’s shot against West Virginia made history for Texas.

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Men’s Basketball Profile Card: Courtney Ramey

With the men’s basketball season officially over, we take a look at Courtney Ramey’s 2019-2020 season for the Texas Longhorns.

With the men’s basketball season officially over, we take a look at some of the players from the 2019-2020 NCAA basketball season for the Texas Longhorns.

Continue reading “Men’s Basketball Profile Card: Courtney Ramey”