The Texas Longhorns season came to an end in the Elite Eight as they fell to the Miami Hurricanes, 88-81. While the loss stings, Texas has to feel good about where its program is.
The Longhorns reached the Elite Eight for the first time since 2008. The season began with Chris Beard running the show until his suspension and ultimately his firing after eight games. At that point, the [autotag]Texas Longhorns[/autotag] were 7-1 and the school made Rodney Terry the interim head coach.
Over the next several months, the interim coach was able to guide the team to a Big 12 Tournament title and a 22-7 record in 29 games. The former Texas-El Paso head coach was previously 163-156 as a head coach with stops at Fresno State and UTEP.
What he did with Texas was remarkable. Terry kept the team focused on one goal, winning a Big 12 title and making a run in the tournament. They looked like one of the best teams in the NCAA Tournament after winning seven-straight games including two matchups with the Kansas Jayhawks.
It was clear that the team rallied behind Terry and now the Longhorns should remove the interim tag and make him the head coach of the program. He has been around the program as an assistant from 2002 to 2011 and returning in 2021. Terry was part of the staff that made it to the Final Four in 2003.
While boosters might be clamoring to make a run at John Calipari or another big-name coach, Rodney Terry has proven that he is the man for the job. At least give him the opportunity after he got results from this team which could have crumbled given the circumstances.
[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=5]
[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=712]
[mm-video type=video id=01gvkhva5qej8fhh9r4f playlist_id=01gq2fszf7mxxc88k4 player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gvkhva5qej8fhh9r4f/01gvkhva5qej8fhh9r4f-1629397b2b457be8701d120f6d4a706d.jpg]