Jump to content

Rodney Terry


HookEm

Recommended Posts

12 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

Correct. Terry played against him at UTEP.

The way Gerry made it sound is that assistants often brought names to Beard from the portal and Rice was someone the coaching staff was all-in on before Beard even got involved.

Yep. Terry saw him multiple times in conference.

Thanks for the clarification.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

54 minutes ago, HookEm said:

Also, SOMEBODY on the coaching staff deserves a ton of credit for the development work they have been putting in with Disu.  That dude has gone from being a liability to a complete monster.  And that development has happened AFTER Beard left the team.

That would be the training staff, getting him 100% healthy and Terry + Donewald turning him from afterthought to focal point of the offense. Beard's teams were never oriented this way, which is why he has always struggled to recruit quality bigs. Terry shouldn't have this problem moving forward.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Wally Pryor said:

Yep. Terry saw him multiple times in conference.

Thanks for the clarification.

So would this count as one of Terrys players and does this mean he can identify talent?   Couple that with the fact that the players and recruits seem to love him and that he’d likely keep donewald means he could possibly build a roster here. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gerry Hamilton on Rodney Terry (drops the mic at the end)

Spoiler

The Texas Longhorns are in the Sweet 16 for the first time since the 2008 season. And the Longhorns are seeking a third straight Elite Eight appearance as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. 

There has been one common theme with all three No. 2 seeds. Rodney Terry has either been an assistant coach or the interim head coach for all three. And that means Terry has had a key part of recruiting players to those teams, identifying talent and being part of the roster construction.

And throughout the 2022-23 season, he has proven in spades that he has a message, sense of calm but with toughness on the practice court, and mindset to bring the enjoyment of playing with a locked in mentality to a team. Sure, Texas is an experienced team. But that is college basketball these days with the portal. Penn State was the most experienced team in college basketball. Texas is one of the most experienced teams in college basketball. The days of having dominant youth in college basketball are long gone, and will not return.

Terry the head coach 

Rodney Terry has been around enough winning environments and teams that he has a true understanding of what needs to be done on a day-to-day basis to maximize a team.

Terry maximized a team way back in 1994 as the head coach of Somerville High. He led Somerville High to the State Tournament in 1994 as a 26 year old head coach. 

Terry improved programs at Fresno State and UTEP, taking over both programs that were down or in need of a rebuild. Fresno State has been to one NCAA Tournament since 2001, and that was under Terry in 2016. 

Terry understands that Texas has be really good defensively, but also has to play an attractive offensive pace and style. The pace and style is key in the Longhorns desire to recruit the most talented players possible with professional goals. More than a resume, Terry has an understanding of what he will have to do to maximize recruiting at the University of Texas. 

Terry as a recruiter

The majority of Texas fans know Terry was the primary recruiter of On3 Industry Ranking 5-stars Ron Hollandand A.J. Johnson in the 2023 class. And Terry had a key hand in the roster build of the Longhorns. Terry has long standing connections in the Toronto area. That started in his years at Texas as an assistant. Those connections were key in helping Texas get Marcus Carrto Austin. He knew the game of Sir’Jabari Rice from playing New Mexico State while at UTEP. He knew the game and fit of Timmy Allen from ties on the West Coast at Fresno State.

Terry has been the primary recruiter of some of the most talented players to wear a Texas uniform. The Longhorns don’t land Tristan Thompson or Corey Joseph without the strong connections in the Toronto area, as previously mentioned with Marcus Carr. 

Terry was the primary recruiter for several players that played on the Texas Elite Eight team of 2008. Those include Dexter Pittman and Gary Johnson. Terry took a vision for what Dexter Pittman could become to Rick Barnes and Todd Wright. 

Recruiting remains relationship based, and creating a culture and environment in which current players help recruit future players. Even with NIL being a key part of the equation now, relationships and players recruiting players is still paramount. Terry has as many long standing relationships as anyone in the state of Texas. For instance, Terry was an assistant at Baylor when 2024 No. 1 overall Tre Johnson’s dad played at Baylor. That doesn’t mean Texas will beat out Baylor or the NBA G-League for the 6-5 future 20 year NBA scorer, but it’s why Texas is right there with a chance. The years and years of connections in the state, and nationally provide Terry the opportunity to get in the door with many prospects. 

Those connections are also very valuable in portal recruiting.

Terry and the University of Texas

Outside of Chris Ogden, T.J. Ford and some other recent NBA players that suited up in Austin, Terry is Texas Longhorns basketball. By that I mean, he has been a part of the program for the best seasons in the last 20 years. Part of Chris Beard’s unite the family goal when hired at Texas involved Ogden and Terry. Terry has the private and public support of Ford, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Durant, Royal Ivey and others.

Rodney Terry’s interim title will not last much longer.

 

  • Hook 'Em 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, 4th&Five said:

I don’t think he’s the best option but I’d be shocked if he didn’t get it at this point. 

I think this game sealed it, and frankly he deserves to get the opportunity. If he goes to the elite 8, then i bet you see them take the tag off before the game.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Vertigo said:

I think this game sealed it, and frankly he deserves to get the opportunity. If he goes to the elite 8, then i bet you see them take the tag off before the game.

I'm against taking the tag off even if he's getting the job. 

Let the team think they're fighting for Terry's job. Hell, make Terry think he's fighting for his job. Desperation is a good thing. 

  • Hook 'Em 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Rickylovesweed said:

I'm against taking the tag off even if he's getting the job. 

Let the team think they're fighting for Terry's job. Hell, make Terry think he's fighting for his job. Desperation is a good thing. 

Yes, I don't understand why he needs to be hired now. It's like Terry fans are worried that he might not get the job if he loses the next game. CDC said he wanted Terry to coach this season without the encumbrance of who becomes the HC next year. The plan has been working well, so why mess with it now?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

28 minutes ago, Vertigo said:

I think this game sealed it, and frankly he deserves to get the opportunity. If he goes to the elite 8, then i bet you see them take the tag off before the game.

We are going to go with our best option. If there is a big name out there we want and they are interested that is where we will go. Terry is a good option if that other guy isn't out there. But that other guy will be our first option.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It feels like an eternity since I watched Texas play in a Sweet 16 game. Rodney Terry deserves some big time props for keeping the team focused and getting them this far after the Beard fiasco. Bring on Pitt or Xavier, Texas is going to the Elite 8, book it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Everyone thought Shaka was a good hire and he was a huge bust.
Everyone agreed Chris Beard was a home run hire and he apparently chokes women.

We have a guy that led us to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since the iPhone 1 was new and George Bush was in office, and we’re thinking about not keeping him because we think we’re entitled to a better coach? History does not agree with the idea that we can hire a guaranteed winner.

  • Hook 'Em 7
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I decided to read up a bit more on Terry and didn't realize that he took Fresno State to the tournament in 2016 - their first appearance since 2001 when Jerry Tarkanian took them there. They haven't made it since and Fresno has only six tournament appearances in their history. 

I'm good with keeping him (if Billy Donovan doesn't come that is - I'm no fool).

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There was a lot of talk about our defensive regression under Terry - both by the numbers and by the "eye test".  While I thought some of that was playing in the Big-12 blood bath, you could see that the effort wasn't QUITE there.  Well, that has changed over the last 6 games. The defense is locked and loaded and absolutely clamping down teams. Carr and Timmy Allen in particular are playing great.  Help defense has also been tremendous.

Since the KU game in Austin:

Penn State
•    Season: 72 pts, 46.3 FG%, 38.7 3P%
•    Vs. UT: 66 pts, 41.7 FG%, 28.6 3P%

Colgate
•    Season: 78 pts, 51.1 FG%, 40.3 3P%
•    Vs. UT: 61 pts, 41.7 FG%, 28.6 3P%

Kansas 
•    Season: 75.4 pts, 46.8 FG%, 34.7 3P%
•    Vs. UT (Tourney): 56 pts, 41.4 FG%, 23.5 3P%
•    VS UT (Mar 4):  59 pts, 36.2 FG%, 31.8 3P%

TCU
•    Season: 75.3 pts, 45.3 FG%, 31.0 3P%
•    Vs. UT (Tourney): 56 pts, 35.6 FG%, 41.1 3P%

OSU
•    Season: 68.5 pts, 43.1 FG%, 31.4 3P%
•    Vs. UT (Tourney): 47 pts, 26.8 FG%, 14.3 3P%
 

  • Hook 'Em 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

32 minutes ago, HookEm said:

There was a lot of talk about our defensive regression under Terry - both by the numbers and by the "eye test".  While I thought some of that was playing in the Big-12 blood bath, you could see that the effort wasn't QUITE there.  Well, that has changed over the last 6 games. The defense is locked and loaded and absolutely clamping down teams. Carr and Timmy Allen in particular are playing great.  Help defense has also been tremendous.

Since the KU game in Austin:

Penn State
•    Season: 72 pts, 46.3 FG%, 38.7 3P%
•    Vs. UT: 66 pts, 41.7 FG%, 28.6 3P%

Colgate
•    Season: 78 pts, 51.1 FG%, 40.3 3P%
•    Vs. UT: 61 pts, 41.7 FG%, 28.6 3P%

Kansas 
•    Season: 75.4 pts, 46.8 FG%, 34.7 3P%
•    Vs. UT (Tourney): 56 pts, 41.4 FG%, 23.5 3P%
•    VS UT (Mar 4):  59 pts, 36.2 FG%, 31.8 3P%

TCU
•    Season: 75.3 pts, 45.3 FG%, 31.0 3P%
•    Vs. UT (Tourney): 56 pts, 35.6 FG%, 41.1 3P%

OSU
•    Season: 68.5 pts, 43.1 FG%, 31.4 3P%
•    Vs. UT (Tourney): 47 pts, 26.8 FG%, 14.3 3P%
 

Defense

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another thing I have been considering is how the head coaching job is evolving - and how Terry's particular skills might make him more successful somewhere like Texas in 2023 than he was 10 years ago in a different era.  With the transfer portal and NIL, it is a completely different game today.

Big-time programs will be filling their teams with lots of SUCCESSFUL transfer portal players.  Most of these players were "the man" at their mid-major and are now moving up into bigger programs where they have to take lesser roles.  A lot of them are also leaving because they are unhappy.  As such, establishing a team culture is critical.  A culture where the players bond quickly and are playing for each other.   Player development will be important, but less so because many of these players will already be developed.  The key will be developing the TEAM and working with the players to adjust their game accordingly.

This was true to a lesser degree in years past with elite high school players.  Previously a hard-ass coach like Beard was necessary to transition them from being kids to being men.  Also player development was critical because many of the elite players had potential but were raw.  I don't think that is the only way to win today.

I think the challenge now will be to assess the landscape of good older players and see which ones fit the culture. Which ones will agree to coming off the bench like Rice?  Which ones will accept going from being a 20 ppg scorer like Carr to being a defensive stopper / off ball combo guard?

I.e. More of a Phil Jackson than a Greg Popovich type coach.  Get already great players to play great together.

  • Hook 'Em 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was interesting to me in the Poll thread on Terry that so fewer than half thought two wins and the sweet 16 would justify Terry's hire.  My position for a while has been, yes the parts were there, but the outcome could have been horrific after Beard's exit.  And it was at first, in all honestly.  This I think for most people is grossly dismissed as a distant possibility. Go re-watch our struggles ending with a 116 point bitch slap.  

My other main assumption is that I think that replacing Terry after what he has achieved would be more of a negative than a positive.  A position that can certainly be debated.  But the Texas players view him as their coach, and I think we would see an exodus and new rebuilding cycle if he is not hired.  Del Conte certainly, is under no obligation to hire Terry.  But I think right now it's the smartest and lowest risk choice.  Simply as I cannot put the name on paper that would eclipse with a positive vibe, the swell of negative vibes a dismissal might cause.  

Give me the big Splash name hire you think would justify not hiring Terry.  The man took what he had, and made it the best team any of us have seen in a very long time. I think winning tomorrow makes my position impossible to assail (logically). So get on board, and maybe Terry can give us a ride tomorrow and beyond and truly make Texas a basketball school.  He's a good guy, a good coach, and I think he will use this season and the new facilities to do very well on the recruiting trail.

If he fucks up, fire him.  But right now a dismissal would be a negative rather than a positive.  Flame away 1604...

  • Hook 'Em 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/19/2023 at 12:05 PM, Hookem2147 said:

Gerry:

Little nugget ... Tristan Thompson facetimed RT last night a few minutes before RT's pre game speech ... Tristan asked to talk to the team ... Tristan told the team that the Arizona loss is a game that still hurts him, personally. And that Texas let a great opportunity slip away. 

The Texas family is all in helping this team, as much as possible.

That Arizona loss still hurts me too, and I haven’t had a Kardashian licking my taint to ease the pain…

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, horn4life said:

It was interesting to me in the Poll thread on Terry that so fewer than half thought two wins and the sweet 16 would justify Terry's hire.  My position for a while has been, yes the parts were there, but the outcome could have been horrific after Beard's exit.  And it was at first, in all honestly.  This I think for most people is grossly dismissed as a distant possibility. Go re-watch our struggles ending with a 116 point bitch slap.  

My other main assumption is that I think that replacing Terry after what he has achieved would be more of a negative than a positive.  A position that can certainly be debated.  But the Texas players view him as their coach, and I think we would see an exodus and new rebuilding cycle if he is not hired.  Del Conte certainly, is under no obligation to hire Terry.  But I think right now it's the smartest and lowest risk choice.  Simply as I cannot put the name on paper that would eclipse with a positive vibe, the swell of negative vibes a dismissal might cause.  

Give me the big Splash name hire you think would justify not hiring Terry.  The man took what he had, and made it the best team any of us have seen in a very long time. I think winning tomorrow makes my position impossible to assail (logically). So get on board, and maybe Terry can give us a ride tomorrow and beyond and truly make Texas a basketball school.  He's a good guy, a good coach, and I think he will use this season and the new facilities to do very well on the recruiting trail.

If he fucks up, fire him.  But right now a dismissal would be a negative rather than a positive.  Flame away 1604...

I am not disagreeing with anything you said. I just think that the whole “holding the ship together” augment is a bit false. 
I’m not denying that he has done a good job but this is the most player lead, mature and self motivated team I have ever seen. They have been very clear that they are all in on themselves.  A day or so after Beard was suspended Allen said words to the effect of “we are doing this for ourselves and no one else”. 
My point is that these players are a unique group and it is not surprising that they were able to hold it together. 

  • Hook 'Em 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fair, but there are a lot of hard-ass, ego-centric head coaches who would try to bend this "player led, mature team" to their will. Sometimes it results in great teams. Sometimes it breaks them and they crap out early.  If they are indeed player-led, then Terry deserves credit for getting out of their way.

On the flip side, I don't think the players are the ones coaching up Dylan Disu into playing like an All-American / NCAA Tourney MVP.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, HookEm said:

Fair, but there are a lot of hard-ass, ego-centric head coaches who would try to bend this "player led, mature team" to their will. Sometimes it results in great teams. Sometimes it breaks them and they crap out early.  If they are indeed player-led, then Terry deserves credit for getting out of their way.

No doubt.  Now, when he has a younger, less mature team, should he get out of their way?

This squad is like an Izzo national title team, totally battle-tested, ready for anything, really hard to fluster.  That doesn't mean the coach does nothing, we've all commented on RT's feel for calling a late time out and getting things on track, but it also doesn't mean he could out-Cal Calipari with a bunch of freshman blue chips, either.  (Not that Cal hits it out of the park all that often.)

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, Js1 said:

Nothing like coming onto a message board and parroting Bohls' BS, like that gives you some sort of credibility. 

I don't read Bohls, but I'm using the fact that RT hasn't been offered the job. Yet. 

 

Maybe RT is in the driver's seat here and not CDC.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...