Texas players make case for Rodney Terry to remain head coach

Through a successful season for the Texas Longhorns, one major question looms. Who will be the team’s next head men’s basketball coach? If Texas players had a say, current interim head coach Rodney Terry would be the man for the job.

Terry began the season as an assistant coach on Chris Beard’s staff, but he was promoted to the interim role after Beard’s dismissal early in the season. Despite the coaching change, it’s been a year to remember for Texas and Terry has been a big part of that.

This weekend, Terry led the Longhorns to a Big 12 Tournament championship. Texas defeated Oklahoma State and No. 22 TCU on Thursday and Friday before completely dominating against No. 3 Kansas, winning 76-56 to win the conference title.

After the game, some of Texas’ biggest stars made it clear that Terry deserves the full-time gig after what he’s done at Texas this year.

For Marcus Carr, it’s really simple.

“Watch the game we just played and every single game we played this season,” Carr said postgame on Saturday.

Other Texas players are very appreciative for Terry

By beating Kansas to secure the Big 12 Tournament title, Texas improved to 26-8 overall on the season. The Longhorns went 12-6 during the regular season against Big 12 opponents, entering the tournament as the conference’s second seed.

The season has been one filled with adversity. Coaching changes aren’t easy, especially not ones that happen midseason and for the reasons that it did at Texas. But Terry’s ability to be a calming force for the program had immense value.

“If you watch the locker room afterwards, a lot of praise going to RT,” Sir’Jabari Rice said. “Just everything that we’ve been through, I mean, for us to get to this point right now, especially to win it is like — it’s not us. We’re playing the game but our preparation comes from him, so everything is RT.”

Even when things got tough for Texas, Terry’s approach didn’t change. It didn’t matter whether the Longhorns won or lost, Terry’s message stayed the same.

“My two cents is his appreciation for every day. You can be coming off a bad loss or a great win, but he’s going to appreciate the day and have a good attitude going into that day, and that’s huge,” said Brock Cunningham.

While a lot of talk is surrounding the full-time job at Texas, Terry and the Longhorns still have basketball left to play. Their finish in the upcoming NCAA Tournament could ultimately play a pivotal role in Terry’s candidacy, giving him even more juice to coach his team to a deep run in March.