Longhorns Interim Coach Named Coach of the Year

AUSTIN, TX — Longhorns Interim Head Basketball Coach Rodney Terry has been named the Sporting News Coach of the Year. The former associate coach stepped in as the interim head coach after the Austin Police Department arrested former head coach Chris Beard on 3rd-degree felony domestic violence charges.

The former head coach of the UTEP Miners took the opportunity given to him and led the Longhorns to a top-10 finish in the AP Polls, a 28-3 record, and a runner-up finish in the Big 12 standings. While, at times, the Longhorns looked shaky on their feet, Terry guided the Longhorns to five ranked wins in Big 12 play. His most impressive win was a 75-59 thumping of the Big 12 Champions, Kansas Jayhawks, in the Longhorns’ regular season finale. 

"I’ve got a really good staff that has a lot of experience; two guys that have been head coaches—they really helped in that transition as well," Terry said via Sporting News. From that point on, we tried to really get the guys to buy into: We’re going to control what we can control, and we’re going to try to have the kind of season we thought we’d have from the start.”

Terry has certainly made a case for himself to retain the head coaching job and remove the interim from his title, but the Longhorns’ performance in the Big 12 tournament and the Big Dance might still hold sway over his fate. He helped set up the Longhorns for victory in the conference tournament by earning a first-round bye. The tournament began on Wednesday, March 8.

The Longhorns play their first matchup in the Big 12 Tournament on Thursday, March 9, against the winner of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.