Rodney Terry shed the interim tag at Texas months ago. The Longhorns are his team now and could be for a long time.
His first full-time roster has a lot of new faces for the program's last spin through the Big 12 before No. 18 Texas joins the Southeastern Conference next year. Texas returns four players from last season's regular rotation and adds several key transfers headed by guard Max Abmas from Oral Roberts, one of the top scorers in the country.
Terry was still the interim coach in the wake of the early-season firing of Chris Beard when he led Texas to the Elite Eight last season. It was the Longhorns' deepest run in the NCAA Tournament in 15 years, and he was quickly rewarded with a five-year, $15.3 million contract.
“Still living the dream,” Terry said. “Every day is a dream.”
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But it was almost like the work was just starting. Recruits defected, starters tested their NBA draft status, and key reserves transferred.
In effect, Terry had to do what head coaches must do almost every year in the modern era of college basketball: quickly rebuild and win. That new contract carries the expectation that he will.
“We had one guy when the season ended that said, ‘Hey, I’m definitely coming back’ in Brock Cunningham, a guy who made a lot of winning plays for us last year, but one guy," Terry said. "From that point on, I think you had to, again, take a deep breath, kind of sit back, and try to re-recruit some of your guys back.”
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Open roster spots meant room for new players to come in. Others had to decide to stay put. Guard Tyrese Hunter and forward Dillon Mitchell tested their draft status but opted to stick with college for another season.
Part of Terry's pitch to keep players and bring in new ones is the dream of taking Texas to the next step: the Final Four.
“We're hungry to try to do that,” Terry said. “One thing we haven't been able to do at Texas is win a national championship in (men's) basketball. I tell our guys every day, the team that does that is a team that's going to be revered.”
SHOOTER'S TOUCH
Abmas was one of the top transfers in the nation after last season after four years at Oral Roberts. He led the nation in scoring as a sophomore and averaged nearly 22 points last season. He made a splash in the 2021 NCAA Tournament when he led No. 15-seed Oral Roberts to wins over No. 2 Ohio State and No. 7 Florida. Terry calls Abmas an “”elite" scorer.
“We needed that,” Terry said. “We want the same version of Max as Oral Roberts."
Terry also landed transfer guard Chendall Weaver from UT-Arlington, last season's WAC freshman of the year after averaging 9.5 points.
HARDLY KNEW YA
Texas needed to score big time in the transfer portal in part because two top recruits out of high school opted to turn pro: Ron Holland signed with the NBA's G League, and A.J. Johnson joined Australia's NBL. That left Texas scrambling, and the Longhorns were able to sign former Kansas recruit Chris Johnson and LSU recruit Devon Pryor.
“The thing you are fighting with the one-year roster is time," Terry said, to build something quick that can also last. "You’re trying to make up as much time up as you can."
WAITING ON BIG MEN
Texas may be waiting a while for forwards Dylan Disu and Kadin Shedrick, who both are both still recovering from injuries last season. The 6-foot-9 Disu led Texas in scoring in the postseason but a foot injury that eventually needed surgery kept him out of the Elite Eight loss to Miami. The 6-11 Shedrick had procedures done on both shoulders since transferring from Virginia. Both are expected to miss early games or see limited playing time.
OLD MAN CUNNINGHAM
With all the new faces, Cunningham is the old man of the program in his sixth season on the court. Cunningham took advantage of the extra-year of eligibility granted by the NCAA during the pandemic and is enrolled in graduate school. Cunningham averaged 18 minutes and 4.6 points last season in a career defined by his role as a defensive disruptor.
SCHEDULE
Texas opens the season at home Nov. 6 against Incarnate Word and has a matchup with future SEC opponent LSU in Houston. The Longhorns' final season in the Big 12 starts at home Jan. 6 against Texas Tech. Texas plays Kansas just once but gets two games against new Big 12 member Houston.
