Rodney Terry discusses balance between intensity, control in big moments

Things got chippy for a brief spell between Texas and Kansas State on Monday night after Wildcats guard Dai Dai Ames was ejected for an aggressive flagrant foul against Longhorns guard Chendall Weaver. But Texas head coach Rodney Terry didn’t have any problem with his team being fired up.

After Ames fouled Weaver hard from behind on a breakaway layup in front of the Texas bench, the 10 players on the court for both teams converged at the location. Some Texas players rose up off the bench to apparently try and confront Ames.

In the middle of it all were the refs and Texas coaching staff, working to get cooler heads to prevail. And despite the dust up, Terry likes to see that sort of intensity bubble up in his team, just as long as it doesn’t boil over.

“Well I don’t think it was a fight, there were no punches thrown,” Terry said postgame. “There was a little talking back and forth, but no situation where any guys were close to really getting in to some things. I think everything was really kind of — we defused the situation pretty quickly with everybody around. But those plays happen, they happen at every level. And I think you can’t let the emotion take over in those type of situations. You have to continue to keep your head and continue to stay in the game.”

Ames was ejected for the foul, which was deemed a Flagrant 2. Weaver, after landing awkwardly, got up and was fine to continue playing.

Texas ultimately got the win, 62-56, to keep making a case to get in the NCAA Tournament off the bubble. And to get the win, the Longhorns had to keep their cool in a moment when it would’ve been easy to act rashly, and in a way that cost the team significantly.

“Those are just a hard, physical foul,” Terry said. “Not wanting to give up an easy play and hopefully we would react the same way if it was on the other end down there. Hopefully they would want to defuse the situation as well. I had no problem stepping in, trying to defuse my guys away from the situation as well as their guys and just saying, ‘Hey guys, let’s just keep playing. No harm, no foul. Let’s just keep working this game. It’s been a well-played game. Let’s keep our heads and keep playing.'”