Rodney Terry discusses his vision, how much carries over from what Chris Beard built

Rodney Terry found himself in a difficult position last season. After Chris Beard won over 76% of his games over his 42 games with Texas, Terry had to take over for him, and did so exceptionally, after the school relieved Beard of his duties just eight games into the year.

Now comes the next part as, from here, Texas’ program is Terry’s to make into his own image. However, in an interview on ‘The Field of 68’ last week, he said that they can’t leave everything behind that Beard instilled while in Austin. He helped create a dedicated following for their team over his tenure. With him in charge now, Terry says it’s on him to keep that energy alive on The 40 Acres.

“I think, collectively as a staff, it really was (put into motion). Obviously, give Chris a lot of credit. He spearheaded a great deal of that in terms of really trying to get really good interaction with the fanbase, our students in particular on campus, and trying to create a home court,” Terry said. “I thought it was very beneficial for us last season. We opened a new building – The Moody Center. And we didn’t take it for granted that people just wanted to show up and be in the new center. I thought we did a great job, and he did a great job, working alongside our marketing department to really get people excited about Texas basketball, in particular on our home court.”

“But, no question, we really built a great infrastructure of our culture. And what we do every day (under Coach Beard),” said Terry.

As far as what he himself wants to focus on as head coach? Terry shifted more towards an answer centered around player development. With the help of the program’s updated practice facility, he believes that that goal is more than attainable as he heads into his first full year leading the way.

“We also opened up a new practice facility this past year,” said Terry. “It’s been great for our guys, it’s been great for recruiting. But, again, just the home that we have. We can come in and take a lot of pride in developing our players. And it’s kind of a one-stop shop where we can get everything accomplished that we need to in this building.”

“Player development? We’ve always hung our hat on. From the time that our guys get to campus to the time they leave,” Terry said. “They’re better players, they’re better people. And, hopefully, they’re on their path to where they want to go from a professional standpoint in the game of basketball.”

With Terry at the helm, the Longhorns went 22-8 in ’22-’23. That included a Big 12 Tournament title and a finish in the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.

Still, while Terry did much of the work the rest of the way, the foundation was still built upon what Beard did before his firing. That’s why many are as interested as they are in how Terry reconstructs the program in how he wants to accomplish the job in the future.