Rodney Terry explains how being a head coach is different for him this time

Just like anything else in life, opportunities in the future can be near impossible to predict. That’s especially the case when it comes to landing a head coaching job in college basketball. For Texas Longhorns head basketball coach Rodney Terry, he knew that if he got another chance to be the head man of another college basketball program, he was going to handle things differently. About a month ago, he took some time at his press conference to speak about the lessons he learned at his previous head coaching stints with Fresno State and UTEP, and how he’s going to apply them to the Longhorns’ current roster.

Rodney Terry learned a tremendous amount

“That’s a great question. I think a lot of times in the ten years that I was the head coach there, you’re literally just working so hard. And I went into situations where they were total rebuilds. And so, even as you got the program where you wanted it, you still were just fighting every day to continue to try to keep the program there. And I think I never really got the chance to enjoy it. You know, as you were building and you had a level of success. You still just really didn’t enjoy it. I have a lot of great mentors that I lean on every single day,” Terry said.

“Jerry Wainwright gave me an opportunity at Wilmington. Harry Miller gave me my first opportunity at Baylor University. And obviously, Rick [Barnes], but those guys always said to me, enjoy the moment. Enjoy the ride. It sounds a whole lot easier than to actually do but having the chance to step back that one year. Made me put a lot of things into perspective. And I vowed to myself that if I got another opportunity to be a head coach, I was gonna be Rodney Terry, you guys call me RT,” the Texas men’s head basketball coach said.

“And they were gonna see a whole different side of me. I was gonna have fun. I was gonna enjoy every day. I was gonna smile….We’re gonna coach hard. Hold guys accountable. But, I’m gonna enjoy the process of doing it. I’m gonna laugh. I’m gonna joke with my guys. And they get a chance to see the real RT. Some of my teams you know, early on, especially at Fresno State and some at UTEP, didn’t see the real RT. Because I was so driven hard in terms of wanting to be successful and wanting our teams to be really good. I don’t think I got a chance to do that,” Terry said.

He’s grateful for another head coaching opportunity and to show that he’s learned from his previous stops in the college basketball realm.

“And this time, my demeanor is going to be totally different. I was gonna be more poised. More calm. And handle our guys a lot differently in terms of being a leader. And I thank God for giving me the opportunity and giving me the chance to make that change. So, that’s been the biggest change in myself in terms of working with teams, this team in particular,” the Longhorns head man said.

Terry was the head coach at Fresno State and UTEP for a combined 10 seasons. His overall head coaching record is 185-164 in 11 years. Terry has 28 years total of college basketball coaching experience, including nine years as an assistant under Rick Barnes at Texas (2002-2011). Last season, he was in his second season of being the associate head coach under Chris Beard before being promoted to the interim head coaching position for the Longhorns. He won National Coach of the Year honors from the Sporting News, after he guided the ‘Horns to their first Elite Eight appearance since 2008.