Rodney Terry reveals secret to success as interim coach at Texas

Rodney Terry may still have the interim tag as the head coach of Texas but he is definitely drawing some National Coach of the Year attention for his work with the Longhorns. Since taking over for Chris Beard, Terry has steadied a ship that ver easily could have sank.

He said the secret to his success are the people are him.

“I’ve got a great staff behind me,” Terry said after defeating Kansas over the weekend. “From day one, we added a couple of new guys to our staff and we’ve had great chemistry. We talk about our team having great chemistry, but our staff’s had great chemistry. No one come in with an ego. Everybody’s just working as hard as they can work. Everybody’s doing their job at an elite level, doing more than sometimes asked in terms of not just X’s and O’s, but you have to have relationships with players and relationships with teams.”

Texas finished the regular season with a 23-8 record and 12-6 mark in the Big 12, which is considered the toughest conference in the country this season.

Terry rejoined the Texas staff in 2021 after 10 years as a head coach at Fresno State and UTEP.

“I think our staffs done an incredible job fostering great relationships with this year’s team,” Terry said. “We can quickly bounce a guy back by spending time with them because we’ve invested a lot into not just in the office or on the court, but we’ve had them in our homes. We spend really quality time. We go to lunch with them. They know we care about them much more than just basketball. I think that’s been really something that we’ve been able to lead and hang our hat on this year working with this group and staying the course.”

Where Rodney Terry’s Texas team lines up in Big 12 Tournament

Here is the final standings for the Big 12 heading into the conference tournament.

1. Kansas | 25-6 (13-5)
2. Texas | 23-8 (12-6)
3. Kansas State | 23-8 (11-7)
4. Baylor | 22-9 (11-7) 
5. Iowa State | 18-12 (9-9)
6. TCU | 20-11 (9-9)
7. Oklahoma State | 17-14 (8-10)
8. West Virginia | 18-13 (7-11)
9. Texas Tech | 16-15 (5-13) 
10. Oklahoma | 15-16 (5-13)

Texas will open on Thursday against the winner of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

First Round: Wed., March 8
Game 1: (8) West Virginia vs. (9) Texas Tech | 6 p.m.
Game 2: (7) Oklahoma State vs. (10) Oklahoma | 8:30 p.m.
Quarterfinals: Thurs., March 9
Game 3: (4) Baylor vs. (5) Iowa State | 11:30 a.m.
Game 4: (1) Kansas vs. Game 1 winner | 2 p.m.
Game 5: (2) Texas vs. Game 2 winner | 6 p.m.
Game 6: (3) Kansas State vs. (6) TCU | 8:30 p.m.
Semifinals: Fri., March 10
Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner | 6 p.m.
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner | 8:30 p.m.
Championship: Sat., March 11
Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner | 7 p.m.