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IT Week in Review: Remembering Cliff Gustafson, credit to Rodney Terry, thoughts on John Calipari, Trey Owens commits

Joe Cookby:Joe Cook•01/15/23•

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Cliff Gustafson (Joe Cook/Inside Texas)

The Inside Texas Week in Review covers the celebration of life for Longhorn baseball head coach Cliff Gustafson, Rodney Terry’s work as interim head coach of Texas men’s basketball, an assessment of some jokes about John Calipari, and Trey Owens’ commitment to Texas

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Cliff Gustafson

On Thursday, several hundred fans and Texas baseball dignitaries gathered at UFCU Disch-Falk Field at the celebration of life for longtime Longhorn baseball head coach Cliff Gustafson.

Gustafson passed at the age of 91 recently, and some of the best of the best from the Longhorn baseball program were on hand Thursday at what Tommy Harmon called a “typical Disch-Falk day” to celebrate No. 18.

Harmon was among many who noted the impact Gus had in their lives. He mentioned a few recruiting stories, including one where Gus told a prospect “if you go to A&M, you will wonder the rest of your life if you could have played at Texas. And if you go to Texas, you’ll never wonder if you could play at A&M.”

He mentioned how Bibb Falk, Gustafson’s predecessor poured the foundation for the program so that Gustafson could build a “cathedral” in the Disch.

Other Longhorn legends like Burt Hooton, Keith Moreland, Ty Harrington, and Brooks Kieschnick spoke at the event, where the current Longhorn team watched in uniform from the first-base dugout.

Hooton said, “we didn’t come here just to play baseball and have a good time. We were expected to win and carry on the Texas winning tradition. He didn’t just leave that on our laps. He was the best at preparing us to be winners.”

Moreland called Gus a “mentor and a teacher.”

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Harrington said, “all the stories that everybody talks about, the legendary peanut butter and honey, all these things are true. He was a man of routine, and he did the same thing often because it worked for him and it worked for him well.”

Kieschnick relayed a story about his recruitment. One of the best two-way players in college baseball history was once committed to Mississippi State. He received a call from one of Gustafson’s assistants, and Kieschnick said thanks, but no thanks.

Then, he got a call from Gustafson himself. Gustafson said, if you had an opportunity to buy a Cadillac for $20,000 or an opportunity to buy a Cadillac for $15,000, which would you choose?

Kieschnick gave the obvious answer. Gustafson responded, “exactly, I’m offering you a better deal. You need to come to the University of Texas.” Now, Kieschnick’s number, along with Hooton’s and Moreland’s are retired by the Longhorn baseball program.

Gustafson’s No. 18 is not officially retired. But no one has worn it since Gus retired. And no one ever will.

Scott Shepperd, Gustafson’s oldest grandson, delivered excellent comments before asking attendees to head to Gustafson Pavilion for peanut butter and honey sandwiches, Lays chips, and iced tea.

To cap it all off, Shepperd put it best.

“No one was a bigger Longhorn than my grandfather.”

John Calipari

A Lexington, Ky. local appears to have been inspired by a rowdy Alabama student section’s dig at both Kentucky and Texas during the Crimson Tide’s 78-52 win over the Wildcats on January 7.

A man ventured to Rupp Arena with a sign that read “Please Go to Texas,” an obvious sign of frustration with the man in charge of the disappointing 11-6 Wildcats, John Calipari. He (the man, not Calipari) was escorted out of the arena midway during UK’s Tuesday night game with South Carolina.

Lucky guy.

Kentucky ended up losing to the Gamecocks 71-68, possibly the lowest point for a Wildcat program that has been the target of shot after shot in recent weeks. The powerhouse program is considered a bubble team after the Quadrant 4 loss to USC, even with the reigning national player of the year in Oscar Tshiebwe on the squad.

“Are the fans mad? They should be,” Calipari said. “We lost at home. We don’t lose at home. We lost at home and we were down ten at half. I expect fans to be mad. And we have the best fans and I love our fans. I know they may be mad at me right now. But I’ve been here a long time teaching and working and having our fans be a big part of this. And all I’m saying is, just be with these kids. They need you now more than they need you when they’re 4-0. They need you.”

All Cal got was snark.

College basketball insider Jeff Goodman, who for the record broke the news of Beard to Texas in 2021 and made sure to travel to Texas Tech last year for Beard’s return to Lubbock, wrote on Wednesday that it’s time for Calipari and Kentucky to make an amicable split.

While Big Blue Nation might want Cal to head to Texas, Goodman warned against that: “There are wiser options for (Chris) Del Conte in Austin. If he has any questions, he should just call Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart.”

Aside from the performance, financials could preclude Texas from trying to swipe the once-lauded head coach. But performance is the main issue.

To Kentucky’s credit, they fought on Saturday to win at Tennessee (in the days following a players only meeting). I’m not always one to harp on players only meetings being a bad thing or a sign of something being wrong. Let’s be honest here, though, Kentucky is always among the most talented teams in the country, plus they have the reigning player of the year on the squad no less. It has gotten to the point where that was needed… which means Cal’s influence wasn’t needed for the players to attempt to right their ship.

Even with all the top recruiting classes and decade-old title, it does truly look like the game has passed Cal by from an offensive standpoint. That’ll make Cal to Texas a tough task for anyone to see through, considering that though Chris Beard wasn’t on the cutting edge of offense, he had a more modern approach to scoring.

That written, it’s humorous to see the Longhorns be a part of the conversation surrounding a hemorrhaging blue blood. Especially as the Longhorns are in the top 10 and winning in Big 12 play.

Rodney Terry

With just under two months until the beginning of the postseason, ruminating on whether Rodney Terry will become the permanent head coach of the Longhorn men’s basketball program is a waste of time. The remainder of the season, and the market of available coaches, will be the biggest determining factors on Terry’s status as head coach.

Terry’s job so far in the wake of Beard’s December 12 suspension and his eventual termination still has been nothing short of spectacular. There are always going to be individual nits to pick, and sometimes there are 116 nits to pick, but through a very turbulent time Terry has led a veteran team to a 4-1 mark in Big 12 Conference play.

Terry’s guidance of late has helped the Longhorns stage come-from-behind wins from double-digit deficits against the Horned Frogs and the Red Raiders.

“We just needed to play more assertive,” Terry said Saturday. “We need to make more decisive plays. We need to go into the paint, we need to go in there, be decisive, and go in there and make a play for ourselves or for our teammate. We were just a little timid to start the game, and we didn’t need to play that way. We say we wanted to be a team that came out and just really played in attack mode on both ends of the floor.”

The come-from-behind approach isn’t particularly sustainable, especially as the Longhorns embark on a two-game road trip this week.

But aside from a one-game aberration versus Kansas State, Terry has guided Texas through tumultuous times and has kept the season-long goals of the program within sight even after Chris Beard’s dismissal.

It may not lead to him getting the permanent job, but it is deserving of praise for truly embodying the common “next man up” mentality prevalent in coaching.

Trey Owens

Remember Julian Sayin? The 2024 quarterback prospect was very, very interested in Texas and playing for Steve Sarkisian… until Arch Manning committed to Texas’ 2023 class.

Quarterbacks with a (justified) lofty view of their abilities don’t look for opportunities to sit on the bench; they look for the place that provides the best combination of development and early playing time.

Quinn Ewers plus Maalik Murphy plus Manning is a tough three-man lineup for a freshman (or sophomore) from the 2024 class to crack. So Steve Sarkisian, AJ Milwee, and the other offensive coaches sought a prospect who possessed the attributes they value most but who understood time was needed to develop them into a finished product.

Enter Trey Owens. The Longhorns earned his commitment last week, and at a great time no less with the Longhorns hosting a junior day next week.

Owens currently ranks as an On3 Consensus three-star and the No. 462 prospect in the nation. For comparison, the On3 Consensus called Murphy a prospect with a 91.70 rating in the 2022 class.

Early playing time will be tough to come by for Owens, but that’s something he understood ahead of his decision. Should he develop into the best version of himself, he’ll be a big-armed pocket passer who can distribute the ball while also having the ability to hit deep shots.

Sarkisian did well to grab a prospect like Owens, who also aspired to play for the University of Texas, to add to the 2024 class at an opportune time.

Shoutout to…

Charles Omenihu

Omenihu recorded two sacks, a tackle for loss, and a quarterback hit during the 49ers’ wild card win over Seattle. Often working opposite of Nick Bosa, Omenihu has become one of the more reliable players for fellow Longhorn Kyle Shanahan as the 49ers look to make a run to the NFC championship and Super Bowl.

Logan Eggleston

If Ivan Melendez was the best male Longhorn athlete during the 2022 calendar year, Logan Eggleston was the best female athlete. The national player of the year capped her historic career with a national championship victory. Eggleston will likely see her jersey in the Gregory Gym rafters in the coming years, and rightfully so.

Professional opportunities for women’s volleyball players exist mostly in Europe, and Eggleston recently began her pro career with Galatasaray in Turkey.

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