Rodney Terry talks success from 2022-23, how he’s building his roster
Longhorn men’s basketball head coach Rodney Terry joined Inside Texas for an exclusive offseason interview that recaps Texas’ 2022-23 campaign and looks ahead to this season, the Longhorns’ last in the Big 12 Conference.
[Join Inside Texas today and get the best Texas Longhorns insider team info and recruiting intel!]
Terry, who coached the Longhorns to their first appearance in the Elite Eight since 2008 in an interim role after the midseason firing of Chris Beard, was elevated to the head position in late March.
“Having been here before, having come aboard with Coach Beard as co-head coach and already coaching the other side of the ball defensively the year prior and going into this season helped in the transition,” Terry said.
“You know I was used to being in front of the team, the team was used to me coaching and talking. Had I been just down the bench and not coaching the team, not in front of the guys on a regular basis already, I think it probably would have been a little bit more difficult.”
Terry was asked how he was able to successfully manage the change and handle the challenge of picking up the pieces and focusing the team.
“I lost my father this past year and he was a 40-year high school coach,” Terry said. “And then my mom, who’s a Christian lady, always instilled in me to be very humble. And as a matter of fact, humility is one of the pillars of our program right now – to always be humble and be respectful of others and treat people with respect and you’ll earn respect.
“I just kind of always carried myself that way. I’ve always had some great mentors in my life as well.”
Top 10
- 1New
Purdue fires OC
Boilermakers let go of offensive coordinator Graham Harrell
- 2Trending
Bama Ranked No. 1
AP Poll Top 25 Rankings released after Week 5 of College Football
- 3
Coaches Poll shake up
Updated Coaches Poll Top 25
- 4Hot
Ryan Williams trolls UGA
Alabama freshman WR changes profile picture after beating Georgia
- 5
Travis Hunter
Deion Sanders reacts to Travis Hunter Heisman pose, award candidacy
Terry hit the ground running after accepting the head coaching position. He kept a key core of players from last year’s team and enticed five talented players to the 40 Acres from the transfer portal. Guard Tyrese Hunter, forward Dylan Disu, and forward Dillon Mitchell also decided to return to the Longhorns.
“It’s a one-year roster that you’re putting together,” Terry said. “I think over the course of 10 years previous head coaching experience, you lean on some of what you learned in terms of putting teams together. Again, you don’t ever get too high and don’t ever get too low. Try to have an even keel; sometimes it’s easier said than done.
“I think you have to have the same approach in recruiting as when you’re putting together a roster. You want high-character guys that want to be good players, and then they’ve got to be good fit for what we’re trying to do as an organization.
“We had almost 2,000 basketball student athletes in the in the portal and I think you have to be very selective. At Texas we can be very selective in terms of who we want and who we really want to try to go after. You’re gonna have some success and then you’re gonna have some failures and you have some guys that you miss on as well. But at the end of the day, it all works out and you end up getting the guys you really want and then more importantly, they’re the right fit for what you’re trying to get done and for us as a staff to work with.”
Terry also answers questions about the style of play the Longhorns will employ in the upcoming season and many other things, so go check out the video in its entirety.
