CBS Sports is reporting that Chris Beard will follow Shaka Smart as head basketball coach at Texas. Don't want to get too excited, but I am pumped.
Beards highlights as a head coach. Dang he has some serious credentials. Dude is a straight up winner everywhere he goes. Overall record 207-84 .711 winning percentage 9-3 in NCAA Tournaments 2-1 in NCAA D2 Tournaments 2019 NCAA National Championship Game 2019 Big 12 regular season champions 2016 Sun Belt regular season champions 2016 Sun Belt Tournament champions 2019 AP National Coach of the Year 2019 CBS Sports Coach of the Year 2018 & 2019 Big 12 Coach of the Year 2016 Sun Belt Coach of the Year 2015 Lone Star Coach of the Year
Everyone I know that went to Beard's High School and U.T. is a winner......just saying....and not joking
While we are bragging by association, it appears Beard and I started UT at the same time (1991). I didn’t know he was a student assistant to Penders. Little known tidbit, due to transfer of ownership issues, I shared a condo for one semester with Pender’s niece, Suzie (we were moving in and they were moving out) in Fall 1994 or Spring 1995. Similarly weird, at NC State, I had a pseudo girlfriend for a semester, who was roommates with Jim Valvano’s daughter. Both (Penders and Valvano) were quite normal.
I know you were joking, but it gets better. Below is his record everywhere he's coached including the ABA. People can complain about his teams "boring offensive style" but he's a proven winner. Ft Scott CC 19-12 (first winning record in 8 years) Seminole State CC 25-6 South Carolina Warriors (ABA) 29-2 (ABA Championship game) McMurray University 19-10 (NCAA regional finalist) Angelo State 47-15 (D2 3rd round) Arkansas State Little Rock 30-5 (NCAA second round) Texas Tech 112-55 (NCAA Elite 8, Championship game, second round)
Obviously a very good coach maybe even great coach, but as I like offensive up tempo basketball I am not happy with the hire. This will return me to the Rick Barnes era where I will only watch the team when they get to the sweet 16. Hopefully, it will be often. Before you ask, I consider the Pender years to be the “golden era” of UT basketball; although, I fully realize that the Barnes era was easily the best era in terms of record and quality play. I just find great defensive basketball with strong fundamentals to be boring. Give me the running horns; otherwise, I find college basketball too boring to watch.
I only disagree with the last couple of sentences. I like to watch the Horns win. Especially when they play teams where they are clearly more talented. If they play really well and lose to a superior team I can live with it. But I think Beard will get the best out of them. And I think they will be fundamentally sound. Which will translate to winning a lot of games.
I loved the Tournament Tom era. He had a standout assistant coach Vic Trilli, who may have gotten into some trouble after he left UT, that was known as a top notch player developer. Tournament Tom and Vic Trilli squeezed a lot out of the talent they had onboard—especially in the early years.
As long as the game doesn’t ditch the shot clock and return to the UNC 4 corners era, I don’t care if we’re up tempo or not, as long as we win.
As great as UT basketball is, it’s about to get even better. I don’t know how I’ll contain myself next season.
I loved me some Abe Lemons in the 70s and early 80s. Not so much his coaching as his down home humor....a funny, funny guy. Although, he was a pretty decent coach ... 2 regular season conference championships. Would have been much better one of those years if Mike Wacker (son of TCU football coach Jim Wacker) hadn't gone down with a knee injury after the Horns started off 14 and 0, and ranked 5th at the time. A typical quote from Abe; "Doctors bury their mistakes, but mine are still on scholarship." Back on topic, I just want the horns to win baby. I love great defense so Chris Beard is very welcome as far as I'm concerned. The fact that he has ties to The University of Texas makes this a perfect hire. Hook'em
Tech just needs to learn that they get to keep any coach we allow them to keep. And Tech should be grateful that we have no interest in their coaches most of the time. But when we do have serious interest? Well, We're Texas.
Looks like Beard is bringing Chris Ogden back as an assistant. UT-Arlington head coach Chris Ogden to join Chris Beard’s staff at Texas, reports say
This is where I'm a hybrid. I like great athletes playing sound ball. They never frustrate me with effort or positioning or stupid decision making, but they do some exciting stuff on offense even if it's individual more than ten offense. What I hate most is yelling at the TV. Lol and I find I mostly yell at effort and stupidity on defense, as well as no effort/bad shot selection from outside. So if he's defensively sound, the players are fundamentally prepared, and he recruits outstanding athletes, I'll be just fine.