Beard vs Terry Comparisons...

LHABSOB

LHABSOB

1,000+ Posts
I know it is inevitable that this season will be marked by Beard's firing and resulting Terry comparisons but I think we have to be a little bit realistic here.

Terry was hired to be an assistant to Beard and was thrown into the role midseason with zero anticipation or preparation for it. All in all, it appears he has kept the team united and focused which in and of itself is a huge accomplishment if true. This team is currently 13-3 and hitting a tough stretch in the most competitive conference in NCAA basketball. Did anyone think the team would be 16-0 right now under Beard? Don't forget that Beard was the coach when we lost to Illinois a team that is currently 4-3 in the Big Ten with losses to Northwestern, Missouri and Penn St.

Are the slow starts in the TCU and Tech games frustrating? Heck yeah they are but the team came back and won both of those games. I just don't think every time this team makes a boneheaded play, goes on a scoreless streak, has another team hit a hot streak, etc that we can say 'Oh that wouldn't have happened if Beard were the coach'. Don't forget Beard went 22-12 and 10-8 last year as our coach of a team with arguably similar talent to this year's team.

Beard is gone, Terry is our coach, if he succeeds and takes this team on a deep post season run then great; if he doesn't then we will have a new coach next year. But let's not jump at every opportunity we have to say 'Oh if Beard were the coach...'
 
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Yea that bugs me a lot too! It’s a bit too easy to say it whether it’s true or not. It would be like saying the quick start against ISU would not have happened under Beard. It’s what you call a cheap shot
 
Yep. We still don't know if Terry will work out as a long term head coach, but we should know by the end of the season. Let him have his shot.
 
If Terry wins and retains our recruits and brings in more 4/5 stars then sounds good to me. He has to show that players want to come play for him.
 
Ok, there are a lot of general terms about RT's success or not. Is it possible to agree on what is or isn't considered a successful season?

I would personally say considering he was given the keys to a ferrari a 10-6 in conference record and a sweet 16 appearance is the lowest bar. I would have anticipated more from Beard but would have accepted this. 8-8 or 9-7 probably would have been a questionable result and grumbling unless he made a deep tourney run.
 
Terry needs to slap some seriousness into the team. Never had to worry about that with Beard.
 
mchammer said:
Terry needs to slap some seriousness into the team. Never had to worry about that with Beard.
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Slap or choke. Either of those seem to be right up Beard's alley.

Terry does need to light a fire under his ***. After the sequence where Dillon got undercut on the rebound and the gesture to the bench after the 3 pointer on the other end should have led to him running on the court and getting a T. His team needed to see that then.
 
This is just not the same team under terry that it was under beard. Guess time will tell but no one is entitled to the job. Yes the b12 is the toughest basketball conference this year without an argument. Texas does not have the same fire it had under beard so that is a concern. Terry has a history of 500 coaching. He will get a little bump from inheriting a super talented Texas team but that doesnt justify blinders to his history of coaching.
 
We play 18 conference games, not 16. And we're probably going to finish 9-9 in conference.

There are coaches out there who can top that who aren't necessarily on Beard's level but can definitely go head to head with Terry.
 
To even be considered, top 4 conference finish, Sweet Sixteen, retain and bring in some top recruits. (Obviously in this day & age there will be some transfers but a mass exodus should be a death knell).

I haven’t noticed any cheerleading for RT. Some of us think he should be considered if he meets certain parameters this season, but that’s hardly an endorsement for the job permanently.
 
longhornlegend said:
This is just not the same team under terry that it was under beard.
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The beard team that had to go to OT to beat Rice on our new home court and the beard team that pulled away late to beat Stanford by 10? Stanford is 1-9 in the Pac12 and 12th out of 12 in the conference.

I'm not a Terry lover and think we can upgrade next year. Actually I would have liked to see them give Ogden a shot vs Terry but he was also a .500 coach at UTA.

I'm just tired of the "if Beard were still here talk".
 
Chop said:
Yep. We still don't know if Terry will work out as a long term head coach, but we should know by the end of the season. Let him have his shot.
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He's getting his shot. No one has to "let him have his shot." It's happening. This season is his shot.

To ask people to stop commenting on the performance of the team or his coaching is unrealistic. Fans commented on Beard. They (we) comment on every coach. That is what this forum is for.
:hookem::hookem: :beertoast:
 
caryhorn said:
He's getting his shot. No one has to "let him have his shot." It's happening. This season is his shot.

To ask people to stop commenting on the performance of the team or his coaching is unrealistic. Fans commented on Beard. They (we) comment on every coach. That is what this forum is for.
:hookem::hookem: :beertoast:
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If he wins 2 tourney games this season, he’s in the top 3 coaches of UT.
 
caryhorn said:
He's getting his shot. No one has to "let him have his shot."
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Yes, he is getting his shot. Two games in, there were posters here who were making statements about Terry "not being capable", not being the right guy to lead the program.

Thus, give him is shot means let the damned season play out before coming to such a conclusion. That's it. It is said as a response to knowitall armchair coaches (who may or may not be correct).
 
caryhorn said:
He's getting his shot. No one has to "let him have his shot." It's happening. This season is his shot.

To ask people to stop commenting on the performance of the team or his coaching is unrealistic. Fans commented on Beard. They (we) comment on every coach. That is what this forum is for.
:hookem::hookem: :beertoast:
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I don’t remember asking people to stop commenting.
:popcorn:
:beertoast:
 
longhornlegend said:
I watched terry on the show with Craig Way this week. Very unimpressed. That is a deer in the headlights look.
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Hell ya! That’s how we want to measure the success of a coach- by whether we are impressed in the media experiences. You might want to skip all the Bill Belichick appearances.
 
Chop said:
I don’t remember asking people to stop commenting.
:popcorn:
:beertoast:
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I misunderstood. Thought you were implying that posters should not be critical of Terry. Which is your right to that; as well as it is their right to criticize away.
Forums have a tendency to bring out all sorts of points of view. That’s why I love this website.
:coolnana::coolnana:
 
Congratulations Horns on a hard fought win in a very hostile environment. Terry and his players were excellent.
 
Are you sure they were excellent? Maybe it was Terry's "deer in the headlights" look that fooled WVU into complacency, thinking we were an easy target.
 
Man, you guys grade on a tough curve!

If I knew that the perfect coach would fall into our laps during the offseason, then yeah, I would hesitate to keep Terry unless he excels this year. But let's be honest. Texas is not guaranteed to land a top-tier basketball coach, so we should be prepared to accept "good enough".

What does that mean? I don't think it is fair to put an exact formula on it, because success depends on many things outside the coach's control. The factors I would consider, in order of importance, are:
  1. Success in the conference regular season. Anyone can get lucky and catch lightning in a bottle during a tourney. But sustained success over a full season is more likely to indicate future success. We are sitting at 5-2, which is better than I would've expected given the turmoil. Thus, for me, Terry is way ahead of schedule to keep his job. I'd be begrudgingly satisfied with 10-8 and delighted with 12-6. Anything better than that would be gravy.
  2. NCAA tourney success. Sure, I'd love to see us make the Sweet 16, if not better. But that isn't the be-all, end-all metric for evaluating a first-year coach. My main concern would be that we avoid underperforming. For example, if we go in as a 4 seed, blow out a 13, and then lose to an underrated 5 in a squeaker, I would be satisfied-ish. In some ways, that would be better than going in as a 3 seed, barely beating a 14 in the first round and an 11 in the second round, then getting blown out by a 6 in the Sweet Sixteen.
  3. Recruiting. Landing a good class despite everything we've been through would be a very good indicator.
  4. Conference tourney success. This probably deserves more weight than I give it, but I can't bring myself to care that much.
 
Another factor to be weighed is injuries. Fortunately that hasn't been an issue this season, but pre-set expectations would need to be adjusted if it does affect our team in late February or March.
 
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