I'm honestly not trying to be a jerk. I am probably going to come across as one, but I'm just trying to be honest. If you believe like most that actions speak louder than words, I'm not sure how there is any speculation or ambiguity involved with the possibility of Beard going to UT. I'm not naive enough to think that it is impossible, but it's a pretty low likelihood
He's 46 and has lived in Lubbock for almost 15 years. That's a majority of his adult life. He's lived in West Texas in general for another five. He lived in Austin for two. He also agreed to the third largest salary and the highest buyout in CBB. Is UT going to pay him 6M or 7M a year and still cover all of the buyouts? Because it's going to take at least that, and probably way more and for at least seven years. And can you imagine the separation clauses that Bret Just would demand? 20 M to buy him out? 25 M? And he's never done anything or acted in any way or stated that he wants to coach in or return to Austin, so I don't even know if that would make him listen.
He has a new practice facility opening in a few months that was built to his specifications. His teams play in an arena that is still one of the nicest in the nation and he is not beholden to an outside investment group that can limit availability. If Chris Beard doesn't want Elton John to play there on a specific date, he won't. It's Beard's call. In Austin, he would have limited days when the arena is available, and a lot of those will be for actual games. His overall facilities situation is among the best in the country. And that's pretty important to a basketball coach. And he loves working for Kirby Hocutt.
Tech is selling out games against Bethune-Cookman. The closest Texas has come to a sellout this season was against Tech, when Red Raiders damn near took over the arena. He's recruiting extremely well because of the support and facilities and recent success. I'm not sure that the rest of the state realizes how much West Texas loves basketball. It's colder up there, so the indoor sports get more play. It's not quite rural Indiana, but people from other parts of the state are usually stunned at the popularity of high school basketball in the Panhandle and Eastern New Mexico
If Beard truly wanted to be the Texas HC, he would have had Just contact Del Conte and put the wheels in motion instead of signing the huge deal with Tech. If he wanted to return to Austin in the first few years he was in Lubbock, under the Knights, I'm sure that Rick Barnes would have found a place for him. Barnes and Bob Knight were close and they could have worked something out. But none of that happened. The thing you have to take away from it all is that if Chris Beard truly wanted to coach at Texas, he would already be there. Does anyone really believe that if he or his representation approached Del Conte asking about the job and Shaka's situation that they would keep Shaka and blow off Beard?
Sometimes the Homecoming Queen dates a backup wide receiver instead of the starting quarterback. That just means she likes him more. There's nothing wrong with that