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UT's next basketball coach - discussion/debate

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MAUFRAIS
MAUFRAIS

that's an attitude that would make sense to me if i went to tech

pacman
pacman

Two words: Urban. Meyer.

Pancho
Pancho

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33 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

 

The Germans just landed on the moon...insider information?  Lolz.

None of these sites are earning their $9.95 in the past week.

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boilerhorn

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12 minutes ago, Machinator said:

FCB

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THE SILENCE IS DEAFENING

Right after the news broke last Friday that Shaka Smart was leaving Texas to take over the basketball program at Marquette, we reported Texas Tech’s Chris Beard was UT’s top target. We also said if there’s eerie silence between last Friday and April 1, Texas fans who are hoping Beard is the one taking over the Longhorns’ basketball program should rejoice.

Here’s why: While Texas has spoken with former player and current Brooklyn Nets assistant coach Royal Ivey about Ivey’s vision for the program as a possible coaching candidate, UT hasn’t spoken with Beard directly.

Yet.

That is expected to happen on Thursday, when a buyout in Beard’s contract for schools in Texas and/or the Big 12 (i.e. UT) drops from $5 million to $4 million. If anyone trying to hire Beard was talking to him before Thursday, Tech could argue that school would owe the $5 million.

So, if things go well Thursday (and I’m hearing things SHOULD go well, because I’ve heard there’s mutual interest), Texas could have its new men’s basketball coach by the end of the week — if not sooner.

Now, why would Beard, who is 48, want to leave Texas Tech, where he has developed a cult following from Red Raider Nation after leading Tech to the Elite Eight in his second year in Lubbock (2018) and to the national championship game in Year 3 (2019)? Tech students pack United Supermarkets Arena for home games and have a REAL home-court advantage.

Why would Beard want to leave an athletic director like Kirby Hocutt, who gave Beard new contracts after the 2018 and 2019 seasons, making him one of the top-five paid coaches in college basketball?

Beard had a base salary this season of $4.3 million, but he earned $5.1 million for the 2020-21 school year because he had a one-time, $750,000 retention bonus paid to him in September, plus other incentives reached. According to Beard’s latest contract, obtained by Horns247, he is set to earn base salaries of $4.4 million in 2021-22; $4.5 million in 2022-23; $4.6 million in 2023-24; and $4.7 million in 2024-25.

After Tubby Smith’s surprise decision to leave Texas Tech for Memphis April 14, 2016, Hocutt believed in Beard and wanted to hire him so much that he found himself watching a live-stream feed of Beard being interviewed by UNLV regents, some of whom wanted the coach to justify why he’d been hired at UNLV on March 28, 2016.

Hocutt, sensing Beard was less than happy with the line of questioning, called Beard after the meeting and said, “Can I fly to Vegas tomorrow to talk to you?”

“Can you get here tonight?” Beard responded.

Hocutt and Beard have been so tight, there’s a provision in his contract that all of Beard’s buyout money is cut in half if Hocutt is no longer the athletic director at Tech.

In the past week, Lubbock businesses that sell barbecue, wings, pasta, beer and desserts have made "free for life" offers to Beard if he remains Tech's coach.

Why would beard leave Tech for Texas? 

Forget the new contract and likely raise to $5 million or more annually or even that Beard graduated from the University of Texas in 1996 after serving as a student assistant to Tom Penders. (You’ll hear from Penders about Beard in a second.)

Beard is all about winning at the highest level and having no obstruction to recruiting the best talent in the country to his program.

Beard will never admit this publicly, but according to sources close to the situation, it’s been harder for Beard to lure top recruits, such as Cade Cunningham, who ended up at Oklahoma State, because Tech is an Under Armour school as opposed to a Nike school like Texas and Oklahoma State.

“In basketball, how schools align with shoe companies matter,” said a source close to the situation.

There’s also the ability to recruit to Austin.

Texas women’s coach Vic Schaefer may be the best testimonial for that. When 6-foot-1 forward Aliyah Moore, the No. 6 prospect in the 2021 class from Moore, Okla., signed with Texas, she said Schaefer had recruited her hard to go to Mississippi State, but Moore had no interest in going to school in Starkville, Miss.

As soon as Schaefer got the Texas job, he called Moore, and because he was now headed to Austin, Moore was immediately interested in joining Schaefer at UT, which she’ll do this fall.

And then there’s the $388 million Moody Center, which will open for basketball for the 2022-23 season. Live Nation, considered “the global leader in live entertainment,” is part of the Oak View ownership group constructing the Moody Center and is already hailing it as the premier concert venue in the United States.

For basketball, it will have 10,000 seats all right on top of the court, making it a premier ticket with great sight lines and acoustics.

“This arena will set the standard for concerts and for college basketball arenas,” said a source directly involved with the Moody Center.

Despite Texas constructing a $60 million basketball (and rowing) practice facility adjacent to the Moody Center, I’ve heard Beard will want to know how many practice hours per week he’d be able to get on the Moody Center floor, so his players have a second-nature feel for their home court.

Beard will undoubtedly have other questions for Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte when they speak — most likely on Thursday.

If Beard likes the answers to his questions, there could be a sea change coming in the direction of college basketball in the state of Texas.

Before Chris Beard got to Texas Tech in 2016 and took the program to an Elite Eight and the championship game in 2018 and 2019, no one was talking about Tech as a “basketball school.”

They are now.

You know what makes a school a "basketball school?" The right coach. Beard has done for Tech what Lute Olson did for Arizona, which was a joke in basketball prior to Olsen’s hire in 1983.

And based on Beard’s track record of winning everywhere he’s been, he’d undoubtedly have a chance to resurrect the prominence Texas basketball achieved at times under Tom Penders as well as the first decade under Rick Barnes — from 1999-2008.

By the way, 2008 is the last time Texas made it out of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament — and 2014 is the last time UT won a game in the NCAA Tournament.

Texas is ready to invest BIG in basketball. We’ll know soon if Beard is a part of that investment.

TOM PENDERS’ PERSPECTIVE ON HIS FORMER STUDENT ASSISTANT CHRIS BEARD

As a student at Texas in the early 1990s, Chris Beard went to then-UT basketball coach Tom Penders about being involved with the Longhorns’ program.

“Chris wasn’t a bad player,” Penders told Horns247. “He wanted to walk on. We didn’t really have room for walk-ons at that time. He said he wanted to be a coach one day, so I kept giving him more duties.

“We put him in the room next to mine — an 8-foot by 12-foot cubby hole — cutting up film.

“Chris was always in that room,” Penders said. “If I had to do it over again, of course, film study has gotten more advanced, but I would’ve spent more time in the film room, because that was a great way to break down opponents.

“By Chris’ senior year, he was like an assistant coach. We were able to give him a scholarship, and he earned it.”

Penders said Beard was no pushover as a student manager and was always hanging around the coaches, whenever possible.

“Being a manager can be tough,” Penders said. “The kids, the players, sometimes tease the managers. But if the kids were rude to him, Chris would just ignore them. He was nobody’s gopher, although he would’ve done anything for the coaches.

“Chris always sat up in the front of the bus with us and listened and was a loyal — very, very loyal guy. He’s family to me. You get close to players, and in Chris’ case, because he was such a sponge, I got close to him as a manager. Like I said, as a senior, he was like an assistant coach.”

Penders isn’t surprised Beard has gone on to be a success as a head coach and still stays in touch. Penders said before the 2019 season, he went to Lubbock and spent about a week observing Beard’s program, sitting in on meetings and practices.

“It’s his preparation, time in the film room, and then his ability to communicate with the players without being overbearing or condescending,” Penders said. “He might get on a guy, but he’ll walk off the floor with his arm around the kid.

“His players really respect him, because he really cares about his players, and that comes through in his day-to-day work.

“People talk about five-star kids. He’ll take four-star kids and make them fives by his coaching. All of his players, without exception, get better every year. You see it, and it’s largely in the confidence area. Their skills improve, but their confidence really improves at an amazing level.”

Penders said he likes that Beard’s teams are always mentally and physically tough.

“It doesn’t do any good to win the recruiting wars if you don’t know what’s in a kid’s heart or how tough he is,” Penders said. “Chris finds those kids with skill who are tough, and then he brings toughness to his teams. In practices, he doesn’t blow the whistle every time there’s a touch foul.”

I asked Penders about Beard’s ability to evaluate talent.

“He’s excellent,” Penders said. “He always makes a pitch to the top kids. But it’s a tougher sell to get them to go to Lubbock then it is to go to Austin.

“He’ll take a Jarrett Culver, a Lubbock kid, and turn him into a five-plus. If he gets a kid who is a legitimate Top 25 type player, the ceiling is very high in terms of where the kid can go. Chris is a teacher and really pays attention to detail, more so than most coaches.

“I sat in his meetings, and his preparation is exceptional. He could coach in the NBA and do well in the NBA, because he relates well to players and can adjust to any type of player.

“At Tech, he knows he has to develop and recruit hard. He’s real. And when you’re real, you’re a good recruiter. He’s got a great sense of humor and knows how to deal with all kinds of different kids.”

Penders brought up the Eyes of Texas controversy that hit the UT campus last summer and speculated about how Beard might handle that situation.

“It’s a tough time now for the coaches with a lot of different issues,” Penders said.

“But if the kids respect and believe in you as their coach, you’ll get through it.

“You have to be honest with your players and try to keep them from getting into situations where they might have to compromise their own beliefs. You have to realize these are kids — 18 and 19 years old. You have to treat ‘em like they’re your own kids — like family. And if they trust in you and believe in you, you’ll be fine.”

I asked Penders if Beard would be a good fit for Texas.

“Chris would be a great fit anywhere - for all the reasons we’ve discussed,” Penders said. “What he’s built at Tech in five years is amazing with the student following.

“It was empty when he took it over, and now they line up the day before games to be the first ones in. You need the kids and need the students. It’s been sad for me to see the fan base at Texas basketball games disappearing. That wouldn’t happen if Chris Beard was there.”

 

That's a lot of words to say, "No news on Beard."  $9.95, please.

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Catdaddyhorn

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10 hours ago, longhornmatt said:

They’re definitely a cut above and really fun to watch.  College basketball has gotten so bad that in the last 5 to 10 years the only things I can really remember finding aesthetically pleasing are this year’s Gonzaga team, the second Villanova team to win the national title with Brunson, Divincenzo, et al where their entire roster could rain threes, and  then Zion Williamson.   Just about everything else is a sloppy beating compared to the NBA.   And I used to like college way better than the NBA.

Michigan ran a fun style before their best player got hurt.  

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Laxtonto

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So all FCB said in there that was something we really didn’t already know/ expect that was specific was the line about how much practice time that they can get on the new court vs the new practice facility. 
 

The other interesting thing is that this is the second mention of TT not being a Nike school, so the real question is how big of a pain in the ass has it been for Beard because of it. Normally I would blow it off as bull shit, but this is the 2nd or 3rd time it has been mentioned 

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HookEm

HookEm 2463

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...It’s been harder for Beard to lure top recruits, such as Cade Cunningham, who ended up at Oklahoma State, because Tech is an Under Armour school as opposed to a Nike school like Texas and Oklahoma State.

That is crazy to me, but I understand it.

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Js1

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1 minute ago, irishtexan said:

I mean, I guess he might sign today, but if I were him I sure as shit wouldn't do anything until there's clarity about what UNC wants to do. It's not like UT has any leverage... 

CDC should jam Beard's cell phone or confiscate it during the interview.  UNC? What? No news there.  Here's a really nice pen, sign this please. 

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1 hour ago, TrashMaster G said:

Today's the big day???

 

6 minutes ago, Js1 said:

if Beard isn't locked up today, I'd be scared. 

I still say we won’t know untilSaturday night’s games or maybe even Monday, regardless of destination.

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Js1

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2 minutes ago, 6th Street said:

Even if Beard goes to UNC, there are plenty of good candidates like Kelvin Sampson, Pitino, Wayne Tinkel, and Porter Moser. It's not like we have to go find a Mike Woodson

No, no, no, no.

You have terrible choices.  Please set your list on fire.  

Wayne fucking Tinkle.  The guy with one good run who has finished 7th, 6th, 12th, 10th, 4th, 8th and 6th in the Pac 12.

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6th Street

6th Street 6390

Posted
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2 minutes ago, Js1 said:

No, no, no, no.

You have terrible choices.  Please set your list on fire.  

Wayne fucking Tinkle.  The guy with one good run who has finished 7th, 6th, 12th, 10th, 4th, 8th and 6th in the Pac 12.

Bro Sampson got UH into the Final Four. And Rick Pitino took Iona to the tourney in his first year. Who gives a shit about their past 

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Machinator

Machinator 32099

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2 minutes ago, 6th Street said:

Bro Sampson got UH into the Final Four. And Rick Pitino took Iona to the tourney in his first year. Who gives a shit about their past 

Look, if you want to stage a coup and usurp Del Conte, Hartzell, and Eltife, go for it. Until then, we are not hiring Sampson (not to mention his $12M buyout) or Rick Pitino.

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HookEm

HookEm 2463

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I'm not too worried about Beard to UNC. I don't think that is the style they are looking for. Plus they seem to like keeping it in the UNC family. 

Wes Miller to UNC?  Probably a stretch, but he is an alumni, only 38, and has won the Southern Conference 3 of the last 5 years, going 105-42 (71.4%).

Mark Turgeon is from the Roy Williams coaching tree and could be a candidate. Yesterday he said he's not interested in the OU job, so maybe he had forewarning about Roy retiring.  He has only done "ok" though at Maryland, going 105-79 in the Big 10 and winning the conference once in 7 years.

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So UNC offers Beard $5MM/ year and he giggles...

 

He’s going to be a lot more expensive than he would have been a week ago, no matter where he goes/ stays.

UT should have paid the $5MM buyout when they had the chance.

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RollLeft

RollLeft 5040

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22 minutes ago, 6th Street said:

Even if Beard goes to UNC, there are plenty of good candidates like Kelvin Sampson, Pitino, Wayne Tinkel, and Porter Moser. It's not like we have to go find a Mike Woodson

Again, we really need a wtf emoji or at least a look of disgust emoji.

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Machinator

Machinator 32099

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2 minutes ago, slorch said:

So UNC offers Beard $5MM/ year and he giggles...

 

He’s going to be a lot more expensive than he would have been a week ago, no matter where he goes/ stays.

UT should have paid the $5MM buyout when they had the chance.

Or he pulls a UNLV on us and leaves for UNC immediately.

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