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Now is your chance to sponsor the column. Our previous sponsor paid for more than three months of sponsorship fees in the first two weeks of signing up. That can be you! Contact Orangebloods' new sales lead, Cody Clearman ( codyclearman@orangebloods.com ) if you want that kind of successful promotion for your business. Don't miss out on this amazing opportunity!
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“Don’t cry please, I can’t take it,” pleaded junior guard Rori Harmon as Texas head coach Vic Schaeffer choked up while receiving the Big 12 Championship trophy.
That the Longhorns were able to host a trophy while Harmon was in sweatpants is a true testament to their depth and toughness.
“When you lose Rori Harmon on December 27th, it’s devastating. I’ve likened it to Apollo 13 and being on that capsule and trying to rework that capsule to get home. And I can say tonight, we got home,” said Schaefer as he broke into tears.
Of course it helps when you have Madison Booker. The freshman phenom stepped up and started playing more point guard after Harmon went down. Tuesday night, Booker was hitting mid-range jumpers like a seasoned vet and scored 26 points to lead the Horns to the title.
“Madison Booker is the truth,” gushed ESPN analyst Sheryl Swoopes during the broadcast of the game.
But as great as Booker has been, this team is where it is because it plays a physical brand of basketball that focuses on rebounding and defense.
The Horns hounded the Cyclones all night and forced 20 turnovers in the game.
“I thought our kids were who they are, they’re just tough y’all,” Schaefer said. “This group is unlike any team that I can remember in a long time, they’re just gritty and tough.”
You could see the toughness around the basket as Texas outrebounded Iowa State 30 to 28. That is no small feat considering the Cyclones had 6-3 center Audi Crooks working in the paint.
Of course, that’s nothing new for UT as it has won on the glass in 29 of its 34 games this season.
Now the Horns come home to await their fate in the NCAA tournament.
Texas (30-4 on the season) has a chance to be a number one seed when the brackets are announced. ESPN currently has the Longhorns ranked just outside with USC getting the last No. 1 spot. The Trojans defeated both UCLA and Stanford during the Pac-12 tournament to move up to that top spot in ESNP’s bracketology.
If it plays out the way the four letter network predicts, then Texas will be the No. 2 seed in the same region as the women of Troy. And as amazing as the Pac-12 has been this year, the Big 12 is pretty darn good at basketball as well.
“I don’t know that we’re going to see anything in the NCAA tournament that we haven’t seen in the Big 12,” said Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly after the game. “They (Texas) looked like a Final Four team today.”
This Texas squad is certainly playing like a Final Four team and the girls have certainly proved it to their head coach.
“The good Lord has blessed me with the most amazing group of women that I’ve ever been around and they are Texas tough,” Schafer said as the Texas players celebrated during the trophy presentation. “They fight like Hell. They have grit. Their toughness, competitive spirit are off the charts. And you know what? They ain’t done.”
NOW IT’S THE MEN’S TURN
And by that, I mean the Big 12 men’s basketball tournament is now underway.
Obviously I am not predicting Texas will make a magical run and win the Big 12 tournament this week, that would be optimism bordering on foolishness (you may already know the outcome of UT’s conference run by the time you read this).
That’s not to say that Texas isn’t a good team. It is. It’s just that the Big 12 is such an incredibly loaded conference that it stretches credulity to think Texas could win it.
“I think this year in particular has probably been the deepest from top to bottom of all the years that I've been a part of the Big 12,” Texas head coach Rodney Terry told reporters. “The Big 12 has always had great representation in terms of six, seven or eight teams (in the NCAA tournament) that are always really good. It's always been a physical league with great coaches, coaches that have won national championships. And it’s always been a league where you have tough venues to play in, night in and night out.”
But as tough as the Big 12 is, Texas is finding its form at the right time. The Horns are winners of three of their last four and are now a lock to make the NCAA tournament.
Terry said that he expected the Horns to start off slowly as they worked to get injured players back on the court.
“We’re just evolving into the team that I thought we would be by this time of year,” said Terry. “This is a team right now, playing at the level that we’re playing right now, that we envisioned as our guys got back in the fold. We’re playing at a high level.”
Terry says for this team to win, it needs to play with a lot of energy on the defensive side of the ball.
“Wins and losses get down to your defense and having a defensive mindset,” said Terry. “On any given night that we come in and have a lot of energy and activity on the defensive side of the ball, we’ve been extremely good.”
No matter what happens this March, Texas will need to make over its roster for next season. That works starts on Monday when the transfer portal opens up.
“As guys enter the portal, we’ll be very familiar with their teams, we’ll be very familiar with the players as well,” Terry said. “We have a process in how we go about trying to identify who will be the best fit and the best situation for us in terms of wants and needs.
“I don’t think anybody is just going to rush to a quick decision without having all of their options available for them. There are going to be kids in the portal, early, that may have an interest in a school that’s going to play throughout Monday night (of the NCAA championship game). You’re not going to get completely behind in terms of having an opportunity to get a kid that could potentially fill a need or want for you.”
TWEETS OF INTEREST:
###################################
The women’s basketball title just adds to the growing list of accomplishments in Austin.
It’s probably enough to make Brett Yormark cry.
Of course he probably won’t be sorry to see Texas move on to the SEC this summer.
###################################
We’ll take a little bit of a breather from Texas baseball in the “Just a Bit Outside” column as they continue to work through the scrubs portion of their schedule.
###################################
Where have we seen this before?
###################################
I love it when Chris Del Conte has something interesting to ponder.
###################################
No. Sleep. ‘Till Brooklyn!
This should be a fun early-season tournament for the Horns basketball team next season.
###################################
It looks like Aggy is going to Corn Aggy to find their next leader.
This is a curious hire to me, not that Texas A&M would choose him, but that Alberts would take it.
Trev Alberts left ESPN because he said he didn’t want to play “second-fiddle” to other network stars such as Kirk Herbstreit. He then went into athletic administration working for the University of Nebraska system, taking the University of Nebraska-Omaha AD position. He didn’t last long there before being tabbed to return to his alma mater as the AD in Lincoln.
So why is he leaving his home school? Does he believe Nebraska is second-fiddle to other Big Ten teams? If so, what does that say about Nebraska? And why would you go to the ultimate second-fiddle school, Texas A&M?
It’s all very strange.
###################################
Speaking of strange departures, this is brutal.
###################################
This was a pretty good clip on the possibly soon-to-be-banned TikTok.
YOU!
Now is your chance to sponsor the column. Our previous sponsor paid for more than three months of sponsorship fees in the first two weeks of signing up. That can be you! Contact Orangebloods' new sales lead, Cody Clearman ( codyclearman@orangebloods.com ) if you want that kind of successful promotion for your business. Don't miss out on this amazing opportunity!
===========================================================================
“Don’t cry please, I can’t take it,” pleaded junior guard Rori Harmon as Texas head coach Vic Schaeffer choked up while receiving the Big 12 Championship trophy.
That the Longhorns were able to host a trophy while Harmon was in sweatpants is a true testament to their depth and toughness.
“When you lose Rori Harmon on December 27th, it’s devastating. I’ve likened it to Apollo 13 and being on that capsule and trying to rework that capsule to get home. And I can say tonight, we got home,” said Schaefer as he broke into tears.
Of course it helps when you have Madison Booker. The freshman phenom stepped up and started playing more point guard after Harmon went down. Tuesday night, Booker was hitting mid-range jumpers like a seasoned vet and scored 26 points to lead the Horns to the title.
“Madison Booker is the truth,” gushed ESPN analyst Sheryl Swoopes during the broadcast of the game.
But as great as Booker has been, this team is where it is because it plays a physical brand of basketball that focuses on rebounding and defense.
The Horns hounded the Cyclones all night and forced 20 turnovers in the game.
“I thought our kids were who they are, they’re just tough y’all,” Schaefer said. “This group is unlike any team that I can remember in a long time, they’re just gritty and tough.”
You could see the toughness around the basket as Texas outrebounded Iowa State 30 to 28. That is no small feat considering the Cyclones had 6-3 center Audi Crooks working in the paint.
Of course, that’s nothing new for UT as it has won on the glass in 29 of its 34 games this season.
Now the Horns come home to await their fate in the NCAA tournament.
Texas (30-4 on the season) has a chance to be a number one seed when the brackets are announced. ESPN currently has the Longhorns ranked just outside with USC getting the last No. 1 spot. The Trojans defeated both UCLA and Stanford during the Pac-12 tournament to move up to that top spot in ESNP’s bracketology.
If it plays out the way the four letter network predicts, then Texas will be the No. 2 seed in the same region as the women of Troy. And as amazing as the Pac-12 has been this year, the Big 12 is pretty darn good at basketball as well.
“I don’t know that we’re going to see anything in the NCAA tournament that we haven’t seen in the Big 12,” said Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly after the game. “They (Texas) looked like a Final Four team today.”
This Texas squad is certainly playing like a Final Four team and the girls have certainly proved it to their head coach.
“The good Lord has blessed me with the most amazing group of women that I’ve ever been around and they are Texas tough,” Schafer said as the Texas players celebrated during the trophy presentation. “They fight like Hell. They have grit. Their toughness, competitive spirit are off the charts. And you know what? They ain’t done.”
NOW IT’S THE MEN’S TURN
And by that, I mean the Big 12 men’s basketball tournament is now underway.
Obviously I am not predicting Texas will make a magical run and win the Big 12 tournament this week, that would be optimism bordering on foolishness (you may already know the outcome of UT’s conference run by the time you read this).
That’s not to say that Texas isn’t a good team. It is. It’s just that the Big 12 is such an incredibly loaded conference that it stretches credulity to think Texas could win it.
“I think this year in particular has probably been the deepest from top to bottom of all the years that I've been a part of the Big 12,” Texas head coach Rodney Terry told reporters. “The Big 12 has always had great representation in terms of six, seven or eight teams (in the NCAA tournament) that are always really good. It's always been a physical league with great coaches, coaches that have won national championships. And it’s always been a league where you have tough venues to play in, night in and night out.”
But as tough as the Big 12 is, Texas is finding its form at the right time. The Horns are winners of three of their last four and are now a lock to make the NCAA tournament.
Terry said that he expected the Horns to start off slowly as they worked to get injured players back on the court.
“We’re just evolving into the team that I thought we would be by this time of year,” said Terry. “This is a team right now, playing at the level that we’re playing right now, that we envisioned as our guys got back in the fold. We’re playing at a high level.”
Terry says for this team to win, it needs to play with a lot of energy on the defensive side of the ball.
“Wins and losses get down to your defense and having a defensive mindset,” said Terry. “On any given night that we come in and have a lot of energy and activity on the defensive side of the ball, we’ve been extremely good.”
No matter what happens this March, Texas will need to make over its roster for next season. That works starts on Monday when the transfer portal opens up.
“As guys enter the portal, we’ll be very familiar with their teams, we’ll be very familiar with the players as well,” Terry said. “We have a process in how we go about trying to identify who will be the best fit and the best situation for us in terms of wants and needs.
“I don’t think anybody is just going to rush to a quick decision without having all of their options available for them. There are going to be kids in the portal, early, that may have an interest in a school that’s going to play throughout Monday night (of the NCAA championship game). You’re not going to get completely behind in terms of having an opportunity to get a kid that could potentially fill a need or want for you.”
TWEETS OF INTEREST:
###################################
The women’s basketball title just adds to the growing list of accomplishments in Austin.
It’s probably enough to make Brett Yormark cry.
Of course he probably won’t be sorry to see Texas move on to the SEC this summer.
###################################
We’ll take a little bit of a breather from Texas baseball in the “Just a Bit Outside” column as they continue to work through the scrubs portion of their schedule.
###################################
Where have we seen this before?
###################################
I love it when Chris Del Conte has something interesting to ponder.
###################################
No. Sleep. ‘Till Brooklyn!
This should be a fun early-season tournament for the Horns basketball team next season.
###################################
It looks like Aggy is going to Corn Aggy to find their next leader.
This is a curious hire to me, not that Texas A&M would choose him, but that Alberts would take it.
Trev Alberts left ESPN because he said he didn’t want to play “second-fiddle” to other network stars such as Kirk Herbstreit. He then went into athletic administration working for the University of Nebraska system, taking the University of Nebraska-Omaha AD position. He didn’t last long there before being tabbed to return to his alma mater as the AD in Lincoln.
So why is he leaving his home school? Does he believe Nebraska is second-fiddle to other Big Ten teams? If so, what does that say about Nebraska? And why would you go to the ultimate second-fiddle school, Texas A&M?
It’s all very strange.
###################################
Speaking of strange departures, this is brutal.
###################################
This was a pretty good clip on the possibly soon-to-be-banned TikTok.
