Bohls, Golden: No charges but no regrets for Texas, which had to move on from Chris Beard
Now that football is over, we begin to turn our focus to other things this week, including basketball, where things are getting interesting at both the college and NBA levels:
1. Texas is looking forward, not backward, with basketball
Now that the charge against Chris Beard has been dropped, should Texas regret firing him?
Bohls: No. I wouldn’t say he’s totally exonerated. I’m sure some at Texas regret the move and think the administration should have just suspended him without pay until the district attorney’s office made its decision. But there is no more image-conscious school than Texas. I think many if not most people still believe Beard angrily if not criminally put hands on his fiancée in a menacing way that was scary enough for the woman to call the police. I hope they both find peace after this regrettable episode, and Beard, no doubt, will find another basketball coaching job, maybe even before next season.
Golden: No. He has been cleared, but he still played a role in losing his job. For its part, the university weighed the evidence at its disposal and made a tough call. Either way, the optics were going to be bad. He is free to get on with his life, but Beard will have to live with the role he played that night. That 911 call was made for a reason. Beard's fiancée apparently felt the need to get authorities involved out of concern for her safety. Texas can’t live in regret. Its highly compensated basketball coach was in direct violation of his contract when he placed the program and university in an embarrassingly negative light, and if we know anything about this school, it’s very protective of its national reputation. The school has turned the page and should not look back. Beard will be back coaching somewhere next season, but the stigma of domestic violence will still be part of his story, fair or unfair.
2. Move over, Texas volleyball, make way for ...
Name the next Texas Longhorns team to win a national championship.
Bohls: women's track. Tough choice. Lots of options before Jerritt Elliott’s women’s volleyball team repeats in December. Could well be Eddie Reese’s swimmers, Ryan Murphy’s women's golf team or Dave O’Neill’s two-time defending national champion rowers. But I’ll go with Edrick Floréal’s No. 1-ranked women taking the indoor track title in Albuquerque, N.M., next month behind sprinters Julien Alfred and Rhasidat Adeleke if the No. 4 men don’t repeat their crown first.
Golden: swimming. When all else fails, go with swimming. Eddie Reese is Aquacoach. He’s never a bad choice.
Bohls: The SEC is already making room for the Texas Longhorns in 2024
3. A February Forecast on March Madness
About one month away from Selection Sunday, what non-top 10 team could win it all?
Bohls: Kansas State. I’ll stick with the Wildcats (19-7), who play a fun, attacking style with Markquis Nowell and Keyontae Johnson. They’ve stumbled of late on the road against Oklahoma and Texas Tech — but who hasn’t stumbled against the Red Raiders recently? I still see these Purple as the basketball equivalent of the TCU football team.
Golden: Marquette. Don’t look now, but those Fighting Shaka Smarts are getting it done. After coming up empty in the tourney win department at Texas, Smart has hit upon an entertaining crew at Marquette that’s led by electric sophomore Kam Jones, one of four Golden Eagles scoring in double figures. The fifth, forward David Joplin, averages 9.8. The Eagles are averaging 80.4 per game and aren’t afraid to get out and go. They will be a tough out come tourney time.
4. There's Zach Edey, and then there's everybody else
If Purdue's Zach Edey is the consensus national player of the year, who's No. 2?
Bohls: Kansas' Jalen Wilson. It has to be Wilson, but Johnson is right there on his heels. Wilson leads the Big 12 in scoring (20.3 ppg) by more than three points a game over Johnson and ranks second in the league in rebounding (8.2 a game) ahead of the third-place Wildcat.
Golden: Kansas' Jalen Wilson. Wilson will be the runner-up because he has been Mr. Everything to an undersized KU crew that isn’t a world beater but somehow still is in the mix to earn a No. 1 seed. Wilson has been crazy good in the best conference in college basketball all season.
Golden: Bijan Robinson tops this year's football Ceddys, the best and worst of the sport
5. If a college football rivalry doesn't exit, will it make a sound?
Who'll end up getting Vanderbilt as a permanent rival in the SEC?
Bohls: Tennessee. Or maybe Ole Miss. Or Kentucky. According to history, the Commodores’ top three rivals are Tennessee, Ole Miss and Georgia barely over Kentucky, but let’s let the two-time defending national champion Bulldogs play anybody else to at least try to level the playing field. One Texas staffer, however, told me, “Please let Vandy be one of our three rivals.” Not happening. Give Vandy the Vols, Rebels and Wildcats.
Golden: Missouri. The football teams are lining up to the play the Commodores, but I don’t see anyone from the southwest part of the league getting that plum gig. My money is on Missouri, which has lost three times to Vanderbilt since joining the league in 2012.
6. Who'll be in NEXT year's Super Bowl. (Too soon?)
It's way too early, but whom do you see as next year's Super Bowl finalists?
Bohls: Bengals vs. 49ers. At the risk of offending Chiefs fans everywhere, I’ll go with the Cincinnati Bengals over the San Francisco 49ers. Joe Burrow is pushing Patrick Mahomes for the honor of best quarterback in the league. Now, if the 49ers can settle on a quarterback, whether it’s returner Brock Purdy or Trey Lance or free agents Aaron Rodgers or Derek Carr, they have the offensive weapons with Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle and Deebo Samuel and a killer defense to make it to the big game. The Bengals will win it, too.
Golden: Chiefs vs. Eagles II. The Chiefs return their most key pieces, including the incomparable Mahomes, and willl become the first team to successfully defend a Super Bowl title since the 2005 Patriots. They'll get it done in a rematch over the Eagles.
7. But don't sleep on these AFC, NFC sleepers
Pick a sleeper team to win it all.
Bohls: The Jaguars or Lions. I was thoroughly impressed with the progress made by the Jacksonville Jaguars, who won their last five AFC games and gave the Chiefs a slight scare. Trevor Lawrence has inserted himself among these stud young quarterbacks and has targets in Zay Jones, Christian Kirk, Travis Etienne and probably a reinstated Calvin Ridley. As for the NFC, I’ll go way out on that one remaining limb that wasn’t snapped off during our ice storm and side with the emerging Detroit Lions, who went 9-8 after starting out 1-6, knocked the Packers out of the playoffs and scored 452 points behind Jared Goff. Coach Dan Campbell is the man.
Golden: The Broncos or Saints. Sean Payton will squeeze one more Pro Bowl season out of quarterback Russell Wilson in Denver, and the Broncos will make the playoffs. Don’t sleep on the Saints in the NFC, especially if they land Carr and insert him into an explosive offense, assuming running back Alvin Kamara is back after being indicted on assault charges in Vegas.
8. Enough about football, already
Now that football is officially over, what are you most looking forward to?
Bohls: Augusta, without a doubt. Probably won’t be there to see it in person, unfortunately, but would love to keep up with Scottie Scheffler’s designs on a second straight green jacket. He won his fifth PGA Tour event in Phoenix and returned to No. 1 in the world.
Golden: The NBA playoffs. The NBA postseason will be electric with Kyrie Irving teaming up with Luka Doncic in Dallas, plus Kevin Durant, Chris Paul and Devin Booker in Phoenix and the Lakers retooling their depth with the addition of D’Angelo Russell. While I still believe the Bucks or Celtics will capture the 2023 title, the Western Conference is must-see hoops.
9. There's Dan Campbell, and then there's everybody else
Who was the NFL's coach of the year?
Bohls: Dan Campbell. I’ll stay out on that limb and say Campbell, barely ahead of Seattle’s Pete Carroll, who won with Geno Smith and lost in the wild-card round to the 49ers.
Golden: Dan Campbell. It has to be Campbell by a hair over Jacksonville’s Doug Pederson. No one expected the Lions to do anything, and they came out and played inspiring ball for a coach who didn’t mind rolling the dice in key situations.
10. It was a catch, er, no it wasn't, er, yes it was
Should the NFL change its catch rule?
Bohls: Yes. It’s damn impossible now for receivers to be credited with a completion unless they hold onto the ball until, say, Tuesday. Running backs and quarterbacks can fumble the ball after its tip crosses the goal line and are awarded a touchdown, but receivers have to show completion for yards beyond the initial catch, driver’s license, proof of insurance and an affidavit saying they truly caught the ball. It’s maddening and illogical.
Golden: Absolutely. What’s a catch anymore? Does anyone know? The part I hate most is why it’s fine for a defensive back to strip a receiver of the ball after he has caught it and got two feet down before landing out of bounds. Technically, the play should be dead after a body part lands out of bounds, and if the receiver had control before that, then it should be a touchdown.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas is looking forward, not backward, in men's basketball
