Bohls: Texas interim basketball coach Rodney Terry should be judged by the bottom line

While I got ya, here are nine things and one crazy prediction:

1. On a mission. If Rodney Terry guides this Texas men’s basketball team to, say, the Elite Eight or Final Four, how would the Longhorns brass not seriously consider him as the permanent replacement for the ousted Chris Beard? Here’s the pros of doing that. Entering Tuesday night’s Iowa State game, he’s 8-1 since taking over the reins (one win over a ranked team) and is proving himself every game. While the team hasn’t always looked great (three bad first halves in a row at home), he and the team should be judged by the final results even if Beard put it together, and they’re in second place in the Big 12. The players clearly believe in him, trust him and like him. That’s no small point. Terry’s anything but uptight in his new role, totally at ease and open with the media, actually returns a text unlike his predecessor and so far has passed nearly every test. Athletic director Chris Del Conte always preaches stability and continuity, so Terry has that in his favor as well. Don’t underestimate the value of Terry’s experienced staff because Bob Donewald Jr. (11 international teams), Steve McClain (14 years at Wyoming, Illinois-Chicago) and Chris Ogden (three years at UTA) have all been head coaches. … What I’m hearing to date on any coaching search is retired Villanova coach Jay Wright seems perfectly content to stay retired, Kentucky’s John Calipari won’t be seriously considered, Gonzaga’s Mark Few is unlikely to leave the Pacific Northwest and Alabama’s Nate Oats would probably rebuff Texas' overtures because he’s excelling in Tuscaloosa, has less pressure there than he would in Austin, is making good money and is thriving in a community that worships football. Wonder if Texas would make a run at Virginia’s corporate-looking Tony Bennett (a national title, but ultra-slow pace on offense and making $3.6 million) or look at UTEP’s Joe Golding (who beat Texas while at Abilene Christian, but also is a close friend of Beard’s). … So eager is Texas to distance itself from the Beard mess that the school chose to reprint not only about 200 of the yearly team media guides but also the laminated media credentials because both had Beard’s picture on them. Out of sight …

Bohls: There are halftime speeches, and then there was Rodney Terry's against Texas Tech

2. Deep bench. The Texas men look poised for a strong run in March and have a strong bench as evidenced by closer Jabari Rice, scorer Arterio Morris, glue guy Brock Cunningham and inside helper Christian Bishop, who has a physical brand. Rice is generating some national sixth man of the year buzz. … The one concern is that celebrated point guard Tyrese Hunter looks like a shell of the player who was last year’s Big 12 freshman of the year at Iowa State. He has suffered from cramps in lots of early-season games. In Texas’ win over Texas Tech last Saturday night, he was scoreless in 26 minutes, going 0-for-4 with three attempts behind the arc, and had just one assist with one turnover. Terry dismissed any big worry, saying, “Over the course of a season with the ebb and flow, guys have to play their way through situations. I think he’ll find his groove. He’s a high-level player and has high expectations. There’s no doubt in my mind he’ll be playing at a high level. He gives us a lift on both ends of the floor. He’ll continue to develop and get better.” Maybe Hunter's just in a bit of a funk. The guess here is he'll cope and respond positively. … Terry bragged on Morris, calling the freshman guard “a very talented player. He’s going to be a really good player moving forward and has a chance to be a good two-way player. He has great size, can rebound for his position, can play defense and finish at the basket and make 3s well. He’s given us a lift over the last two ballgames.”

3. They’re baaaaaack. No, not football. We’re talking about the Texas women's hoops team, which goes to Texas Tech Wednesday. Vic Schaefer’s 13-5 team has moved out of the unranked back into the Top 25 after knocking off No. 23 Kansas and No. 15 Iowa State and is tied for first in the league at 4-1. Beware, Big 12. Schaefer’s got his ladies playing much more intense defense. Heck, even offensive-minded transfers Sonya Morris and Shaylee Gonzales drew charges versus the Cyclones, two of Texas’ 46 on the year. And defense will always be Schaefer’s calling card. The Longhorns smothered Iowa State, holding the Clones to a measly 6 points in the fourth quarter. … Gonzales was just named USBWA's national player of the week, averaging 18.5 points in the two wins. And she’s a deadly 89% from the free-throw line this year. … I’ve been amazed how much progress DeYona Gaston has made since taking over the void after Aaliyah Moore tore up her knee. She’s been a real force and has finally recaptured the form that for a time made the one-time Mississippi State commit the No. 1 player in the 2020 recruiting class before high school injuries. She completely filled up a box score with 17 points, three rebounds, two blocks and two steals versus Iowa State. Now if Taylor Jones can round back into form and aggressive freshman Amina Muhammad continues to develop, Schaefer will have a more complete team around sensational guard Rori Harmon. Of course, it’d be nice to give Harmon a minute’s rest here and there since the iron woman played all 40 minutes Sunday.

Bohls: NCAA, coaches, administrators are dealing with NIL "mess"

4. Legend loses home. The historic home of legendary Texas Longhorns linebacker Pat Culpepper (1960-62) and his wife, Martha, in Cleburne was totally lost in a fire recently. They both were lucky to survive, but Pat lost all of his UT memorabilia including helmets, trophies, awards from his 1961 All-SWC season and the like in the house that was built before 1900. Friends of his are asking any teammates who might have any copies of personal photos or other memorabilia during his playing or coaching days to donate to him by contacting his son Will at willculpep@gmail.com. I still remember Pat’s ferocious hit in the goal-line stand to beat Arkansas in 1962.

5. Never disappoints. Does it get any better than the NFL playoffs? So much more unpredictable than college football, but if there were only 32 teams in college instead of 131 FBS clubs, we’d see the talent margin shrink and maybe Georgia would only be winning championships by six touchdowns instead of eight. … Just like last year, the postseason has already produced some epic games with everything from 98-yard fumble returns to horrific coaching (yeah, we’re looking at you, Brandon Staley). The Bills and Bengals came very close to losing at home. … Troy Aikman said he’s never seen Dak Prescott play any better than in the win over a really bad 8-9 Tampa Bay team. That was as remarkable as the four consecutive missed PATS by Brett Maher. … The Chargers offered their usual choke job when they couldn’t hold on to a 27-0 lead. Has LA fired Staley and hired Sean Payton yet? That’d have to be Payton’s first choice because he’d have a franchise quarterback in Justin Herbert. Payton is well worth the No. 1 draft pick whoever signs up would have to give to the Saints. … Is there any team you trust less than the Vikings, who never can get out of their own way? No, Kirk Cousins, we do NOT like that. About that checkdown on fourth-and-8 when he threw a 3-yard out route to his tight end: Seriously? The Vikings lived on the edge all year (11-0 in one-possession games till the loss), but fell over it this weekend. … Doesn’t the Giants’ Brian Daboll have to be the NFL coach of the year?. … Have you ever seen so many delays of game and wasted timeouts? And that was a how-not-to clinic by John Harbaugh on time management the final two minutes of the Ravens game. Uh, timeouts do not carry over to next season, John. Wasn’t that weird that Lamar Jackson didn’t even travel with the team to Cincinnati for the game? Can you say goodbye?

6. Still think the Big 12 is bad? It has five starting quarterbacks among the 14 NFL playoff games, including seventh-rounder Skylar Thompson of Kansas State who had Miami close to knocking off Buffalo but for all those dropped passes by Dolphins receivers and delays of game, and Mr. Irrelevant Brock Purdy from Iowa State is still perfect at 6-0 with the 49ers after being the final pick of last year’s draft. West Virginia’s Geno Smith was at the helm for the Seahawks, Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts was resting with the Eagles’ bye as was Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes with the Chiefs. Plus Sooner Baker Mayfield, former Longhorns Sam Ehlinger and Colt McCoy, TCU’s Andy Dalton and Baylor’s Jarrett Stidham started games this season, giving the Big 12 a total of 10 alumni taking snaps this year. Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph was third-string at Pittsburgh. By the way, no other conference had more than two starting QBs in the playoffs, and the Big Ten’s Tom Brady and Kirk Cousins and Pac-12’s Tyler Huntley and Herbert were all eliminated.

More: Longhorns women get past Iowa State

7. On the rise. Had a great visit at the NCAA Convention last week with up-and-comer Temple athletic director Arthur Johnson, who cut his administrative teeth at his alma mater at Georgia before learning at the feet of UT legend DeLoss Dodds. Don’t be surprised to see the 53-year-old rise the college ladder in quick order. He’s smart, connected and decisive and works at a program that has always had to maximize every asset the private inner city Philadelphia school has. He hired former Longhorns running back coach Stan Drayton, who went 3-9 in his first season “but we had the opportunity to win three more games.” The Owls led Houston with a minute to play, led Navy in overtime and lost to Big Ten club Rutgers 16-14. Temple looks to improve drastically behind AAC rookie of the year true freshman quarterback E.J. Warner, the son of Hall of Famer Kurt Warner, who threw for 3,028 yards. Because the Owls had 10 different offensive line combinations, Temple had to emphasize passing, once throwing it 60 times in a game. Everett Withers, the former Longhorns assistant and Texas State head coach, coached the secondary but just left to join Tom Herman at Florida Atlantic as his assistant head coach. As AD, Johnson said he’s enjoyed being the guy, but “some days you miss just giving recommendations.” By the way, Lebarron Johnson, the 6-foot-4 fire-balling Longhorns pitcher, is his nephew.

8. Scattershooting. While wondering whatever happened to former Longhorns hoops coach Bob Weltlich.

9. On the couch: Started the second season of “Your Honor,” a dramatic series starring personal favorite Bryan Cranston as a judge mixed up with the local organized crime element. Gave it 7 ducks.

Crazy prediction: Jim Harbaugh will wind up in the NFL. Someday.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Terry offers positives, stability, should be judged by results