Golden: Rodney Terry delivers first big recruiting victory for 2024

Around 8:30 p.m. Sunday night, Texas basketball coach Rodney Terry posted a smiling pic on his Twitter feed — no blue check mark, FYI — with the Hook’em sign held high.

To steal a line from Ice Cube, Terry had a good day.

For a while after his official introduction as the permanent basketball coach, we were starting to wonder if there would be any more good news coming from the program.

Well, Sunday, April 23, 2023 may go down as the day UT basketball gained its sea legs for the upcoming season. Hours after Pflugerville’s Dylan Disu announced he was returning for another season, Terry and his staff landed a nice signing in 6-foot-11 Virginia forward Kadin Shedrick, who was the No. 17 transfer portal prospect in the 247Sports composite's rankings.

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Shedrick is far from a finished product, having averaged just 6.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 17.5 minutes. His best game came ironically in the NCAA tourney upset loss to Furman when he notched 15 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks in his only double-double of the season. He has upside and Terry can work with that.

Shedrick has two seasons of eligibility remaining, which is huge in these parts if forward Dillon Mitchell decides not to return. With freshman signee Ron Holland, veteran swingman Brock Cunningham and these two bigs, things are beginning to take shape though much work remains to be done, especially in the backcourt.

More: Texas men's basketball lands Virginia big man Kadin Shedrick in transfer portal

Junior Liam McNeeley, a 6-foot-8 five-star forward from Monteverde (Fla.) Academy, was scheduled for an official visit Monday, so things are beginning to percolate a bit. McNeeley has drawn interest from Kentucky, Michigan, Oklahoma, Ole Miss and Alabama. He averaged more than 20 points per game at the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League circuit in Atlanta for the Florida Rebels last weekend. Terry was there along with most every other big-name coach in America.

McNeeley followed Texas hoops over the last season and would be the jewel in the Longhorns' 2024 recruiting class.

For now, it’s all about navigating the portal — Terry needs backcourt help stat — and keeping eyes on point guard Tyrese Hunter, who declared for the draft but retained this college eligibility. We all want young people to reach for the stars, but no tears will be shed in Austin if Hunter is back at Moody this fall to run the offense.

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Hard times for Texas hardball

Texas baseball hits the skids: Just like week. Texas’ upcoming baseball series at TCU had supposed Big 12 title implications.

What a difference one weekend makes.

The Longhorns (27-15, 8-7) suffered a home sweep against last-place Oklahoma while the Horned Frogs were outscored 29-15 behind the West Virginia woodshed. Texas, which was No. 14 in the country, slid out of the top 25 in this week's rankings and behind fellow Big 12 teams No. 23 West Virginia and No. 24 Oklahoma State. The Horns dropped 14 spots, meaning any regional matchup at UFCU Disch-Falk Field will have to come with a quick turnaround over these last three weeks.

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“We’re not going to host if we keep getting swept at home,” Pierce told reporters.

Just like that, Texas and TCU are sitting at fourth and sixth, respectively, in a pretty packed league. That said, the team that comes out on the short end at Lupton Stadium will have its chances of hosting a regional take a humongous hit.

In Texas’ case, who didn’t feel coach David Pierce’s pain after the Longhorns didn’t show up against the last-place Sooners? There was plenty of blame to go around, but Pierce’s biggest concern has to be the bullpen, which has been hit and mostly miss of late.

“Some guys need to go out to the mound like it doesn’t really matter, a much more carefree attitude,” he added. “I think they will have much more success than they’re having right now.

It was supposed to be the series where the Longhorns would seek some separation with the teams below them in the Big 12, but now they sit in fourth place in a season that’s suddenly hit an ugly snag.

Pierce has every reason to be heated at his players, at his staff and at himself for the product that was laced on the field Friday and Saturday. Poor Kirk Bohls had to sit through 18 innings on Saturday along with what was one of the best crowds of the season at Disch-Falk. At least those who were watching on LHN could find brief relief with a touch of the remote.

Pierce promises changes are coming, and that likely means some familiar faces may be taking a knee on the steps of the dugout alongside the coach. The Horns play at ninth-place Kansas after the Metroplex visit and in most cases, it would represent a great chance to fatten up that record and RPI.

But after what we’ve witnessed lately, the Horns can lose big to anybody.

Lone Star state of mind

Texas MIA in NBA: A wave of nostalgia washed over yours truly while watching Golden State’s Sunday thriller over Sacramento. Maybe not a wave, but perhaps a few fleeting droplets.

As someone who appreciates our state’s NBA history, it’s all I have left.

Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki and Hakeem Olajuwon are turning over in their graves and these league legends aren’t even dead yet. The teams they made great are now sitting at the kiddy table while the rest of the Association goes about the business of playing for the league’s biggest prize. The Spurs, Mavericks and Rockets all missed the playoffs for the first time in league history.

It’s pretty painful in Texas, notably in the middle of the state where Austinites could always hitch their postseason allegiance behind any of the three teams and if things fell right, we would be treated to a nice matchup in the Western Conference semifinals or finals. Twelve times a Texas team has made it to the Finals and eight times, the Larry O’Brien Trophy has set up residence within our borders.

We can file those numbers under the Good Old Days category.

Horrible doesn’t come close to describing what we’ve been subjected to of late. Our teams have combined to miss eight straight postseasons while the Mavericks just got docked $750,000 for tanking, presumably in an effort to increase their chances of landing 7-foot-5 Victor Wembanyama, the unquestioned top pick this summer’s draft.

Who knows? Maybe one of these franchises will land the French lottery ticket and make their way back to league respectability.

Until then, we’ll make the best of these tiny chairs and even smaller tea cups.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas basketball coach Terry lands two big additions in Disu, Shedrick