NEW YORK – In a season of perpetual angst, particularly for the always-demanding fan club Texas their Texas, the Longhorns exited the building a happy crew on Thursday night, pleased no doubt it was the Bisons and not them turned to brisket in the very edible NIT finals.
The state of Texas’ basketball program is stronger because of the last few weeks in its successful run to the championship of the consolation national tournament, which they finished off with an 81-66 victory over a good Lipscomb team at the famed Madison Square Garden.
Down came the nets and for perhaps one night the coach’s critics were speaking in low whispers.
“It’s great to see them so happy,” said Shaka Smart, the beleaguered head coach, who has dodged calls for his head all season. “Our team has gone through a lot of twists and turns this year, and those guys were extremely disappointed with the way that we ended the regular season.
“So, to see those guys so happy and excited and connected with each other, really throughout this whole tournament, it says a lot about them and a lot about their character.”
It also says something about the coach, who flipped the right levers for five games and pushed the right buttons the last six weeks.
“We had a lot of setbacks throughout the year. They battled through adversity,” athletic director Chris Del Conte said in again giving Smart a vote of confidence after a 16-16 regular season that was not deemed NCAA Tournament worthy, which galled alums. “You got to keep the faith. Dang good coach, like what he did, but more importantly that locker room is really cohesive. When you have a good locker room and culture, good things are going to happen.”
Texas, which finished the season at 21-16 after five victories in the NIT, finally found the chemistry it has lacked all season and witnessed its young players take some strides. The Longhorns looked very good in two games in New York this week, their obvious desire manifesting itself in an energy unmatched by any of its peers.
They wanted to be here, wanted to play even after enduring all the frustrations of the previous four months.
Texas had a good case for NCAA Tournament inclusion even with the no-no of a .500 record. The Longhorns had victories over North Carolina, No. 3 in the final pre-tournament rankings, and Purdue, which reached the tourney’s Elite Eight. Also on the non-conference schedule was Michigan State, a Final Four participant.
It was hard not to believe after watching the Longhorns this week that they weren’t better than St. John’s, Arizona State and Temple, all (insert eye rolls here) NCAA Tournament at-large selections.
Senior guard Kerwin Roach’s indefinite suspension is what probably ultimately did in the Longhorns. The suspension cost him the final five regular-season games.
Texas finished 1-4.
Roach came back a different person when reinstated for the Big 12 tournament, giving Texas punch off the bench. He had a game-high 22 points in the semifinals against TCU on Tuesday and 16 points and nine assists against Lipscomb. More importantly, Roach stepped it up defensively.
Smart laid it on the line for him and Roach responded.
“When you’re watching the team from the TV you learn a lot of things,” Roach said. “They seemed deflated. When I came back, I dedicated my energy to that, to give them a spark. Coach Smart told me I was going to come off the bench, I’m just going to do the best I can to give them as much energy as I can.”
Said Smart: “It was tough for our team when he went out. It was certainly tough for him. He was really down and disappointed in himself. I told him, ‘You’re going to get to play again. It’s all about how you respond when you get back on the floor.’ Our last three NIT games he has been terrific, defending at a high level, which is what you want from a senior at the end of the year.
“It says a lot about him the way he responded after being out.”
When Roach, the tournament’s most outstanding player, came out a final time, the player and coach embraced for a moment.
“He said he loved me,” Roach said. “We experienced a lot of the same things together, the criticism and the good wins, all of it. We experienced it both. In a way, he’s like my brother,”
Roach was fantastic, for sure, but this time next year we might be wondering how important this run was for the young players.
Of those, Texas has an abundance.
During the five-game stretch, Texas started four underclassmen, a freshman and three sophomores. Another, Gerald Liddell, played significant minutes.
Sophomores Matt Coleman III and Jase Febres each scored in double figures against Lipscomb. Freshman Courtney Ramey only had three, but he was the most valuable player on Thursday, his the magic trick in making Lipscomb’s best player disappear the key to victory.
Garrett Matthews, who entered averaging 28 points in the NIT, didn’t have a field goal until eight minutes left in the game. He finished with 15, but 10 of those were made free throws.
“We just said, ‘Courtney, stay attached to him,’” Smart said. “All of our young guys stepped forward. And those two young guards, Matt and Courtney, I’m biased, but I believe those guys can become elite college basketball guards.”
The recruiting class coming in looks promising. Will Baker is the highlight, a 7-footer from Austin Westlake, who picked the Longhorns over Kansas, North Carolina, UCLA (who isn’t these days) and Stanford. Two other national top 100s are in the class as well.
The future looks promising even if freshman Jaxson Hayes goes to the NBA, as expected. He didn’t play at all in the NIT while nursing a sore knee.
“The meaning of winning here tonight is something that’s going to be determined over the next several months by our team,” Smart said. “There have been teams that have come and won the NIT and they have been able to use that as an unbelievable spring board into a more successful season next year. There’s been teams that haven’t.”
Smart is slowly but steadily making an imprint, even under the clouds of discontent of the Texas their Texas crew. But instead of an ending they craved, the NIT run felt more like a beginning.
Good experiences are crucial to young teams.
The moment Thursday was as much the coach’s as anybody’s.
(Photo: John Henry)