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Basketball seasons to remember for vastly different reasons
AUSTIN — Alas, the college basketball season is over.
And as we look back, both the Texas men’s and women’s basketball teams surprised.
Sean Miller’s men by winning, uh, three more games than we thought they would.
And Vic Schaefer’s women by not winning it all.
Both, however, should be celebrated if for different reasons.
The men should be praised for digging deep and followed their up-and-down rollercoaster season by shocking us with an advance to the Sweet 16 and — had one over-the-back call against Purdue gone the other way — a stunning berth in the Elite Eight after barely making the field.
The women should be remembered as one of the best Texas teams in school history, again a No. 1 seed that won 35 games, returned to the Final Four and finished with a 12-game win streak but a painful, single-digit, 51-44 loss to the team that cut down the nets.
Miller has to feel good about finishing strong.
Schaefer has to feel proud, but also a bit empty, after coming up short.
However, Miller will miss two of his top two scorers in Tramon Mark and Jordan Pope and possibly Dailyn Swain although I’m told if it doesn’t look like the 6-foot-8 swingman won’t be taken in the top 20 of the NBA draft that he will entertain returning for next season.
Schaefer will bemoan the departure of fifth-year senior point guard Rori Harmon, a top-five player in school history and the heart and soul of his program for five seasons.
Miller has to score big in the transfer portal.
Schaefer has to look for bigs in the transfer portal.
Miller needs a point guard to replace Pope and a post man if Matas Vokietaitis chooses to leave although sources say the 7-foot sophomore is leaning toward coming back.
Schaefer will cry forever about the exit of Harmon and has to sweat out further roster depletion if any of his top-line players want to leave for greener pastures.
The hard-core, defensive-minded head coach isn’t likely to change his ways, but his MO can be overly harsh at times and some players might prefer a friendlier environment. Schaefer chastised anyone who didn’t vote for Harmon as an All-American this season, but he didn’t help her cause when he benched her for fourth quarters in road losses to LSU and Vanderbilt. If she’s that good — and she is — why is he sitting an All-American entire quarters?
I don’t know if he finds some solace or if it hurts even worse that UCLA absolutely crushed South Carolina. Probably the latter.
His Longhorns never had the Bruins on the ropes, but sophomore power forward Justice Carlton had three key buckets late in the third quarter to bring the Longhorns close and then left her on the bench in the critical fourth quarter. Stubborness over a poor shot selection? Isn’t that cutting off his nose?
On one of its worst shooting performances collectively as a team and Madison Booker’s worst ever, Schaefer needed points wherever he could find them. He got them in Carlton and the terrific Kyla Oldacre, who will be gone next season, but didn’t go back to the well enough.
I’d have stuck with Carlton and gone to the 6-6 Oldacre more. Her 11 points were a team-high Friday night.
The Longhorns had a woeful 30.8% field goal shooting percentage, their worst of the season. Doesn’t help Schaefer’s state of mind to see South Carolina shoot an even worse 29% in the title game against UCLA.
Schaefer kept Booker in the game even though the three-time All-American never got into a rhythm. She didn’t score in the second or third quarter, and Schaefer should have sat her earlier to allow her to clear her mind and reset.
Of course, no one thought Booker would ever miss 17 shots in a row and 20 overall. She also made a big mistake with her late drive to the basket against Final Four Most Outstanding Player Lauren Betts, only to see the 6-7 center swat away her shot and gather the rebound to seal Texas’ fate.
“Hindsight is always 20/20,” Schaefer said. “Probably could have gone inside to Ky a few more times.”
No one should ever blame Booker for this out-of-character performance. Her fellow guards made only 7 of their 20 shots.
Texas doesn’t come near the Final Four without her. Booker may ultimately leave here as the best women’s player to ever suit up for the Longhorns, but it will feel a bit hollow if she can’t lead them to their second national championship and first since 1986.
“It kind of did surprise me when I couldn’t get out of my funk,” Booker said. “It felt like every shot I put up, it felt like it was going to be money.”
As great as she is, she has gone missing in some of her biggest games and has to figure out a way to get past that. But her teammates and coaches boldly defended her, as did UCLA’s Betts magnanimously. This will tarnish Booker’s résumé somewhat but does not diminish her immense talent.
This loss will sit in the pit of Schaefer’s stomach for a long time. He may never again have a team this talented and this connected. But he might again next season. I don’t think that’s true, but he’s built Texas into the women’s basketball empire that is lacking only a crown.
Schaefer yearns for that first national title to join a club that includes Dawn Staley (three), the embittered and barely apologetic Geno Auriemma (12), Kim Mulkey (four), Brenda Frese (one) and now UCLA’s Cori Close (one).
Schaefer might not ever get it, which would be a shame. He’s a damn excellent coach, but a bit too stubborn and occasionally too hard on his players. But his system works and has gotten his teams close to a national title. To go 35-4, beat four NCAA Tournament teams by an average of 35.5 points and know that his team was the only one to beat the Bruins (37-1) all year along has to be heartbreaking.
He just is sick of getting to the doorstep and not getting to walk into that exclusive company.
As well as Texas played defensively — forcing 23 turnovers and making 14 steals — the offensive shortcomings were hard to watch.
“We feel like in our locker room we let one get away,” Schaefer told us in Phoenix after his team scored a season-low 44 points.
And he’s right. But UCLA earned it.
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Kirk Bohls, University of Texas Columnist |
Around the Horns
So the stage is set. Jim Schlossnagle makes his return to College Station for the first time since jilting the Aggies and taking the Texas job just a day after leading A&M to a runner-up finish at the College World Series in 2024. You can expect an, uh, emotional series at Blue Bell Park. Texas sits second in the SEC with a 9-3 record after winning all four of its league series while A&M won its second straight by taking a home series against Vanderbilt, including a 12-0 run-rule victory in seven innings, to improve to 7-5 in a tie for fourth. …
Even though the softball team fell to the Crimson Tide, the Longhorns are still an impressive 9-2 on the road and 9-3 in SEC play. Mike White’s club is 12-4 against ranked opponents this season.
Quote of the Week
“
I feel this will haunt me as a coach probably until the day I die.
– Vic Schaefer on Texas' Final Four loss to UCLA
”
Stats of the week
Who’s hot
Texas’ Dylan Volantis retired the first 12 batters he faced for the second straight game and threw 5 ⅔ innings of one-run baseball to improve to 4-0.
Who’s not
The Longhorn softball team cooled off a bit, losing its first SEC series of the year with two road defeats by No. 4 Alabama despite two home runs from Katie Stewart and one from Reese Atwood.
Stat of the day
Texas catcher Carson Tinney hit three home runs in the series against South Carolina to give him 10 on the year.
📬 Texas Mailbag
Q: How high will Texas catcher Carson Tinney be drafted by MLB? — Bill in San Antonio
KB: It’s a bit premature to say, but major-league teams are always on the hunt for powerful catchers and pitchers of any kind. He’s got major-league power and has proven to be solid defensively. I’d expect him to go in the first three rounds.
Q: Are you hearing ANYTHING on rising sophs Justus Terry and Michael Terry, as far as what their playing time and contributions might be in the fall? — Vic in Galveston
KB: Nothing of substance. Steve Sarkisian keeps bragging on both young players, however. Not sure if Michael Terry will break through at running back but at 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, however, he sure looks the part and could emerge as a short-yardage back. But he could turn into a big-play receiver as well. Justus Terry (6-5, 287), the prize five-star recruit out of Georgia, showed his stuff in 10 games as a freshman and should find his way as a regular into the defensive line rotation, however, because the Longhorns like to alternate those players to keep them fresh.
Q: What are your early expectations for UT women's basketball next season? — Cheryl in Houston
KB: If it’s a Vic Schaefer team, you expect another national contender. Depending on whether he loses a player or two to the portal — and he could — he has to fill some holes in his lineup. That’s especially true inside where Breya Cunningham should return but Kyla Oldacre leaves. He does have three McDonald’s All-Americans coming in along with Booker and hopefully Aaliyah Crump and forward Justice Carlton and shooting guard Jordan Lee, but nothing is certain.
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🤘 Longhorns Trivia
This week’s question: Texas plays at Texas A&M this weekend in baseball. The Longhorns have won 100 games in College Station. Has Texas won more games at any other school?
Hit reply and let me know your guess for a chance to win.
Last week's question: The Texas men's game with Purdue in the Sweet 16 was the Longhorns' 86th in NCAA Tournament play. What's their record?
Answer: The Longhorns are an even 43-43 in NCAA Tournament play.
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