Kevin C

Seems like a crazy question on the surface and probably is a bit crazy even as I type this but it seems worth asking, given the past 20 years of results plus recent winds that seem to be blowing in Texas favor. Prior to Texas joining SEC, the horns' new facilities and Indiana's continued decline the past 10 years, this wouldn't seem to even be a question worth asking. For the longterm history of both programs, it's no question Indiana has been basketball royalty and has one of the Top 10 most impressive basketball legacies with 5 NCAA Championships, the most recent being back in 1987 (third national title under Coach Bobbie Knight). But that was Indiana's last NCAA championship, nearly four decades ago. I bring up the question because it seemed a bit underwhelming to see Indiana hire Darian DeVries as their next head coach. Seems like a bit of a letdown hire compared to the idea of hiring Scott Drew away from Baylor when comparing both pedigrees or other potential candidates who were rumored for the job. In his 6 years at Drake, DeVries did nothing overly impressive, making the NCAA Tournament 3 out of his last 4 years only to lose each time in the first weekend then missing the tournament in year 1 at WVU with a pretty average team. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2025/03/18/darian-devries-indiana-basketball-west-virginia/82527944007/# When it comes to the Indiana Hoosiers, I became a big fan of Bobby Knight and Indiana basketball in 1987 after reading Feinstein's "Season on the Brink" my freshman year in college......Steve Alford, Darryl Thomas, Brian Sloan, Keith Smart, etc. Back then, it was awesome to watch Big 10 basketball overall. When players stayed for 3-4 years with the same team, the teams and the star players were so freaking dominant......Michigan, Illinois, Purdue, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan State, etc.... Rumeal Robinson, Steve Smith, Calbert Cheaney, Kendall Gill, Steve Scheffler, Glenn Robinson, Keith Smart, Gary Grant, Chris Webber, Glen Rice, the list goes on. Now, fast forward to the past decade. Hard to believe that Indiana has MISSED the NCAA Tournament in 7 of the past 9 Years and they haven't made it past the Sweet 16 in nearly a quarter century since 2001/2002 season when they went to the NCAA Finals and lost. By comparison, Texas has made it the NCAA Tournament each year over the past 5 years. In the past 2+ decades, the Horns have have made it six times to the Sweet 16, four times to the Great 8 and one final 4 appearance (since 2001). The Horns certainly aren't an elite basketball destination (yet) but neither is Indiana. All of this leads to the original question... Is Texas a better men's basketball coaching job than Indiana in 2025? Has Texas decided it's ready to pay for a big-time coach? DeVries was making $3M per year at WVU, similar to what Rodney Terry currently makes. Under his new contract, Indiana has committed to pay DeVries $5M per year for the next 6 years ($30M commitment). That's a big pay bump for sure but it's not money that will hire an elite coach in 2025. Not only is Indiana stepping up in its annual commitment but it's also paying approx. $5m in buyout to WVU. Will the Horns and Rodney Terry go on a run in the NCAA Tournament against Xavier, Illinois and potentially Kentucky for a sweet 16 spot? Would love to see it happen but hard to imagine a 3-game run against that level of competition given what's happened all season long. Will RT get another year or is it time for a change in HC? We'll know in the next week as Gerry and Bobby have stated. If RT is let go, the pool of available 'elite' candidates seems light this year. Indiana just hired a coach with minimal proven NCAA Tourney success. Florida State went to the NBA assistant pool in Luke Loucks. Miami went to the NCAA assistant pool in Jai Lucas (congrats to another former Longhorn). Curious what others think. Is Texas a better job than Indiana? Will the Horns step up and pay more than $5m per year? That would seem to be an obvious 'yes'. That's how much they paid to Chris Beard annually so they clearly are willing to pay north of $5m for the right coach. Will CDC look for a coach with significant track record as a HC in college or will he look for a coach with lots of future upside? Maybe an assistant from the NBA like Royal Ivey. Does Jay Wright come out of retirement for enough money? Seems unlikely. Grant McCasland plays an exciting brand of basketball at Texas Tech. Wouldn't that be funny to see it happen again? Hook em!

Makes sense that NC's performance throughout the season may not have justified making the tournament but they looked really good in their play-in game last night. Will be interesting to see how North Carolina does going forward in the tournament. Maybe all the hate from commentators earlier this week, saying they didn't deserve to make it in, serves as a motivator for the Tar Heels. Curious @Gerry Hamilton, do you have an opinion whose job is more on the line over the next two weeks between Hubert Davis and Rodney Terry? Both seemed to be hanging on by a thread. Do both head coaches save their jobs with 2 wins (play-in game and round of 64)? Assuming both coaches are completely safe if they make it to Sweet 16. Thoughts?

Makes sense re: NC. Even though our horns also barely snuck in, I’m hoping we are energized with full healthy roster and Mark now playing at point.

Glad Texas isn’t getting the hate but seems odd why so much negative hate solely on North Carolina for not deserving NCAA bid when Xavier looks similar as another team that barely snuck in, along with our longhorns. Xavier and NC both only won 1 quad 1 game and North Carolina Net ranking is 10 spots higher than Xavier. Other stats in favor of NC over Xavier. It does seem like WVI got screwed but you could argue Xavier is less deserving than NC. What am I missing? https://bballnet.com/teams/xavier https://bballnet.com/teams/north-carolina

What a great weekend for Texas Baseball. Sweep Mississippi State and the Aggies get swept by Bama. Love it.

I like that Arch and Sark Declined. #AllGasNoBrakes and #AllFocusNoDistractions

https://watch.longhornnetwork.com/video/770184

I’ll take our starter in Arch with 2 years preparing to be QB1 over whoever the Buckeyes decide to roll with between Sayin, St. Clair or Kienholz. Arch will certainly have his growing pains, especially given our extremely tough schedule, but confident he’ll grow into big time QB and will justify the hype by Nov. Hook em!

If nothing else it’s made UNC interesting, similar to Colorado 2 yrs ago. I’ll be watching to see how they do with Belichik in charge.

http://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/44127909 The headline on ESPN is funny (in an ironic ha ha kinda way, 🙂) where it referenced Bill’s ‘Enthusiasm’. I’ll admit for 10 seconds before watching the video clip, it had me expecting a new more youthful, energetic and enthusiastic Bill Belichik. Then I watched his press update after day 1 of spring practice. Yep, it’s the same old curmudgeon working with 18-20 yr olds speaking in monochromatic tone and saying absolutely nothing. Curious to see how this experiment is gonna work.

Hi Jeff, Curious if you're planning to do weekly 'scattershooting' article similar to this week and if so, are you currently thinking Mondays each week? Enjoying the Scattershooting from @Jeff Howe. Hook em!!🧡🤘🏼🐂

Thanks for sharing. So many fun memories from past games. I think you meant 2 full summers and the point is spot on. Still a long way to go till Aug 30th kickoff. I remember last summer when Gerry and Bobby began the countdown and they'd pick their favorite player who wore that number (representing the number of days till kickoff). It's sad to think we still have 100 days until we get to the 75 day countdown, lol.

Of the Top 3 reasons, especially given its game 1 of the season, the coaching continuity for Texas across OC, DC and both lines compared to entirely new staff of coordinators plus new OL coach for Ohio State seems like it could likely be a big factor in Texas pulling out a win. And I agree, Arch will also be a massive key if he plays as well as many expect. Fun to think about Aug 30 and we’re in early March. Imagine how motivating that must be for all our guys this spring in conditioning and spring practice. Hook em!! 🐂🤘🏼🧡

Both teams have lost a lot of experience in key areas. For Texas, the OL, DL, DB, WR and QB all have graduated key starters. Arch has already shown he’s more explosive and diverse than Quinn which will be tough for any team to defend. Our skill positions are largely unproven with tons of upside. Our defensive pass rush could be #1 in the country with our Edge and LB rooms being the strongest in 20 years. For Ohio State, the losses look to be even more impactful with 17 total starters gone after the Natty. Ohio State’s entire front four on the DL are gone and much of the starting OL is gone. They have new QB in Sayin and new starters at RB. Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate returning make their WR room explosive from Day 1. So, both teams lost a lot on both lines, both teams start new QBs and both teams return some real dudes. What are your Top 3 Reasons Texas will beat Ohio State? At this point, mine are: 1) Texas has strong continuity in coaching across all three coordinator positions and both line coaches (plus addition to Edge Coaching with Clark) while Ohio State has had to replace both coordinators and OL coach. That’s a lot of change in the most important coaches on both sides for Ohio State 2) The Manning factor is real. With 2 years as the apprentice, Arch will be a key difference with his arm, legs, judgement, leadership/presence. He’s been waiting for this his whole life. Now the Horns are his team and this stage is set. 3) On the other side, our Longhorn pass rush is going to maul Ohio State’s rebuilt OL (being led by new OL coach) and get to Sayin often with pressure and ‘sackles’. Sayin’s lack of experience will not handle Hill, Moore, Simmons, Burke, etc. This is is even further challenged for Ohio State with all new starting RBs so they don’t have a RB to lean on with experience. A few other psychological advantages for the Horns. Love that we’re a 3 point underdog, expect that to get a bit tighter as it gets closer, we play big games on the road well (see Michigan and Bama) and Horns are the Hunter. Buckeyes defending the throne is much tougher, especially with all the losses and overturn at coaching. I’m sure I’m missing other important keys to a win. What are others thinking will be top 3 reasons for Longhorn win in 175 days? Can’t start too early, lol. Hook em!!🧡🐂🤘🏼

Mystery injury with Lagway? Interesting. https://apple.news/AJo5g0gSdS5G7bx2S7KL-qw

Yep, Thorpe Awards Ceremony is in Oklahoma City. 30 min drive to the stadium. Seems like the perfect way for Jahdae to finish awards night. Love it. 🤣🤣 Hook em! 🤘🏼🐂🧡

Sark will likely be posting this pic in the locker room all summer as a reminder…. Put in the work, whatever it takes, team first, individual accolades come later and beat the hell out of OU!! Hook em! 🤘🏼🧡🐂

The man is all class, has worked like a professional as he kept pushing himself, getting better each year, led our secondary to the best single season turnaround in the history of college football, wins the Thorpe Award for being the best defensive back in the country, goes to back-to-back CFP Semi-Finals, prepares for a likely first round draft selection after killing it at the NFL Combine and then he does this…… It’s awesome how Jahdae trolls Sooner Nation with his Thorpe Award in hand, sitting in front of The Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Hook em!! 🤘🏼🐂🧡

I don’t know if the OL will be better by end of year, given lack of experience, but it seems likely, with Arch’s pocket mobility and stronger RB room, several key stats could likely be much better (fewer sacks / pressures, more yards rushing, etc). Arch may make the OL look better. 🙏🏼🤘🏼 Hook em! 🧡🤘🏼🐂🧡🤘🏼🐂

Potentially best offensive and defensive player in class of 2027. Hoping Arch decides to start 3 years and delay draft till 2028 🙏🏼🤘🏼🐂🙏🏼🤘🏼🐂 Wild to think about potential of Arch going #1 and Simmons #2 in same draft. Whichever year Manning decides to declare, seems most are expecting he’ll be #1 by a wide margin. Will be fun to watch the next few seasons unfold and see if he plays/lives up to the hype. Hook em! 🤘🏼🐂🧡🤘🏼🐂🧡

Love the reference to the late great Blackie Sherrod while Scattershooting. Excellent article. So good to have you at OTF! Thanks Jeff! Hook em! 🧡🐂🤘🏼

Thanks for posting @Blake Munroe. Very cool.

Think it's cool that Quinn is training with Mike McCarthy plus the quotes from MM re: his observations about Quinn. https://thelandryhat.com/mike-mccarthy-may-give-cowboys-awesome-parting-gift-quinn-ewers-01jmzcjgaw67

https://apple.news/AWEjd9byDT2qugUeaWNZUNQ

Agree.