Longhorns Coach Rodney Terry: Texas' Humble Hero is Officially Here

Texas Longhorns head coach Rodney Terry is set to usher in a new era in Austin, but his impact has clearly been made far beyond the hardwood.

© Jeffrey Becker, USA TODAY

AUSTIN -- Even on a day that was all about himself, Rodney Terry still found a way to make it about those around him.

Terry was officially introduced as the head coach of Texas Longhorns men's basketball on Tuesday and showed no shortage of humbleness along with love for those that helped make this career-defining opportunity possible.

But seeing this was nothing new for those that have watched and listened to him since he took over the team on Dec. 12.

While the national media has given Terry the credit for leading the Longhorns to a Big 12 Tournament title and Elite Eight appearance this season, he's continued to direct this credit back to his coaching staff and players.

"There's so much to be proud for," Terry said to his players, who were in attendance during his introductory presser. "You handled adversity incredibly in terms of what you faced. No team faced the challenges you guys faced this year and you met every challenge head on."

Unfortunately for Terry, he couldn't avoid eventually diving a bit deeper into talking about himself, something that Texas fans have continued to want to hear more about.

"It's been very surreal to be honest with you," Terry said of his hiring. " ... It's a dream come true for myself. I'm a native Texan, Texas through and through. You can't find a more Texas guy than Rodney Terry."

Based on what he's done the past three months, most Texas fans likely wouldn't want to find another Rodney Terry - simply because that'd be impossible.

But that for reasons that go far beyond the results on the basketball court.

While Chris Beard was respected and cared for by his players before his sudden arrest on Dec. 12, he never appeared to receive that true, heartfelt love that Terry was at the center of throughout the season.

From their post-game celebration with him at the Big 12 Championship to the warm embrace he and Timmy Allen shared in the final seconds of the win over Penn State in the Round of 32, it was clear that there was a different type of love between Terry and his players.

And in this rare circumstance, words from the players sometimes spoke louder than the already loud and obvious actions, especially after Sunday's heartbreaking 88-81 loss to the Miami Hurricanes in the Elite Eight.

"He's our head coach," Texas forward Dillon Mitchell said. "No matter what his title is, he's our head coach forever. He forever will be our head coach. He should be given everything. ... RT deserves everything."

"I just wanna tell y'all how much I love RT," Allen said. "I'm hurt cause we didn't win for RT. And we didn't win for us, but for RT. ... The love that he's shown us has taken us further than the X's and O's."

Texas guard Sir'Jabari Rice was clearly upset when speaking to the media after Sunday's loss. But once he started discussing Terry, Rice was brought to tears.

"Just having somebody in your corner everyday ... that believes in you as much as you believe in yourself, I couldn't ask for nothing else," Rice said while crying. "I'm very appreciative of him."

You don't receive these kind of comments from some of the best players in college basketball without showing unwavering confidence, love and admiration in them. Combine this with his down-to-earth approach and that hearty laugh, Terry has shown endless reasons why he deserved to be the head coach at Texas.

Now he has his shot.

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You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7

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