Longhorns Country

Longhorns' Rodney Terry Pours Out Emotions at Season's End: 'It Was Never About Me'

For a leader who has preached living where your feet are and taking things one day at a time, the journey of the past five months hit Texas Longhorns interim coach Rodney Terry all at once on Sunday after falling to the Miami Hurricanes in the Elite Eight.

Zach Dimmitt

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KANSAS CITY, MO. - Texas Longhorns interim coach Rodney Terry hasn't had time to get caught up in the emotions that this season has brought.

But after Sunday's crushing 88-81 loss in the Elite Eight to the Miami Hurricanes at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, a wave of emotion overcame Terry. For a leader who has preached living where your feet are and taking things one day at a time, the journey of the past five months hit him all at once.

"It was all about this team, man, and I enjoyed every single day of this journey with this group," Terry said, beginning to choke up. "I'm going to really miss -- I'm going to really miss working with this group. It was never about me. It was always about these guys. I love these guys."

With Marcus Carr, who played the final game of his collegiate career in the loss, sitting beside him, Terry received a strong, love-filled slap on the back from his starting point guard.

Terry now faces a huge next couple of months, or maybe even weeks or days, depending on what UT athletics director Chris Del Conte has planned.

Along with helping lead the Longhorns to winning their second-ever Big 12 Tournament title, Terry took the team to its first Elite Eight since 2008 despite unexpectedly being handed the coaching reigns on Dec. 12 following the arrest of Chris Beard.

He was asked after the loss Sunday how badly he wants the full-time role, but remained focused on showing love to Carr, Timmy Allen and Brock Cunningham sitting next to him along with the rest of the team.

'I haven't really had a lot of time to give a lot of thought to that, to be honest," Terry said. "I've been so wrapped up and invested in my team. Again, I love these guys. Not only will I just love these guys for the time I got to coach them, I'll love them for the rest of their lives. I'll be at their weddings. I'll be talking to those guys when they have their first born."

The Longhorns now enter an offseason that will see some major roster turnover. But while next year will look vastly different, it's a safe bet who most Texas fans want to lead the way after one of the best seasons in program history.

You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7

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Zach Dimmitt
ZACH DIMMITT