Longhorns Country

Longhorns Legend T.J. Ford Fires Back at His Rankings Placement: ‘I Dominated!’

T.J. Ford established himself as one of the best players in Texas Longhorns men's basketball history during his impressive run in the early 2000s.

Zach Dimmitt

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AUSTIN, Texas -- By making it to the Elite Eight this past season, Texas Longhorns men’s basketball did something that hasn’t been done for the program since 2008. The team was only a few possessions away from punching their ticket to the Final Four.

It’s often seen as a monumental task to get to this stage due to the craziness of March Madness. This just goes to show how special T.J. Ford’s time at Texas was.

But ChatGPT doesn’t see it this way.

The AI system recently revealed its top-25 rankings for the best point guards in college basketball since 2000. Despite Ford’s accomplishments at Texas, the system ranked him at No. 13, and he had some strong words of disagreement in response.

“I dominated college basketball in a way that will never be duplicated,” Ford tweeted Saturday. “The creation of Texas Basketball Program that changed the entire culture in the Great State of Texas.”

Ford clearly believes in the body of work he had during his time in Austin. And while it’s understandable that guys like Chris Paul (No. 1), Derrick Rose (No. 2) and Kemba Walker (No. 3) ranked right at the top, having Ford outside the top 10 seems ludicrous.

Of course, the rankings were produced by a robot. But it’s an interesting debate to have.

The legendary Texas point guard helped lead the Longhorns to their first Final Four since the 1940s during the 2003 NCAA Tournament. Texas was one win away from playing for a national title, a stage that even Longhorns greats like Kevin Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge were unable to reach.

Along with winning the Big 12 Freshman of the Year and leading the NCAA in assists in 2002, Ford received consensus First-Team All-American honors while winning both the Naismith and Wooden Awards in 2003. He also had his No. 11 jersey retired by the university.

Though Ford didn’t bring Texas basketball to the mountaintop, he was the face of a program that became better off because of his efforts. This impact along with his decorated résumé undoubtedly makes Ford one of the best college players of the past two decades, regardless of position.

You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7

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Zach Dimmitt
ZACH DIMMITT