Royal Ivey Longhorns ‘Serious’ Coach Candidate?

We are told there is certainly a faction of UT leadership that prefers to keep this hire "in the family.'' Front-runner Beard qualifies; "serious candidate'' Ivey does as well.

Matt Galatzan | Mar 29, 2021

We have detailed the push-out of Shaka Smart, the focus on Chris Beard (and the bogus nature of last week’s "done-deal'' reports) and the concept of a "wish list'' behind Beard.

And it seems Royal Ivey, a member of the University of Texas' 2003 Final Four team and currently an assistant coach with the NBA's Brooklyn Nets, is a "serious candidate'' somewhere high on that "wish list.''

LonghornsCountry.com was the first to report that on Friday, UT wa in "active pursuit'' of Beard, the former Longhorn now the head coach at Texas Tech. There is no indication that desire has faded. But multiple outlets have reported that Ivey has interviewed for the opening as Texas' head basketball coach.

Ivey, like former UT student assistant Beard, is a former Longhorn ... but Ivey was also wildly successful as a player. A legendary college-level defensive stopper, he played for a decade in the NBA after having helped push UT to its memorable Final Four appearance.

Ivey, 39, has worked as G-League assistant and more recently, as an assistant coach with the Oklahoma City Thunder and the New York Knicks. He is presently on head coach Steve Nash's staff with the Brooklyn Nets' staff in 2020.

Beard, 48, has been a head coach at assorted college levels for 20 years, and including his five seasons with the Red Raiders has an overall coaching record of 207-84.

Beard likely remains in the driver's seat here, with a handful of other candidates also on the alternative "wish list.'' We are told there is certainly a faction of UT leadership that prefers to keep this hire "in the family.'' Front-runner Beard qualifies; "serious candidate'' Ivey does as well.

Published Mar 29, 2021

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.