Full Circle: Longhorns Coach Rodney Terry 'Living A Dream' With Texas

After accepting the role as the new head coach on the 40 Acres, Rodney Terry shared a special moment with his former boss, ex-Texas Longhorns coach, Rick Barnes

AUSTIN - The Texas Longhorns introduced Rodney Terry as their new men's basketball coach in a press conference in Austin on Tuesday, officially making him the 26th coach in program history. 

And, in many ways, it was a dream come true for Terry, who began his college coaching career in Austin in 1990 at St. Edwards.

"It feels like you're still living a dream right now, to be honest," Terry said.

12 years later, after stops at Baylor, UNC Wilmington and three different high schools, Terry made his way to the University of Texas, where he was an assistant under then-head coach, Rick Barnes.

Terry eventually left the program after 10 seasons, becoming the head coach at Fresno State, and then UTEP, before returning to Austin as an assistant under Chris Beard. 

Throughout that entire journey, Terry's goal always remained clear: He wanted to be the head coach at a high-major program. 

Now, things have come full circle for Terry, taking over as the leader of a program that went on a magical Big 12 tournament and March Madness run. 

And on Monday night, Terry got to share the moment with one of his mentors in Barnes, what Terry called a 'special conversation.'

But it didn't stop there, Terry also got waves of support from other former Longhorns greats, such as TJ Ford, Kevin Durant, Tristan Thompson, and LaMarcus Aldridge.

He even got calls from Ex-Texas coach Shaka Smart, and Beard - the man he took over the job from this season.

"Chris (Beard) reached out to me yesterday and congratulated me on the opportunity here," Terry said.

In fact, it was Beard himself that brought Terry to Austin in the first place - a chance that Terry relished and learned a great deal from.

And as a result, Terry was able to use that opportunity to springboard into the job in Austin.

"Having a chance to step back that one year, it put a lot of things in perspective," Terry said. I vowed to myself that if I ever got another opportunity as a head coach, I was going to be Rodney Terry."

Terry now has that opportunity, and it is well deserved.

Still, Terry realizes that his new journey is just beginning and that there is still a lot of work to do to maintain the rising direction of the program.

"This brand right here is incredible. It's powerful. It made me leave a head coaching job because of the experience, and because it's elite. The elite of the elite are at the University of Texas."

He also has some very lofty goals for the future.

“We’re gonna be a Monday night program," Terry said. "And we’re gonna get there sooner than you think.”

To be fair, most coaches accepting a job at a new program preach playing for championships, and 'being a Monday night team.'

That is nothing new, and nothing we haven't heard before. 

So what makes Terry's situation different?

Simple. For all intents and purposes, he was made for the job on the 40 Acres - something even Terry himself, humbly admitted.

“I felt confident the whole time. I’ve prepared my whole life for this opportunity," Terry said. "You can't find a more Texas guy than Rodney Terry."

You can follow Matt Galatzan on Twitter @MattGalatzan

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