Texas Basketball: 3 reasons Horns should keep Shaka Smart

1. Finally turning it all around?

With the Texas basketball program finding its stride at the right time down the stretch this season, letting go of their head coach should be the last thought on their minds. Key players like big men Royce Hamm Jr. and Will Baker are finally making progress, and the backcourt is coming together at a convenient point in the regular season.

Another point on keeping Smart around while the Longhorns have a nice combination of factors coming together at the right time is who they could find that’s a better option. A commonly mentioned name in a potential Longhorns head coaching search is the former Cleveland Cavaliers and Michigan Wolverines head man John Beilein.

There will be a number of college hoops programs pursuing Beilein during the early stages of the 2020 offseason. While Texas will have the chance to jump on Beilein as a coaching candidate early on, they need to take a more patient approach at the moment. Another name hasn’t stuck out that would be worth going after full boar yet.

Texas missed the NCAA Tournament last year yes. But the Big 12 was also the deepest it’s been in recent memory last season even the worst teams in the conference were difficult outs. Texas has less bad losses inside and out of Big 12 play this season, and the result is starting to look more like it did when they made the 2018 NCAA Tournament.

Hopefully this is a sign of a trend that will continue under Smart’s direction.