Texas Basketball: 3 reasons why Chris Beard was the perfect hire

Known success in the Big 12

A risk that you make when you pick up a head coach that comes from the background of one that Smart did at a mid-major program is the potential of it not working out on the big stage in a power conference like the Big 12. And that’s exactly what happened as Smart was not able to find much postseason success or Big 12 prominence during his time in Austin.

Smart looked like a great hire at the time coming from a VCU Rams program that he very much elevated. And he might be able to do the same with the Golden Eagles starting next season.

But it was getting time for the Longhorns to take their hoops program in a different direction than Smart, hence why the hire of Beard is so important. Texas is getting a coach that has found a lot of success right out of the gates in the Big 12. Texas Tech was a program that Beard took to new heights both in the Big 12 and complete college hoops landscapes.

During his five years with the Red Raiders, Beard registered a record of 112-55 (.671 winning percentage). And his winning percentage during his six years as a Division I college basketball coach is even above .700.

Beard never got a Big 12 Tournament or regular season title under his belt at Texas Tech, but he might have the resources to do that now with Texas. The Longhorns were in the thick of things for the regular season title in the Big 12 and won the conference tournament crown this year.