“Football is king here. And basketball sucks hind tit.”
Basketball in the state of Texas is on the rise
The college basketball has improved in this football-crazed state.
Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports
That’s what a school administrator (allegedly) told Texas Western basketball coach Don Haskins when Haskins took over the Miners’ team in 1961, and while we might choose different words in the 21st century, that quote still aptly describes the relationship between football and basketball in the state of Texas, particularly at the college ranks.
While Texas’ college football teams have raked in national glory for decades, Haskins’ 1965-66 Texas Western team remains the only Texas team to ever win the NCAA Tournament. A team from the state hasn’t been considered a true tournament contender since the 2007-08 Texas Longhorns.
There’s no real reason Texas should be so mediocre at college basketball. The Longhorns have the richest athletic department in the country, according to USA Today, while Texas A&M comes in at 21st. Private schools Baylor, SMU and TCU are all presumably well-off, as well, given their conference affiliations and alumni bases. Moreover, the state isn’t exactly hurting for talent. As compiled by SB Nation’s Tom Ziller, Dallas and Houston have produced a respectable amount of NBA players.
The reason Texas college basketball underachieves is due more to the culture than the resources. Basketball in the state can succeed, but there hasn’t been much commitment to make that happen. The best high school athletes play football, the fans would rather watch football and the money goes to making football better.
But this year, basketball across the state is looking up. Texas is a top-15 team, and the Longhorns are (rightfully) getting all the headlines as a Big 12 contender. But beyond that, basketball in the state might be rising to heights that it hasn’t seen in a long time, with six teams potentially looking at greener pastures.
- Texas has had the most success of any program in the state, and with Rick Barnes’ back against the wall, the Longhorns are once again near elite status. Isaiah Taylor is back from injury, and he joins a solid core of Myles Turner, Jonathan Homes and Javan Felix. This team is already in position to make some noise on the national scene.
- Texas A&M doesn’t yet own any great wins (though a win over Arizona State isn’t bad), but this is a decent team with a very bright future. The Aggies’ 2015 recruiting class ranks third nationally, according to 247, with four four-stars and native Texans headed to College Station next year. A&M will immediately be a near-lock for the tournament.
- Scott Drew often gets criticized as a “dirty” coach, but he’s done a helluva job turning Baylor into a premier program. The Bears are once again a top-25 team, and they’re positioned to be for years to come.
- SMU had its golden era in football, but the basketball program might be on to something over the past few years. Since bringing in Larry Brown to coach their team, the Mustangs have quickly improved, and they could make the NCAA Tournament this season -- even after losing star recruit Emmanuel Mudiay to China. This program is only getting better.
- TCU has always been a laughing stock in basketball, but now the Horned Frogs might be -- not terrible? They swept a non-conference slate (of mostly nobodies), and despite starting conference play 0-2, they’re 55th nationally in KenPom. While two starters are seniors, the rest are sophomores, so maybe TCU can show some improvement over the next couple years.
- UTEP (formerly Texas Western) isn’t going to follow in the shoes of the 1965-66 team, but this is a solid squad that has a chance to earn Conference USA’s auto-bid to the NCAA Tournament. Tim Floyd has built a nice little program in El Paso.
We’re entering a new era for Texas basketball -- one where six of the seven major programs in the state could potentially be pretty good in the next few years.
Or course, that’s still not enough to rival the performance of the football programs, as Baylor, TCU, Texas and Texas A&M all enter the next few years with strong optimism surrounding their football teams. That’s understandable, because when it comes to Texas, basketball is always going to suck hind tit.
But maybe basketball in the Lone Star State is worth keeping an eye on. At the very least, it might finally provide some good entertainment while Texans wait for August to roll around again.
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