Is Texas getting too soft?
Horns Down celebration back in the limelight
Is Texas getting too soft when it comes to opponents displaying ‘horns down’, rather than the traditional horns up symbol? When I first started hearing about this back in 2019, the Big 12 had just started cracking down after then-coach Mack Brown insisted it was disrespectful in 2012, and Texas wouldn’t leave the subject alone. However, the gesture dates back to 1955.
When the term first surfaced, I thought, “Uh oh, is this racist or something?” Admittedly, I had no idea what the gesture even meant. After some quick research (I didn’t have to look far) I realized it is just something Texas hates. Like when Michigan fans call Ohio State, “Ohio.” Or when Ohio State fans call Michigan, “That Team up North.” Is an irritable gesture, not meant to be racist or prejudiced or violent, really worthy of all this discussion? The University of Texas has done a remarkable job of marketing to the masses that this gesture, which simply gets on their nerves, should be banned. The saga continues after last night’s basketball game between Central Florida and Texas.
Rodney Terry calls it ‘Classless’
After losing 77-71 at home to UCF on Wednesday, Texas men’s basketball coach Rodney Terry was displeased by the way some of the Knights were celebrating. A few UCF players mocked Texas’ Hook ‘Em Horns hand sign by raising their arms and displaying the Horns Down gesture. While going through the postgame handshake line, Terry kept shouting “That’s classless” at the UCF players and advised them, “Don’t do that s—.” Even 30 minutes later, Terry was still angry when he talked about the incident during his postgame news conference.
Here’s what #Texas head coach Rodney said happened in the handshake line with #UCF:
“About 6 or 7 guys putting the horns down. We don’t do that because when you do those kinds of things, it looks very classless.”#HookEm | @KVUE pic.twitter.com/qV0nVNgb24
— Tyler Feldman (@TylerFeldmanTV) January 18, 2024
“When you do those kinds of things, it looks very classless and it also looks like you were just hoping to win,” Terry said. “We never go into games trying to hope to win. We go into games expecting to win. So we don’t act like that. We expect to win. Don’t jump up and down and act like we won the national championship. We sure don’t step on anyone’s home court and act crazy and try to show them up in any way. We don’t do that.
“You guys won. Hey, we shake your hand and tip our hat to you, but we’re not going to let you act that way in our building. You’re not going to put your horns down and do all that nonsense.”
Scene of the crime. pic.twitter.com/aPuceYYQus
— Tyler Feldman (@TylerFeldmanTV) January 18, 2024
Dawkins to address with the team
UCF coach Johnny Dawkins told reporters after the game that Terry is “a great man” and that he has “a lot of respect” for the Texas program. Dawkins said he would review the footage and promised, “If there’s any action that needs to be taken on my end from our staff, I will do that.”
When Dawkins does watch the video of the handshake line incident, he might be surprised at how tame his players’ celebration was. They don’t seem to be flashing the Horns Down in the faces of Texas players. This wasn’t the atrocity that Terry made it out to be.
Texas has bigger fish to fry
Terry’s team’s inability to defend a 15-point lead in the second half should be a major concern for him. The Longhorns struggled in the final 12 minutes of the game, scoring just four times. This loss comes following a disappointing defeat to West Virginia and is a costly setback against UCF, a relatively unknown team in the Big 12.
Losing games they could have won is particularly damaging for Texas in the Big 12 this year. There are very few easy games available, with only West Virginia, Oklahoma State, and UCF ranked lower than 54th in the nation according to Ken Pomeroy’s rankings.
The road gets tougher
Texas’ overall record is now 12-5, but they are only 1-3 in the Big 12. The team is set to face some tough competition over the next three weeks, including games against Baylor, Oklahoma, BYU, Houston, TCU, and Iowa State. Even if they manage to come out of that stretch with a good record, they still have tough away games against Houston, Kansas, Texas Tech, and Baylor before the postseason.
KenPom’s projections have Texas finishing 17-14 overall and 6-12 in the league, which is unlikely to get them into the NCAA tournament.
The good news for Terry is that the solution to both of his problems is the same. Texas needs to start winning more games if they want to make the NCAA tournament and avoid giving their opponents a reason to celebrate.
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