There's a New Sheriff in Town

I'm in California for spring break, so this commentary is delayed more than I would have liked, given its magnitude. The UT Arlington Athletic Department is in the process of finalizing the hiring of current University of Kentucky assistant coach K.T. Turner as the 11th head coach in the program's University history (10th if you remove interim coaches).

Social media is showing a lot of excitement over the hire. In his history, Turner hasn't stayed anywhere very long (more on that later in the post). He was with the Wildcat program for one season. In 2021/2022, Turner was an assistant with the Oklahoma Sooners men's team. He was there for only one season as he was an assistant with the University of Texas-Austin for the 2020/21 basketball season. 

The longest stretch of his career at one place was a seven-season stop as an assistant at SMU. Interestingly, he was an assistant with the Mustangs under two different head coaches from 2013/14 to 19/20. That period was an anomaly as he was at Wichita State for one season, 2012/13, the year prior. In what is more the trend than an outlier, He was an assistant at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for just one season in 2011/12. 

Before he went to Corpus Christi, he did spend two full seasons at Hutchinson Community College from 2009/10 to 10/11. Prior to that, he was at Cowley College for just a year during the 2008/09 athletic year. He served another one-year stint as an assistant coach at Northern Arizona for the 2007/08 basketball year. There were two stops in the junior college ranks after his collegiate career concluded, though I couldn't get full details on those positions. Using the timeline from the end of his playing career, one was likely a season and the other was either one or two. 

I get that reading his employment history is tedious. It was tedious tracking it down and finding all the stops. It is so lengthy that most of the schools he's been an assistant/associate head coach for don't include all the stops when reading his bio on their site. Some don't even have him in their archives. Now, there's no doubt he's had success at nearly every stop, as referenced in the following bullet point list:

• Kentucky - 21-11, NCAA tournament participant (yet to play),
• Oklahoma - 19-16, 2nd round NIT,
• Texas-Austin - 19-8, Big 12 title, 3 seed in NCAA tourney,
• SMU - 160-71, two NCAA tournament appearances, a finals appearance in the NIT, ranked four years, two regular season and two conference tournament championships, 
• Wichita St - 30-9, Final Four appearance,
• Texas A&M-Corpus Christi - 6-24,
• Hutchinson 52-12 - regional semifinals both years,
• Cowley College - 25-9 and a region title game,
• Northern Arizona - 21-11, 12-4 in Big Sky play, conference tournament finals appearance.

Obviously, there's a track record of success, which is his main draw. He's worked under several big-name coaches too. He very likely knows the game. He does have ties in the area and State, having played high school in Texas, and College in Oklahoma. In an intriguing twist, Turner was on the roster of the UTA team in 2000/01 as a junior, but I can't find a record of him getting in the stat sheet that year. At Oklahoma City, he was good enough to be a part of a team that went to the NAIA quarterfinals. 

Turner was in the running for the New Mexico State job this past summer. From what I know, the lack of loyalty was known in Las Cruces, though it wasn't the driving factor in the Aggies decision to go with Greg Heiar.

The major question for the Mavericks will be who stays on the roster. The players may relate well to him as a coach. Maverick fans have repeatedly raised concerns regarding the young roster when Greg Young was essentially fired. Interim Coach Royce "Snoop" Johnson was instrumental in recruiting many on the roster.

UTA loses two seniors from a team that lost seven conference games by ten points or less (though only two of those were five points. Not bad for a 6-12 team. Grand Canyon won the Western Athletic Conference tournament and UTA lost by five in the opening round. 

Chendall Weaver won Freshman of the Year in the WAC. His freshman counterpart Brandon Walker contributed big minutes as he finished sixth on the team in scoring and third in rebounds. Sophomore Shemar Wilson battled injury and was withheld the last several games of the season so not to risk his last two seasons of eligibility, despite the hit to the team. Wilson was one of the best rebounders on the offensive side in the NCAA, led the team in total rebounds and was second in scoring. Kyron Gibson, at 11.2 points a game, led all scorers and contributed more as the season went on.

Turner has recruited in Texas before, as well as being Kentucky's transfer portal guy, which is recruiting in its own form. Any defectors (not meant in any negative capacity) will need to be replaced, as this team wasn't deep enough offensively to overcome any production loss. All things equal, a point guard is a high priority. Maybe one of the returners will be a bigger and more consistent scoring threat, but that would be a plus too,

The big issue as I see it was one of the same one I had when Greg Ogden was hired. Given Turner's record of seven stints out of nine stops lasting exactly one season, he likely won't be long on the Mavericks sideline. It is the catch 22 of a non-P5 job (and even some in the P5). If he has a terrible coaching record, he likely won't be long at the helm. If Turner has success, he likely won't be long in Arlington, unless it is 20-win seasons with no NCAA/NIT appearances. If he's mediocre, he could be here a while. I know loyalty doesn't exist in upper-level sports and that he has to do what he thinks is best for him and his family. But I want what's best for the Maverick program. With this hire, the best-case scenario may be three seasons and a regular season title. 

I fully recognize I still have not gotten over the debacle of the Scott Cross to Ogden era. Cross was a home-grown guy who gave a home-town discount and wasn't going to leave except for the best-of-the-best offer. That said, was there a Cross out there? I'd say likely not. So this may be as good as it gets for UTA. Mavs fans will be hoping it is. After five seasons of losing basketball, a short stint by a coach who turned the dang thing around may be exactly what the Maverick program needs.