Tech’s Beard has come a long way since cleaning up at UT
Successful coach one of many sporting Houston ties vying in NCAA Tournament
Trips to Austin and Waco already are in regular rotation for Terry Priest.
The former basketball coach at The Woodlands was more than delighted to drive to Little Rock, Ark., two years ago instead of taking a flight offered to him.
Priest seldom misses the milestones in Chris Beard’s coaching career. So, Dallas isn’t a stretch to watch his former player and current Texas Tech coach open the NCAA Tournament’s first round against Stephen F. Austin on Thursday.
Priest remembers a junior two-guard moving from Dallas-Fort Worth to play on the varsity at then-McCullough High School.
Beard wouldn’t start many games for those two years. But he’d find who he calls one of his biggest mentors in a widely respected coach and that coach would be a front-row witness to a career with the humblest of roots, which are grounded at the University of Texas.
It’s where Beard started as a student assistant in 1991.
“He called me his freshman year, he said, ‘They got me. They’re going to use me. They got me washing their clothes for them,’ ” Priest said.
32 area players in Big Dance
From laundry duty to a newly signed $19 million contract. Beard had been everywhere from a coaching gig with an ABA franchise in South Carolina to leading Little Rock to an NCAA Tournament win over Purdue in 2016.
Bu it’s Beard’s stint in Houston’s suburbs that plays a part in what could be his crowning moment as a head coach — a deep NCAA Tournament run. Texas Tech enters the dance as a No. 3 seed.
There are 32 players from the Houston area spread out across 14 teams in the NCAA Tournament this season. They are most prominent on the in-state rosters, of course.
Alvin product Savion Flagg and Cinco Ranch product Jay Jay Chandler are coming off the bench for seventh-seeded Texas A&M.
Kerwin Roach won a state title at North Shore in 2014 and might be one of Texas’ best players as a junior when the Longhorns tip-off against Nevada as a No. 10 seed on Friday.
Yates’ Jacob Young, Aldine Davis’ Royce Hamm and Westfield’s Jase Febres have played roles for the Longhorns as well.
The city’s own success story in sixth-seeded Houston is driven by Westbury Christian product Galen Robinson Jr., Westside’s Wes VanBeck and Atascocita’s Fabian White.
How did anyone ever allow Carsen Edwards to leave the state?
Purdue’s All-Big Ten firstteamer emerged as one of the best playmakers in the country as a sophomore this year and is perhaps the most notable name with Houston ties in the Tournament.
Edwards was part of that 2016 class headlined by current Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox. By no means was Edwards a secret. He led Atascocita to a 38-1 mark and the Class 6A final as a senior. UH and Baylor were among his in-state offers; Texas and Texas A&M were not. Purdue won out. “I don’t even try to think about it anymore,” Edwards said. “I’m just happy where I’m at now. They didn’t want me. None of the schools in Texas really wanted me. So, I can’t say anything about that. It’s a blessing and an opportunity. I think God brought me here for a reason.”
Nicholas adjusts to Montana
While Edwards’ Purdue team has national-title aspirations, Montana hopes to shock the world against Michigan on Thursday.
It’s where former Dawson standout Karl Nicholas landed of all places.
He finds it funny. If he would have gone anywhere else other than 1,900 miles northwest to Montana, he wouldn’t be experiencing an NCAA Tournament game as a freshman.
Nicholas was a District 22-6A MVP last year for a young Dawson program having one of its best years — a regional tournament berth.
Montana gave the forward an opportunity to play immediately and he has. He has been a spot contributor, playing in 30 games for the Big Sky champions.
Nicholas and his teammates are soaking in the moment and embracing the steep hill that is Michigan.
He hopes it’s the beginning of something special at Montana — even if it’s worlds away from home.
“It’s far away, but it’s different from the big city,” Nicholas said of his stay so far. “It’s just a small college town. I feel like the people in it make a big difference. Everybody is nice. They’re there for you and stuff like that. It’s a cool little college town.”