Texas Longhorns basketball's Dylan Disu reflects on career, coach after March Madness loss

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — During his first year at home after spending his first two collegiate seasons at Vanderbilt, Texas forward Dylan Disu admits he had questions.

Could Texas return to national prominence after winning just one tournament game in the previous decade? Could Disu develop into a consistent force on both ends of the court? And, most importantly, could he rekindle the love he had for the game growing up in Pflugerville and starring at Hendrickson High School before leaving for Vanderbilt in 2019?

In the wake of Saturday’s wrenching 62-58 loss to Tennessee in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the 6-foot-9 graduate forward answered all those questions with resounding affirmation after his final collegiate game. He emerged as Texas’ best player in last year’s run to the Elite Eight and followed that up by earning first-team All-Big 12 honors as a graduate this season. Along the way, he also developed into the best 3-point shooter in school history for a single season. Disu ended this year shooting 45.1% from 3-point range, which broke the previous record of 42.3% set by AJ Abrams in the 2006-07 season.

Best of all, Disu also helped Texas win an NCAA Tournament game in three consecutive seasons for the first time in 15 years.

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“This is what I came back (to Austin) for,” he said. “After my first season back (in 2021-22), seeing how difficult it was to win Big 12 games and tournament games, I wasn’t sure. And then after last year, I didn’t know if we’d be able to win in back-to-back years. But I’m just glad to help take Texas back to where it used to be.”

And about that passion for basketball, which dimmed during a trying 2021-22 season under former coach Chris Beard? Disu couldn’t hide his emotions when talking about how Texas coach Rodney Terry helped renew that love when he took over as head coach in December 2022 following Beard’s arrest for a domestic violence charge and subsequent firing.

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“I feel like RT (Terry) really saved basketball for me,” he said. “I was in a tough spot that first year here at Texas, and even going into the second year was tough. But when RT took over, things started to kind of shift for me and my love for the game kind of starting to return. I'm so, so grateful for him for that. I appreciate him more than I can describe.

“He gave me just a different style of coaching that was a little different from the previous one (coach). That really helped me to get back to being me, on and off the court.”