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Texas Basketball: Additional Staff and Experience They Bring to the Table

For my piece profiling the assistant coaches, check my article here.

In addition to the assistants, the rest of the staff brought on by Chris Beard has a ton of experience in college basketball. In this piece, I'll talk about the managing director, the special assistant to the head coach, and the strength and conditioning coach.

Managing Director: Chris Ogden

Chris Ogden is the all-time winningest player in the history of Longhorns basketball, where played from 1999-2003 under then-coach Rick Barnes. He was a part of 97 wins and a member of four NCAA tournament teams, including a Final Four run in 2002-2003. He was then an assistant at Texas from 2008-2015 under Barnes, until Barnes was fired from Texas. He traveled with his former head coach to Tennessee, where he assisted for one year during the 2015-2016 season.

After his time in Knoxville, Ogden was an assistant for Chris Beard at Texas Tech from 2016-2018. He then earned his first head coaching job at UT-Arlington. Named the 2019 Sun Belt Coach of the Year, Ogden had success with the UTA Mavericks, posting a winning record in that season and finishing second in conference. With 18 years of coaching experience under his belt, the former Longhorns returns to the 40 Acres under Chris Beard.

Special Assistant to the Head Coach: Bob Donewald, Jr.

Bob Donewald, Jr. has coached all across the world in his illustrious career in basketball, including time in college, the British Basketball Association, the Chinese Basketball Association, and the NBA. He was the head coach of the CBA's Shanghai Sharks, hired by former Rockets star Yao Ming to the position. He also served as the head coach for the Chinese National Team form 2010-2012. He was an assistant with the Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the early 2000s, as well as an assistant at Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) in 2007-2008.

Most recently, Donewald held the same position he holds now at Texas while at Texas Tech during Beard's reign in Lubbock. He had great success overseas, and was a proven winner. "I've been around the world coaching against the best and I think Chris Beard is one of the best out there. It's a great position for me to learn from and help support him," he said in a press conference. Adding him to this staff is a major plus.

Strength and Conditioning Coach: John Reilly

John Reilly was the strength and conditioning coach under Beard at Texas Tech for five years, during a very successful run in the history of Red Raiders basketball, highlighted by a trip to the NCAA Tournament final against Virginia. This is not his first time in Austin, however, as he was a part of the Texas football strength and conditioning staff in 2011-2012, with Jeff "Mad Dog" Madden and Bennie Wylie. He has also been a part of S&C staffs at his alma mater BYU, Michigan, and Tennessee.

"We're going to win in Austin, I'm not afraid to say it," said Reilly of the team in a press conference. "I love my job and know that I have the best job in the country. I work for the best coach in the entire country in Chris Beard. He believes in me, and I believe in him. I love that man. I’m so blessed to be here. Every day, I get to serve others, inspire and ultimately compete for championships. Hook ‘em.” Clearly, Reilly has big goals for the program in line with what Coach Beard believes the team can accomplish.

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The additional staff brought in by Beard further proves his commitment to immediate success. These are coaches who have already proven they can lead players to compete at the highest level. Bob Donewald, Jr. has done it at every level, and Chris Ogden has been a proven success as a head coach in college. John Reilly worked with Beard for five seasons before making the jump back to Austin. These are proven commodities, and round out a staff that has Texas looking to compete for a national title in its first year.

@KeenanWomack_OB

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