Chasing the standard: Conradt’s continued involvement paying huge dividends for Schaefer, Horns in NCAA run

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Jody Conradt hasn’t been the head coach of the Texas women’s basketball team since 2007, but if current head coach Vic Schaefer has anything to do with it, she’ll continue to leave her mark on the program for years to come.

When Schaefer took over in 2020, something he envisioned was having the opportunity to talk about ball with Conradt, who led the Longhorns to 585 wins and the national title in 1986 with a perfect 34-0 record. He said during Saturday’s press conference ahead of the Elite Eight that she set the standard for the program, and like every other sport the Longhorns play, he’s after a national championship.

SWEET 16: Longhorns smother Gonzaga defensively, advance to Elite Eight 69-47

“34-0 to me is the standard, you know. And that’s really hard chasing that,” he said. “We’re chasing a national championship. That’s our goal. It’s always been my goal. It’s the standard in every sport at Texas. If you chase that, if that’s really the standard, there can be a lot of heartache.”

He spoke with Conradt after Friday’s 69-47 win over Gonzaga in the Sweet 16, walking out of Portland’s Moda Center which was previously blanketed in Bulldog blue. It underscored what the standard is at Texas that he always talks about, and the standard he’s trying to reach every time his team takes the floor.

“There’s nothing like winning at this level,” Schaefer said, repeating what Conradt told him after the game. “Think about that. You can go a lot of places, Coach, win. But there’s nothing like winning at this level. But it’s hard.”

Continuing the philosophical discussion with media members, Schaefer shared the team’s thought of the day from his practice plan.

“Winning requires you to be different, and ‘different’ scares people,” he said. “I run into it all the time in recruiting. It’s easy to talk about, I want to do this, I want to do that. It’s easy to talk the talk. It’s hard to walk that walk.”

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That’s a big part of why he feels his discussions with Conradt, a special assistant for the athletic department since her retirement in 2007, are so beneficial. Her coaching career features 900 wins across three schools, four national coach of the year awards and a spot in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. She’s been there and done that, as the famous cliché goes.

“Coach Conradt means the world to me,” he said. “It’s what I envisioned when I took the job, her coming into the office and us drinking coffee the morning after the game and talking over the game. Like, how can you not value that expertise, that wisdom? I may have been coaching for 39 years, y’all, but I’m smart enough to know I can’t do it by myself.”

Taylor Jones practices, status unknown for Elite Eight

After she sat out of the Gonzaga game while in concussion protocol, forward Taylor Jones practiced Saturday, Schaefer said. That’s a step in the right direction for her to be available against the Wolfpack, but Schaefer didn’t confirm if she’ll play.

Texas got great minutes from Amina Muhammad, DeYona Gaston and Ndjakalenga Mwenentenda in Jones’ absence, on top of Aaliyah Moore’s tremendous game with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Texas is going to need all of its low-block players to match up with the Wolfpack’s frontcourt.

“They have a big, physical inside game, which we have to deal with a lot in the Big 12,” Schaefer said. “We’ve had to guard some really good inside players, and he (NC State coach Wes Moore) certainly has that. They’re so physical.”

Senior guard Shay Holle said the plan won’t change because there’s a different jersey on the other side. It’s always about playing tough defense everywhere on the floor and letting the offense come from that.

“They’re super athletic, really talented, both at the guard spot and inside. So it’s going to be a team effort, like always, on defense,” she said. “That’s always our focus is starting things on the defensive end, and then we’ll get the ball rolling on offense.”

Holle had 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting Friday and helped fill the offensive void while All-American freshman Madison Booker dealt with foul trouble for most of the game. Booker has been the most consistent player for the Longhorns all year, and one low-scoring game won’t define her outstanding season, Holle said.

“She’s a freshman. Ups and downs. It happens to the best of us,” she said. “One thing about Maddie is she will not have two in a row.”

Texas takes on NC State at 2 p.m. CT Sunday. The game will be broadcast on ABC.

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