Vic Schaefer is occasionally left with a bitter taste in his mouth, even after wins. “If you’re supposed to beat somebody by 50, you beat them by 50. You don’t go to the locker room after beating them by 20 and get excited about it,” Schaefer once said. “It’s kind of like that.” That’s the kind of expectation he sets for his Texas side. But once in a while, there are murmurs about whether Schaefer is too intense. Yet, Schaefer remains adamant, claiming winning requires that kind of coaching.

The results have clearly been there, regardless of whether you agree with the process. In his 21 years of coaching, Schaefer has a 480-212 record, including stints at Sam Houston, Mississippi State and now at the Longhorns. He led Mississippi State to two final fours, 3 Conference Tournament Championships and a Regular Season Championship as well. Meanwhile, his 2 final fours, 3 conference championships and 2 regular season titles with the Longhorns just extend that legacy. After such success, he has no intention to change his style. 

“As I talk to others and people in the industry and administrators, I’m constantly told this,” Schaefer said (via Eric Henry). “I’m always thinking, ‘Maybe I need to do this. Maybe I should do that. Maybe I shouldn’t do this.’ And the answer I get all the time is, “Why would you do anything different?” The proof is in the pudding. If the worst thing somebody can say is that we work hard, I’m okay with that.”

There is a more recent example of this exact process correlating to results and inspiring a flip in the switch. “We have no heart,” Schaefer said back in February after an 86-70 loss to Vanderbilt. “We’re not tough. It’s probably the softest team I’ve had in years.” Since then, the team has gone 12-1, only losing out to UCLA in the Final Four. And the team actively pointed towards that comment that lit a fire in them. 

“We didn’t like the words that he said and thought of us, so we went and changed it,” Madison Booker later said. “We made sure that he would never, ever have to say through his mouth, through his lips, that this team has no heart. Because we honestly do.” However, that does not mean such coaching is always the right way to go. 

Tennessee boss Kim Caldwell also called her players out for quitting. And the team fell apart, ending the season with a lot of internal friction and an 8-game losing streak. The entire team has turned over since, including the coaching staff around Caldwell. A key factor is understanding the players and recruiting them based on the style. Schaefer brings in players that don’t put their heads down after harsh words. 

“Being in an environment that’s conducive to winning is not all “Kumbaya.” There’s no growth without adversity,” he said. “There is no growth without some kind of discomfort.”

And it’s not like he is shy to praise them. He went on a long rant towards the end of the season on how Rori Harmon was one of the most underrated players in the country. He gave credit to his team, responding to his comments. “From that day forward, we’ve just been way different,” he said. Schaefer puts everything into his players. However, he is also learning to adapt to the times. 

Vic Schaefer’s Makes  Forward Looking Statement On Transfer Portal Losses

In today’s era, college teams can rebuild every year. The transfer portal has made it so. For Texas, Rori Harmon and Kyla Oldacre graduated. Unfortunately, Vic Schaefer lost Jordan Lee, Aaliyah Crump and Justice Carlton to the portal. Lee landed in South Carolina, while Crump joined Duke and Carlton remained in-state, going to Houston. Yet, the response from Schaefer is one of accepting the decisions rather than one of hostility. 

“People were involved in trying to see what else was out there for them. The third one had no option to come back, but I knew it was going on. I think that’s where we’re at. For me, as a guy who has coached so long, I think what that says is that this is the day and age we’re in,” he said. 

“What used to be important may not be as important now, and you just have to learn to deal with it and adapt.”

Vic Schaefer’s response is to bring in the top recruiting class in the country. The five-player class features four players ranked in the top 20 by 247Sports. The highest-ranked incoming player is No. 12 Addison Bjorn, a 6-foot-2 shooting forward. He can further add players in the Fall transfer portal to form a competitive squad. However, with such a turnover, it is an uphill task for Schaefer to repeat the Final Four heroics.