Texas basketball fans knew this moment would come eventually, but it doesn’t make it any easier.

Their team will take the floor against Ole Miss with Chris Beard standing on the opposing sideline, trying to figure out how to beat his alma mater.

Maybe the SEC did both sides a favor by scheduling this first matchup in Oxford. A trip to Austin right out of the gate? Too soon.

The colossal question still hangs out there like a fadeaway 3-pointer at the buzzer, only it’s now frozen in time. What could have been?

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When Texas hired Beard away from Texas Tech on April 2, 2021, it was hailed as a seminal moment in UT basketball history. Texas got their guy! And stuck it to Texas Tech in the process!? What a dynamite combo!

Everybody loved how athletic director Chris Del Conte interviewed Beard over two coffees and two Egg McMuffins at the McDonald’s in Plainview. Too bad, Red Raiders. The former Longhorn was coming home.

Bring on the “Fireside Chats,” the family photos with fans and players on the court and late-night strategy sessions at Shoal Creek Saloon.

Longhorns fans liked Beard’s guerilla-style marketing tactics, and they loved his recruiting. After that whistle-plagued loss to Purdue in the NCAA Tournament, Beard took his L like a champ. The foundation had been poured appropriately, and the future was astonishingly bright.

“Nobody likes an excuse guy, a crybaby, and that ain’t us,” Beard said, standing ramrod straight addressing a small group of beat reporters inside Fiserv Forum. “But we just needed to make a couple more plays down the stretch.”

Everything changed the morning of Dec. 12, 2022, when Austin police were summoned to Beard’s house. Beard’s fiancée, Randi Trew, told police he strangled, bit and hit her when the two got into an argument. Learning their coach had been arrested, Texas officials had no choice but to suspend Beard and let police sort it out.

Beard’s assistant, Rodney Terry, took control of the program while police and the Travis County District Attorney began their investigation.

Trew later released a statement denying what happened that night. Still, school officials felt like they had no choice and fired Beard three weeks after his arrest. All charges were dropped, but Beard was out of a job — his dream job, too.

Officially, Beard was 29-13 in just over one full season in Austin. He's 206-90 in nine-plus seasons as a head coach. 

The Longhorns? The team Beard assembled went on to reach the Elite Eight under Terry. The interim tag was removed, and Terry was named the permanent coach. Several key players returned the following season as the Horns made the NCAAs again in their final year of Big 12 competition.

Make no mistake, Terry took his opportunity and ran with it. This season, the Horns are 14-6 overall and 3-4 in SEC play. 

Beard? He didn’t have to wait long. Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter called Del Conte to talk about his coaching vacancy. The Rebels had one heck of a celebratory pep rally on March 23, 2023, to welcome their new basketball leader.

Now that the Horns are in the SEC, they're bound to play the Rebels from time to time, although maybe not annually from here to eternity. 

“His success on the court speaks for itself, but we knew, obviously, there were more questions than that,” Carter said at Beard’s introductory press conference.

“Those allegations we take very, very seriously, obviously, and it’s so important that we gain a clear understanding of that particular situation. What we learned is that the initial reports were not an accurate reflection of the events that happened.”

Said Beard: “This is a new beginning. I look forward to this.”

As a coach, Beard is doing his thing, same as ever. No. 23 Ole Miss (15-5, 4-3 SEC) will make it difficult on Texas with aggressive defense. The energized fan base in Oxford will go full throttle from tip to horn.

Beard cancelled his normal Monday news conference with Ole Miss reporters. He knew what questions were coming. He did not return a message from A to Z Sports asking for an interview, either. An Ole Miss spokesman said Beard will be made available after the game Wednesday night.

To this day, Beard has never spoken publicly in length about what happened that night or his true feelings about being dismissed at Texas.

Next year, the Rebels will journey to Austin, and that will be easier. Don't expect Texas fans to greet Ole Miss in hostile fashion the night before and block the busses from leaving the arena. Looking at you, Red Raiders. Brock Cunningham stands forever ready.  

Beard won’t get the huge shout-out from the Texas public address announcer that Rick Barnes gets when Tennessee comes to town. To be fair, Barnes logged 17 seasons with the Longhorns and took the program to the Final Four, too.

Sigh. Texas and Beard were forced to go separate directions after so many expected them to go all the way.

What could have been?