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Brooklyn Nets assistant coach Royal Ivey was interviewed Sunday for the open head coach job in Texas, sources told ESPN. The interview took place on Zoom.
Ivey was a key player on the 2003 Longhorns Final Four team, before embarking on a 10-year career in the NBA.
Ivey was an assistant coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder and the New York Knicks before his tenure with the Nets.
Texas Tech coach Chris Beard is widely seen as the Longhorns’ first goal to replace Shaka Smart, who left last week to coach Marquette. The Beard Red Raiders lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament to Arkansas.
Ivey has the backing of some of Texas’ most notable former basketball players, including Nets superstar Kevin Durant.
Smart accepted the head coach job at Marquette on Friday, ending days of speculation over his future in Austin, Texas. Smart’s six-year tenure with the Longhorns has been a roller coaster to the last hill. He followed the Longhorns Big 12 conference tournament title – the only banner Smart won in six seasons there – with a shocking loss to Abilene Christian in the first round of the NCAA tournament seven days later.
ESPN writer Jeff Borzello contributed to this report.
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