SB Nation - Dejan Kravic

Billy Gillispie Resigns as Texas Tech Men's Basketball Coach

Seth C — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 11:13:36 -0000

Billy has decided to focus on his health and we wish him a full recovery. We are proud of the young men that he has brought to this campus. Billy's decision allows him to concentrate on his well-being and allows us to turn our attention to preparations for the upcoming season.

- Texas Tech Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt

On the resignation of Billy Gillispie

The quote to the right is the entire statement that was released yesterday afternoon from Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt on the resignation of men's head coach Billy Gillispie. Also in the press release is the mention that Gillispie will be paid for the remainder of this year and most likely, this was the settlement released between Texas Tech and Gillispie. Otherwise, Hocutt would not be able to call this a resignation, but a termination. Make no mistake, there is a reason why that detail is in that press release as I think Hocutt wants you to know that mutual agreements are eventually reached. That's a good thing.

The Wheels Were In Motion

In 2011 the wheels were already in motion when Kirby Hocutt was hired. Athletic director Kirby Hocutt was hired on March 3, 2011. Pat Knight was fired on March 7, 2011. Billy Gillispie was hired on March 20, 2011. It seems that those wheels were in motion and that the decision had been made long before Hocutt was hired.

In fact, on March 8, 2011, I wrote the following via AAS Kirk Bohls tweeting on the firing of Pat Knight and that it was President Guy Bailey's call to fire Pat:

The only thing that bothers me about this is that the current AD Gerald Myers didn't do what he should have done. AAS's Kirk Bohls tweeted, "Pat Knight's firing was TT prez Guy Bailey's call. Outgoing AD Gerald Myers, who hired Bob Knight, tried to save Pat.". I don't know if anyone else noticed this, but when Kirby Hocutt was hired, Gerald Myers was not in attendance at the Hocutt press conference. For whatever reason, maybe Pat knew that Myers wasn't going to be honest with him, which is why he sought out Bailey. I'm not sure what to think about this, other than it's is the strangest part about Pat's termination was that Myers isn't really anywhere to be found.

In the same article, FWST's Mike Jones affirmed that the wheels had been in motion to hire Gillispie:

I’ve been told that there are some financially heavy Tech people who are going to lobby on Gillispie’s behalf. Multi-million-dollar-type heavy. The question is whether or not they have the clout they think they do.

Last but not least, I put a poll at the bottom of the page and Gillispie earned 63% of the votes for who we wanted to be the next Texas Tech head coach with 692 people voting. I think there was a large portion of the fanbase that wanted Gillispie, despite his warts. And he did have some warts, but he was a winner, a proven winner, and for a group of fans that were desperate for a winning program, we thought it was worth the risk.

This isn't to say that Hocutt didn't have some say in hiring Gillispie, he obviously did and he obviously interviewed him. He had to have known what he was getting, but I think there is some truth there in that this seemed to be destined, BCG was from West Texas and we embrace things like that.

Learning From Mistakes

When Gillispie was hired he took in four of the five of the commits that Pat Knight had committed, but he let go two seniors that I can recall, SF Theron Jenkins and PF Paul Cooper. He didn't take in PF Hershey Robinson and dropped Jamel Outler and Mike Davis. Jenkins and Cooper were both set to be seniors last year, but Gillispie let them go and he brought in three JUCO players, PG Ty Nurse, SF Jaron Nash and C Kader Tapsoba and high schoolers SF Cameron Forte and PG Deshon Minnis. Forte was dropped or left halfway through the season. Then there was the sitation in hiring assistant coaches, stringing along Chris Beard and Tom Coverdale for what seemed like a long time.

But when Gillispie was hired (PDF), he said that he would not make the same mistakes that he had made at Kentucky:

But I never worry about those mistakes. You try to learn from them and not repeat them. But those things don't determine us. It's what we do in the future that does.

I referenced this Kentucky Sports Radio article on why Gillispie was fired earlier in this process and here are the reasons why Gillispie, according to Matt Jones, was fired at Kentucky: 1) Interpersonal Relationships with Administrators, Boosters and Staff; 2. Derrick Jasper; 3. The Media Problems; 4. Play Relationships; and 5. Not an ambassador.

I don't know how many of this past mistakes that Gillispie learned from, he obviously learned from his relationship with Derrick Jasper as he hired Jasper as a graduate assistant. He healed whatever relationship he had with Jasper to an extent, but the some of the mistakes remained. Gillispie allegedly let go at least 15 staff members. These aren't players, but people that he may have treated poorly.

And the players that left is a long list. Either BCG didn't think that they could play or the left on their own. It's a tough situation and most of the players found homes, but PG Kevin Wagner, SF Jaron Nash, SF Terran Petteway, PG Deshon Minnis, were asked to leave or left on their own accord. I don't know the truth and it's probably a bit of both situations. There were allegations that Gillispie was questioning as to whether or not he would renew the scholarships of Dejan Kravic and Ty Nurse. If you add in Forte, Marshall Henderson, who never played for BCG but had transferred from Utah and could have played, there eleven players that left:

1. Cameron Forte
2. Marshall Henderson
3. Jamel Outler
4. Mike Davis
5. Theron Jenkins
6. Paul Cooper
7. Deshon Minnis
8. Jaron Nash
9. Javarez Willis
10. Kevin Wagner
11. Terran Petteway.

That's not the fifteen that was reported, but it's still quite a bit, almost an entire roster turned over in just two years. If I have missed any, just let me know and I'll add to the list.

The player treatment is a huge part of this deal. It's a tricky situation in that if you say that you should never let players dictate who is hired or fired, that's true, but it is troubling when players say that they don't even want to play for a coach. I don't think that PF Jordan Tolbert's comments swayed Hocutt, as it should have been the culmination of evidence of his overall treatment of players and staff. Even if you discount Tolbert's statement, one of the articles linked above noted that the administrative staff was appalled at Gillsipie's treatment of players. So it apparently just wasn't the players, but after investigation, it was a lot of people that didn't like the way he was treating people.

Moving Forward

Associate head coach Chris Walker was not named as the interim head coach and there is a thought that Hocutt may look for a permanent replacement immediately. The one thing I feel fairly certain about is that Hocutt won't rush to a decision. I'm fine with Walker for this year and although this is not the best circumstances for an audition, I would guess that Walker will do his best. But Hocutt needs to take his time with his decision. Things are a mess right now and rushing to make a permanent hire in a couple of weeks isn't appropriate. Practices are to start next month, we can hit ctrl-alt-delete after the season.

We Have the SWNT, Steve Nash, Andrew Wiggins at the Peach Jam and More in Canadian Content

rbala — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 12:15:04 -0000

In a light weekend of action we do have the Senior Women in London right now, Steve Nash making LA the "Big Easy" as per Mike Brown, Cory Joseph talks, Kris Joseph shows out and Andrew Wiggins is the talk of the Peach Jam and a whole lot more in this edition of Canadian Content ...

First we start off with the National Program stuff ...

GETTING TO KNOW OUR OLYMPIANS – ALISHA TATHAM | Canada Basketball

The Olympics are only days away now and the SWNT will be taking on their first opponent on July 26 ...

Stepping into Olympic spotlight ‘most exciting part’ for women’s basketball squad’s Plouffe

TheRecord - The clock ticks down

Krista Phillips serves up anniversary present to parents with Olympic berth | Metro

Next up is the pro news ...

Stuff we already knew ... Mike Brown: Steve Nash will 'make the game easier for all of us' – USATODAY.com

Great vid of Cory here ... Video: Cory Joseph is a lover not a fighter | July

And cousin Kris looks like he's really making a case for himself with the Celtics ... Joseph, Melo continue to make strides - Sports - The Boston Globe

And last but not least we have the high school stories ...

Big shout to our man Jason Thom at the Score for getting this great look on Iowa State commit Naz Long inthe books ... UpNext: Naz Long | Video | theScore.com

Was it really ever that much of a secret ... JacketsOnline.com - Peach Jam: CIA's talent no secret

You can check out the Peach Jam's championship game right here where CIA Bounce take on the Oakland Soldiers ...

UK target Wiggins stars in Peach Jam, but his team falls in finals | Basketball recruiting | Kentucky.com

THIS is a pretty NASTY mixtape of Andrew Wiggins ... Battle Of The Best: Julius Randle vs Andrew Wiggins SHOWDOWN At Nike Peach Jam - YouTube

2012 PEACH JAM REPORT – DAY IV (PART B) | NBE Basketball Report

Offers, Interest And Pursuit Of The Dream - northpolehoops.com

Troy Reid-Knight Stock Rising: ‘He is Hands Down the Best Defender in the EYBL’ - northpolehoops.com

Big shout to our man at Texas Tech Dejan Kravic for putting this video of his younger brother Aleksander out there for us. He's not bad at all ... Aleksandar Kravic 11-12 Mix - YouTube

Gold for Gold at Manitoba Games - Winnipeg Free Press

Five Thoughts About the JUCO Signees

Seth C — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 15:00:12 -0000

"Five" is a series of five things, players, thoughts or whatever I think will fill a post.

1. Size at the Guard Position | There were times last year when Texas Tech was running out on the floor one guard over six foot, Ty Nurse. It was common to see Javarez Willis (5'11"), Kevin Wagner (5'8") and Luke Adams (5'8") out on the floor at times as well. Think about how small of a lineup that is and how much pressure that you are putting on your big men to grab every rebound when that trio of guards are all under six foot. At the very least, with the arrival of Daylen Robinson (6'0"), Trency Jackson (6'2") and Jamal Williams (6'3") you're at least giving the team a fighting chance. Not only that, but offensively, it makes more sense that these players will be able to put up shots a bit easier against opposing teams. It's not rocket science, but height will give you at fighting chance in basketball and the one thing that this team lacked last year, perhaps at almost every position, was height.

2. Defensive Toughness | Again, I haven't seen or heard a peep about Jamal Williams and I've gone over time and time again the thought that Williams had a rough go at it at the JUCO level offensively and the general thought is that he's going to be a nice combo-guard that is a defensive stopper. Texas Tech could use one of those. Not only that, but upon Trency Jackson's commitment, his coach said that he always guarded the team's best player:

"Trency is an outstanding defender, one of the best I have coached in 23 years," Forbes said in a telephone interview. "He can guard the other team’s best player, (position) one through three. He’s really athletic, can put it on the floor. He’s a good player and he’s only getting better. I think he’s a great fit."

And he said himself that he's focused on the defense:

"He’s a defensive minded coach and I was the best defensive player on the team this year," Jackson said. "It’s going to be a lot of the same because Coach Forbes took a lot of drills from coach Gillespie, so I’ll be two steps ahead."

I can't speak to whether or not anyone else is going to be passable as a defender, although from what I think, Williams is most likely going to be a tenacious defender, but I'm more than appreciative of the one that has volunteered for duty and think that the other will be more than passable.

3. Ready-To Go Point Guards | I am still confident in thinking that Daylen Robinson will be your day one starter at point guard. We have already talked a bit about Josh Gray later, but when Robinson left high school, he was being considered by some relatively elite programs (Kansas was one for sure). There was not denying his talent, but it was his grades and maybe his personal life (which he has since turned around) that held him back, perhaps for the better as he seemingly matured quite a bit at JUCO. The bottom line is that I think that Robinson may be just as talented as Gray, but has more experience. Not the same type of player, but right now, probably better. Add to that and as linked above, Jackson's comment that he wants to be this team's starting point guard and now you've got yourself some real competition at a position that lacked real competition last year. Now you add Gray into the mix and this might be the best battle in practices leading up to the season. I would probably pay to watch these practices.

More after the jump.

4. A Mobile and Versatile Big Man | Silva has been billed as a versatile big-man and I've only about 30 seconds of this human being play basketball. By some he's labeled as a sniper and some others say that he has good hands and feet. But perhaps the best description and maybe some clarification, comes from Hoopniks who says that he averaged 13 PPG and 9 RPG as a true freshman, rather than a sophomore, will redshirt this year and then have three years of eligibility remaining:

Texas Tech picked up an interesting commitment in 6′-10″ center Rodrigo Silva, a native of Brazil. Silva plays at Laramie County CC, but it’s been reported that the big man will redshirt this year, and have three seasons of eligibility for the Red Raiders. He was good for 13 points and 9 rebounds per game as a freshman in a strong junior college basketball league.

I'm more encouraged, especially if Gillispie views Silva as a bit of a project, like PF/C Dejan Kravic. I was never confident what to expect from Silva, so if this is the play, then there is not the logjam at the center spot that I thought was about to happen.

5. The Obvious . . . Experience | This one is incredibly easy. The fact that Gillispie recruited and signed four JUCO players says that he not only wants young talent, but he wants players ready to compete and ready to fight for a job. These JUCO players are closer to realizing their dream of playing professionally (if that is their dream) and they may be more hungry to make sure that they get their minutes. I've never known what to think about JUCO players, but I've also never done the research like I have this offseason into their stats while at JUCO and thinking about whether or not that will translate. Guys that shoot well at the JUCO level are more than likely going to be about what they are, and if they can't shoot, then I wouldn't imagine that's going to change overnight. Guys that can score at the JUCO level are more likely to continue to being able to score, but maybe not at the same rate, but that trait typically doesn't just disappear.

DTN Daily Diatribe | Texas Tech News, Notes and Links | 2012-06-07

Seth C — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 10:16:20 -0000

SOFTBALL | A couple of Texas Tech signees are named to All-American status.

BASEBALL | There were nine players selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, which is a school record. That should be depressing. Nine players drafted, which also led the Big 12 and the team finished last. Congrats to those players drafted: Bo Altobelli, 21st round; Reid Redman, 23rd round; Daniel Coulombe 25th round; John Neely, 30th round; and Rusty Shellhorn, 31st round. LAJ's George Watson recaps, while AD Kirby Hocutt is disappointed as well and interim head coach Tim Tadlock doesn't know whether or not the signees will also sign Major League deals.

TRACK | Per LAJ's Don Williams, Gil Roberts advances in the 400m, but he ran his fastest time and still finished third.

Per the official site, All-American shot-putter Ifeatu Okafor has been nominated to the John McLendon Postgraduate Scholarship, which is a big deal for Ms. Okafor.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL | The official site has an extensive Q&A with new graduate assistant Layne Reeves, whose dad is former Texas Tech quarterback ~~Don~~ Ron Reeves.

MEN'S BASKETBALL LAJ's Nick Kosmider has a profile on PF/C Dejan Kravic, who was only 5'10" as a freshman in high school, has added 20 pounds over the past year and is at 240 and here is what head coach Billy Gillispie said about Kravic:

"He has a very unique skill set," Gillispie said. "He has changed his body a lot since he’s been here, for the better. He is very agile because of his strength, and he has fantastic size. He also has a very high basketball IQ."

FOOTBALL | Per DMN's Mike Graham, ATH Casey Gladney and LB Ryan Flannigan did not qualify. Gladney will go to Hargrave Military Academy and Flannigan will go to JUCO. I think that Gladney had said that he would qualify, but it's not surprising he didn't qualify. He wasn't expected to qualify. CB Bruce Jones is supposed to qualify, but won't arrive on campus until the second summer session.

Per DMN's Mike Graham, 2012 signee DL J.J. Loller (formerly Bynum) will have surgery on his eye next week and as a result, he will not be here on campus until January. Loller will intern at a high school near his home in College Station. Head coach Tommy Tuberville said that he would honor Loller's scholarship regardless of the outcome of his eye condition. I really hope Loller can play football at Texas Tech.

Beyond The Bets has predicted the favorites for every college football game and by doing this, they have predicted the record for every team. BTB is predicting a 3-6 conference record which means that Texas Tech is only favored in 3 conference games.

Dave Campbell's Jake Shaw looks at the replacements for LG Lonnie Edwards, Beau Carpenter, and DE Scott Smith, Branden Jackson.

The Skills that the Five (or Six) Returning Texas Tech Basketball Players Must Improve Upon

Seth C — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 14:00:09 -0000

"Five" is a series of five things, players, thoughts or whatever I think will fill a post.

1. Toddrick Gotcher (6-3/190) | Gotcher was actually a pretty well-rounded player in my opinion. I think one of the reasons he played so much during his true freshman year was because he was an excellent defender, could stay in front of most Big 12 shooting guards and was actually a better than average passer and rebounder for his size. I also didn't have much of a problem with his ball handling and Gotcher also had a good idea of when to shoot the ball and when to defer. The one glaring thing that stood out to this entire team was the lack of outside shooting and Gotcher wasn't necessarily part of the problem, but can be a big part of the solution if he can significantly improve his outside shot and become a true threat from beyond the three-point line.

2. Jaye Crockett (6-7/200) | I have detailed how the small forward in Billy Gillispie's high-low offense must be a proficient outside player. Crockett played the high post spot last year, but if Crockett is going to play further in his career, he must be a more complete player. That includes the need to be a better ball-handler to be able to take opponents off the dribble, being able to pull up and shoot and even be more proficient beyond the three-point line. Crockett will not only further his ability, but he will also help make sure that this team is having to rely on a true freshman in Wannah Bail that might not be ready for prime time.

3. Jordan Tolbert (6-2/210) | Tolbert was the low post threat last year and at 6'7", he was probably too small to be effective over the course of an entire Big 12 season to be a dominant low post player. But he got his feet wet and from everything that we read last year, Tolbert is a hard-working individual who is ready to improve. I think that Tolbert stays in the post, but he becomes a much bigger threat if he can shoot from the free throw line and is adept at throwing the ball into the post. I think that with all of the additional height, Tolbert is going to need to be able to not just play around the block and he will need to have a more discerning eye as to whether or not the pass inside is smart or to kick it out to the wing.

More after the jump.

4. Ty Nurse (6-1/180) | I don't know if it was just me, but I think that I had too high of expectations of Nurse really controlling the game and being a floor leader. That's not what he really was. I didn't think that Nurse was really a floor leader and my biggest problem with his game was that he jus couldn't stay in front of Big 12 point guards. He is just not that gifted athletically. Nurse ended up being a poor shooter overall, despite having a very hot start, and like everyone else that returns, he has to be more proficient from the outside. I think he is fine with an open jump shot, but it would be nice if that this was his best trait that he be incredibly accurate.

5. Kader Tapsoba (6-10/215) and Dejan Kravic (6-11/230) | Because there are six players returning, I had to shoehorn Tapsoba and Kravic into one item and since we haven't really seen them play, I hope you can live with that. Tapsoba is going to be this team's defensive presence. He was not an offensive threat at all in JUCO and I think one of the lessons learned last year is that it is unrealistic to think that a player is going to be something significantly more than what their stats reveal. Instead, I think that with all of the offensive oriented players arriving, it is a good thing that Tapsoba can focus on just being a shutdown defensive presence in the middle. My hope that with his year redshirting, he has worked on his offensive game to develop just a shot that is decent enough to be credible. That's it. With Kravic, his video showed to be a guy that he has a lot of perimeter oriented skills, but there are other times whe he looks out of control. Kravic has to harness those skills and players always talk about how once the game slows down, they become better players. I hope that the game has slowed down for Kravic as he sat out last year. If Kravic is a 10 point scorer from the post, that will go a long ways with this team having significant success next year.

Red Raider Hoops | PG Javarez Willis to Transfer to Ohio University

Seth C — Sat, 05 May 2012 10:05:18 -0000

Texas Tech PG Javarez Willis announced last night via Twitter that he is set to transfer to Ohio University:

Just signed with Ohio University! Happy to be a part of the family #Bobcats
— Javarez Bean Willis (@BALL_LIF3) May 4, 2012

Attrition is an ugly word sometimes and it's something that happens in college athletics and it's not pretty. It's part of the game and right now, off of last year's roster, SF Cameron Forte left during the Christmas break and SF Jaron Nash announced his transfer earlier this spring. As we review the numbers again, there are nine signees, one that supposedly that will not qualify (Michael Carey) and one that will pay his own way, which means there are seven scholarships available. That means only six of the following scholarship players will remain on next year's roster: Kevin Wagner, Deshon Minnis, Toddrick Gotcher, Ty Nurse, Terran Petteway, Jaye Crockett, Jordan Tolbert, Kader Tapsoba and Dejan Kravic.

Good luck Javarez and thank you for your time at Texas Tech.

Who's Committed to Their School Now?

rbala — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 19:30:01 -0000

With the flurry of the movement going on in basketball over the last few weeks in terms of commitments, transfers and the like, Can Ball Ray has provided his running list of commitments that he's compiled thus far.

There are still guys on the board looking for announce where they're going, whether high school senior or college transfer, so this is by no means an exhaustive list right now nut he figures that something to work with is better than nothing so check out who's supposed to be going where right here ...

*** Please note that the name of the players last school before committing is listed before their hometown in parenthesis and their current school of commitment ***

NCAA Division I Commitments

Kemy Osse, Archbishop Carroll in DC (Montreal) – Arkansas-Little Rock

Jermaine Myers, Blair Academy in NJ (Ajax, ON) – Fordham

Nick Wiggins, Wabash Valley Junior College (Toronto) – Wichita State

Patrick Steeves, Hotchkiss School in CT (Montreal) – Harvard

Negus Webster-Chan, Huntington Prep in WV (Toronto) – Missouri

Nik Stauskas, St Mark’s School in Mass (Mississauga, ON) – Michigan

Richard Audu, Next Level Prep (Toronto) – Siena

Richard Peters, Westwind Prep in AZ (Toronto) – Washington State - did not qualify academically and will go to Junior College next season.

Paul-Olivier Betu, Worcester Academy in Mass (Montreal) – UC –Davis

Braxston Bunce, Kelowna Secondary School (Kelowna, BC) – Cornell (correction)

Braedon Anderson, Christian Faith Academy in NC (Okatoks, Alberta) – Fresno State

Olivier Hanlan, New Hampton School in NH (Gatineau, PQ) – Boston College

Ben Muillard, Vanier College (Montreal) – St. Francis

Naz Long, St. Martin's Secondary School (Mississauga, ON) – Iowa State

Junior Lomomba, Memorial in Wisc. (Montreal) – Cleveland State

Grant Mullins, Notre Dame (Burlington) – Columbia

Jarryn Skeete, Brigton Academy in Maine (Brampton) – Buffalo

Agunwa Okolie, Denis O’Connor (Ajax) – Harvard

Shae Jones, Cypress Bay in FL – Presbyterian

Mitch Ferrell, Twin Lakes (Barrie, ON) – NJIT

Ammanuel Diressa, Eastern Commerce (Toronto) – Tennessee Tech

Chadrak Lufile, Coffeyville Community College in KS (Burlington, ON) – Wichita State

Stefan Jankovic, Huntington Prep in WV (Mississauga, ON) – Missouri

Manroop Clair, Huntington Prep (Vancouver) - Hawaii

David Andoh, IMG Academy (Montreal) - San Jose State

Anthony Bennett, Findlay Prep (Brampton, ON) - UNLV

Dyshawn Pierre, Anderson (Whitby, ON) - Dayton

Matt Willms, Findlay Prep (Leamington, ON) - UTEP

Marvin Binney, New Mexico Junior College (Toronto) - Duquesne

Damion Rashford, Westwind Academy (Ajax, ON) - Loyola, Md

Kaza Keane, Christian Faith Center Academy (Ajax, ON) - Illinois State

Jaylen Babb-Harrison, J Clarke Richardson (Ajax, ON) - Eastern Kentucky

Joe De Ciman, LeBoldus (Regina) - Colorado State

UPDATES:

Tyrel Edwards, Olney Central (Hamilton) - Canisius

Chad Posthumus, Horward Junior College (Winnipeg) - Morehead State

Recent Division I Transfers Eligible in 2013-14

Dylan Ennis, Rice (Brampton, ON) - Villanova

Kadeem Green, Missouri (Toronto) – Ohio U

Emerson Murray, Cal (Vancouver) - Seattle

Christian Kabongo, New Mexico State - Southeast Missouri

Division I Transfers Eligible This Season

Juevol Myles, Kansas State (Toronto) – North Dakota

Dallin Bachynski, Southern Utah (Calgary) – Utah

Mangisto Arop, Gonzaga (Edmonton) - Indiana State

Murphy Burnatowski, Maine (Waterloo, ON) - Colgate

Dejan Kravic, York University (London, ON) - Texas Tech

Khem Birch, Pitt (Montreal) - UNLV - Birch should be eligible for the second semester is I'm not mistaken.

Division 1 Transfers Who Haven't Committed To Another School Yet

Jabs Newby, Eastern Kentucky (Toronto)

Osman Olol, Coppin State (Toronto)

Robinson Odoch-Opong, LIU - Brooklyn (Quebec City)

Vishal Banipal, Idaho State (Calgary)

*** NOTE: If you have any corrections or better yet new insider info on commits or transfers, send them over our way. You will get the credit for sure. ***

Red Raider Hoops | Texas Tech Basketball and Previewing the Commits and Signees

Seth C — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 15:00:06 -0000

This is a two-part series, the first part is who might be back next year and the current commits or signees. The problem with this sort of exercise is that we don't know exactly who is going to stay and who is going to be off the roster next year. So this is going to be tough to speculate, but at the very least, we have a pretty good idea who is going to be here next year because they have committed or signed, but we should keep in mind that not all committed players will qualify, so this somewhat adds to the speculative part of this process.

Part I: Red Raider Hoops | Texas Tech Basketball and Who Returns

Recruiting Profiles on the Commits and Signees can be found under the section: Texas Tech Basketball Recruiting 2012

Who Is On The Way

Again, I want to preface this by saying that there is not 100% certainty that every one of these players will qualify. There are some questions about whether or not Bail or Carey will qualify, but I don't think this is as big of a concern as initially thought. This is who either committed or signed a letter of intent:

Position	Player	Height/Weight
Point Guard	Daylen Robinson	6-0/178
Point Guard	Jamal Williams	6-3/185
Shooting Guard	Dusty Hannahs	6-3/200
Shooting Guard	Michael Carey	6-5/190
Small Forward	Wannah Bail	6-8/205
Small Forward	Aaron Ross	6-8/220
Power Forward	Rodrigo Silva	6-10/225

One of the things that I may have learned from last year's recruitment of Nash and Nurse was that scoring in the JUCO ranks most likely is a pretty good indicator of how well a player will perform in Division I basketball. Both Nurse and Nash were not good or great scorers at the JUCO level, I think they both averaged at or under 10 PPG and they didn't shoot the ball all that well.

Quite simply, I don't think they were highly rated and their JUCO stats played it out. If anything, you usually don't expect more than what they did in the JUCO ranks . The biggest difference between what Robinson offers and what Nurse did was that Robinson is a guy that's scoring at a fairly high rate and also has a fairly high assist rate (I think it would have been top 20 or 10 in the JUCO ranks). That's the biggest difference between what Nurse was coming out of Tyler J.C. and what Robinson offers coming out of Moberly C.C., which is that Robinson can put the ball in the bucket and he is a better player on his JUCO team.

PG Daylen Robinson (6-0/178)

Up first is PG Daylen Robinson who is having a pretty good year thus far at Moberly Area C.C.:

16.3 PPG | 41% FG | 33% 3FG% | 71% FT% | 3.5 RPG | 1.4 SPG | 5.9 APG | 4.1 TPG

The thing that jumps out at me is that Robinson is adept at distributing the ball, at almost 6 assist per game, but does turn the ball over a bit much, but I don't know what the style of play is like for his JUCO team. The other interesting thing is that he's not much of a three-point threat and doesn't have the best shooting percentage, but he is taking just a shade under 4 three-point shots a game. Not perfect, but I think this is pretty good production.

My hopes is that Robinson will be the guy that can get to the bucket, set up his teammates, not turn the ball over and knock down an open jump shot then Robinson will be what this team needs. If Robinson can be close to the player that Baylor's Pierre Jackson was this past year, 13.5 points a game and 5.7 assists, then this will go a long ways to this team making a significant improvement.

PG Jamal Williams (6-3/185)

Jamal Williams may be more Nurse than Robinson:

10.58 PPG | 36% FG% | 35% 3FG% | 76% FT% | 2.6 RPG | 0.8 SPG | 3.8 APG | 2.4 TPG

Williams isn't exactly lighting it up and is the 4th leading scorer on his JUCO team. And this isn't a case where he's distributing at a higher level than Robinson in terms of assists or setting up his teammates. Williams sophomore campaign at JUCO isn't stellar by any means and the field goal shooting is a concern. If you were to put your money on one player having success at the Division I level and had to choose between Williams and Robinson, then I think my money is on Robinson. I've never been able to find any film on Williams, so all I've been able to base my opinion is off of what he's done at the JUCO level based on his statistics.

More after the jump.

C Rodrigo Silva (6-10/225)

Rodrigo Silva is having an okay year, but not the best year for a guy that's a 6-10 power forward:

10.1 PPG | 38% FG% | 31% 3FG% | 50% FT% | 9.6 RPG | 1.5 APG | 1.0 SPG | 2.5 BPG | 2.6 TPG

What does stand out is the rebounding and he's obviously adept at that and what Texas Tech is probably also getting is more of a defensive presence with a fairly high block rate. The problematic things are obviously the shooting percentage, which is way too low for a guy that's most likely playing near the basket, or should be playing near the basket. The free throw percentage is also a bit worrisome, much like Nash, he's just not a good free throw shooter. Again, if given the opportunity to choose between Silva, Kravic and Tapsoba, I'd put my money on Kravic, then Tapsoba and then Silva as guys that I'd look to contribute next year.

SG Dusty Hannahs (6-3/200)

There is no doubt that the biggest reason why Hannahs will see significant time this next year is because he can shoot and he can shoot the ball from long range. We've already talked about how Hannahs was named the player of the year in Arkansas, ahead of Kentucky commit Archie Goodwin, and if Hannahs can shoot the ball even remotely close to what he did in high school, he will immediately be the best shooter on the team. Without question. The biggest key is that the offense needs to be able to draw defenders inside, whether it be through the high post offense that BCG runs or by one of the point guards driving and dishing, which we didn't see much of this past year. I haven't been able to find stats on Hannahs' shooting percentage for the year, but when his team lost in the state title game he was 12 of 14 from the field and against Goodwin he was 11 of 18 from the floor. I have a feeling he can shoot and Texas Tech needs that particular skill next year, even if it is for 15 minutes a game.

SF Wannah Bail (6-8/205)

The biggest question for me is what type of player is a top 100 player and what should be the expectations? I looked over Rivals top 100 players for the 2011 class and Oklahoma St.'s LeBryan Nash was #6, Baylor's Quincy Miller was #7 and Texas' Myck Kabongo was #26. That's three-fifths of your all-rookie team from 2012. Bail is the #66 player in the 2012 class according to Rivals and for comparison purposes, Texas' Sheldon McClain averaged 11.3 points a game this year and was the #60 ranked player, Oklahoma St.'s Cezar Guerrero averaged 5.6 points a game and was the #71 ranked player and Jonathan Holmes averaged 7.2 points a game and was the #89 ranked player. The point with looking back is that it's probably not fair to expect that Bail will be a savior in his first season for Texas Tech. It's likely that Bail will average in double-figures or close to that as long as he's not blocked by anyone for playing time, but don't expect a 20 point a game scorer right off the bat. I'm sure that I could find examples of players that are averaging double-figures that are in that range, and much of the success of a player is dependent on who is in front of that player in terms of playing time and what the team needs right now.

Bail does offer an inside and outside presence that I don't think that Texas Tech fans have seen very much at his height and presents a match-up problem because of his length and his ability to handle the ball. Bail was fantastic at the end of the year, and on an absolute tear offensively. And it's his mid-range game that's so impressive that could earn Bail immediate playing time with this roster. The closest thing that Texas Tech has to Bail is Crockett, but I think that right now, Bail has a better mid-range game.

SF Aaron Ross (6-8/220)

I'm still not sure what to expect from Ross. He's billed as a big forward ranging in size from 220 to 250 depending on the website that has the ability to play outside, but probably has the requisite size to compete in the Big 12 immediately. His Wisconsin prep school team likes to get him the ball at the top of the key and let him create a bit off the dribble-drive, but I think he might be a step slow to do that in the Big 12 right away, although if you give him enough time I think he'll be fine. Ross is going to have to learn to play inside initially, I think, and that may be a bit problematic considering that I don't think he's the most athletic player. That's not to say that he's a bad athlete, but I think he's going to have to learn to play post defense first, somewhat like Tolbert.

PG/SG Michael Carey (6-5/190)

It wouldn't surprise me to see Carey be a bit behind Bail, Ross and Bail in terms of playing time because I think he's more raw than than either player. He was averaging about 12 points a game, but his points really tailed off at the end of the year. Not every player can play immediately and that's fine. He might need to give it a year to adjust, but he does offer a combination of height that at the point guard and shooting guard position that Texas Tech currently doesn't have.

Somewhat Final Roster

Position	Player	Height/Weight	Year
Point Guard	Daylen Robinson	6-0/178	Junior
Point Guard	Jamal Williams	6-3/185	Junior
Shooting Guard	Toddrick Gotcher	6-3/195	RS Freshman
Shooting Guard	Dusty Hannahs	6-3/200	Freshman
Shooting Guard	Michael Carey	6-5/190	Freshman
Small Forward	Wannah Bail	6-8/205	Freshman
Small Forward	Aaron Ross	6-8/220	Freshman
Power Forward	Jaye Crockett	6-7/200	Junior
Power Forward	Jordan Tolbert	6-7/210	Sophomore
Center	Dejan Kravic	6-11/230	Junior
Center	Kader Tapsoba	6-10/215	Junior
Center	Rodrigo Silva	6-10/225	Junior

So this is the roster that you'll end up with as of right now and there will obviously be one additional player added to make 13 scholarship players. It's a much bigger roster assuming that each of these players make team. Whatever you may have learned this year about the players, you can probably forget for the most part and if someone tells you that they think that this next year's team will make the NCAA Tournament, make sure that they know that there's most likely going to be an entirely different roster and that they should be basing that opinion on the fact that Gillispie is the head coach and nothing else.

Honestly, I don't know what to expect, and I've spent quite a few words guessing on Tuesday and today, I'm still not completely sure and I've probably taken more time to know what's happening more than most folks. I'm not at all suggesting that you can't be excited about the team or hopeful, but I think that right now, expecting anything more than a .500 record will be setting this team up for failure. It may take BCG more time that it's taken him in the past, but he essentially had little to no talent remaining on this team and he had to start over. I don't think you'll see the cutting of players again next year. He's got to create some continuity and consistency.

Perhaps the biggest difference between this roster and the roster this past year is that it's more well-rounded. Last year, there were four point guards on the team (Willis, Nurse, Wagner and Minnis) and only one shooting guard (Gotcher). Having one true shooting guard was problematic as soon as Gotcher was injured. There was only one post player with good height (Lewandowski) and now there are at least three that are 6-10 or taller.

Red Raider Hoops | Texas Tech Basketball and Who Returns

Seth C — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 16:00:17 -0000

Who Are The Locks

From everything that I've read and heard, mostly from the repeated questions that Double-T 104.3's Chris Level answers on the portion "Ask Level" about the roster, there are three players that are most likely going to be here next year that are currently on the roster are C/PF Dejan Kravic (6-11/230), C/PF Kader Tapsoba (6-10/215) and SG Toddrick Gotcher (6-3/195). Gotcher is the only one of those three players who has played this year, while Kravic is sitting out the year as he was a transfer and should have two years to play, while Tapsoba, I'm assuming is redshirted this year, so he should also have two years to play.

SG Toddrick Gotcher (6-3/185)

Gotcher averaged 7.3 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 2.6 APG and 1.4 TPG while shooting 48.8% from the floor, 54.5% from the three-point line and 72.0% from the free throw line. Gotcher mainly played at the shooting guard spot before being injured for the year and I think he can eventually transition to a combination guard where he is capable of playing the point and shooting guard spot. I never thought that he had the ability to be a play-maker as a point guard as I didn't really notice that he was setting up his teammates all that much, but he does have a nice handle and he almost had an assist to turnover ratio of 2:1, which is more than respectable. Gotcher does play fantastic defense and that was one of the reasons he was seeing so much time as a true freshman, plus the thought that there weren't really any other bigger guards on the team.

Dan Swany's Thoughts: Gotcher looked good to me in the non-conference games, but nothing stat wise was that impressive. He seemed pretty consistent, and played his roll as point guard and shooting guard well. The one thing I absolutely loved with watching him was his intensity and encouragement on the court when he or other players would make shots, or big plays. He seems like he will be a leader for this team someday, and if BCG wants him next year I’m all for it. I can picture him as being a true red raider that can lead the team especially in his later years, but I don’t expect him to be in the spotlight on a national level, it might be only Tech fans that hold him high and truly respect him for what he brings to the team. Since he didn’t play in Big 12 games after he got hurt, I am going to be somewhat skeptical of him and he is one that will have to prove to me what he is made of, because I do have some high hopes for him. I think BCG does to and that’s why he will stick around.

C Dejan Kravic (6-11/230)

Kravic is a transfer from York University in Canada and is a forward that can handle the ball, put the ball on the floor and drive past his man, has a nice mix of inside moves, can shoot from the outside and is actually quite athletic. He also has a nice feel for the game and in looking back at his highlights, he's quite adept at passing the ball. I think he's similar to what Robert Lewandowski was this year, but with more athleticism and better court vision. The biggest thing that Kravic will need improve on, which helps that he's been with the team all year as a transfer, is adjusting to Big 12 play and probably needing to toughen up his game. He appeared to be a man amongst boys in his highlight film while in college in Canada.

The reason I'd put so much faith in Dejan Kravic is that he had a pretty good stat line coming out of York University. I can't say what the competition was like, but he was producing:

15.6 PPG | 52.6% FG | 14.3% 3FG | 81.4% FT | 9.6 RPG | 2.0 APG | 2.3 BPG

The three-point shooting is a bit of a concern, but not a concern is the field goal shooting and free throw shooting. At the very least, I'm thinking that Kravic needs to refine his outside shot a bit, but if he's mainly playing inside, then it's not too much of a concern. The other thing is that Kravic was averaging about the same number of blocks per game as Silva, but again, much more productive scoring the ball.

Dan Swany's Thoughts: I got a chance to see Kravic up close and in person at the UT game (about 20 feet away). He is a monster listed at six-eleven, but I bet with boots on he is over 7 foot. I also thought I read somewhere he has gained like 20 or 25 pounds. I can say he didn’t seem as skinny to me as his early year photos, but he was in his warm-ups all game. He is the same as Tapsoba in that we could have used, if nothing else his size down low. So, with his size, I feel BCG has plans to use him against the huge players in the Big 12.

C Kader Tapsoba (6-10/215)

Tapsoba is a defensive minded and long-armed power forward and center combination, although I'd expect for him to mainly play at the center spot. Tapsoba was not a high scoring offensive player while at Tyler Junior College, averaging just 6.7 PPG, but he did average 8.03 RPG, 3.46 BPg and shot 67.0% from the floor. Again, Tapsoba has had a year to work on his game and I've never been able to find any film on Tapsoba while at TJC, but the general thought is that Tapsoba is a defense first player, which is just fine with me. Teams need players like this, but his offensive game must be better as it helps to have players that at the very least, opposing teams respect opposed to completely ignoring him, even if it's catching the ball in the low post and firing off an occasional hook or something like that.

Kader Tapsoba is the definition of a defensive presence:

6.7 PPG | 67% FG% | 67% FT% | 8.03 RPG | 3.46 BPG

Not at all a scorer, but the 3.46 blocks per game is encouraging and the fact that he's rebounding at a fairly high rate is also encouraging. I'd also add that having a year to develop at Texas Tech while redshirting should help. He will have seen the Big 12 and most likely knows what to expect. I'd also add that even though Tapsoba could have played this year, a decision was made, fairly early, that Tapsoba would redshirt this past year. Tapsoba was injured early, maybe a stress fracture, but I think that Gillispie probably knew that he and the team might be better off, even if this season was a disaster, with Tapsoba redshirting and working on his game. I do like that he's a decent free throw shooter so he may not be as awkward as I'm expecting, but don't expect much from Tapsoba offensively.

Dan Swany's Thoughts: Tapsoba is an unknown, so I don’t have a whole lot of thoughts for him. But, I do know this; we could have used his size inside (6-10). He might be skinny, both his length under the basket was much needed as much as Lew was pushed around down there maybe he could’ve done better in some situations. I like the size he brings down low, and I guess he will be good enough if BCG keeps him.

So much more after the jump.

Players That Will Most Likely Stay

I have a hard time thinking that F Jordan Tolbert and F Jaye Crockett won't have a place on the roster if they want it. Level ususally says that there are some players on the roster who think that playing basketball for Billy Gillispie isn't what they signed up for, i.e. they were commits from Pat Knight that Gillispie kept, and although much of what I've thought is that Gillispie may be cutting players, but then some players may leave on their own accord.

SF Jaye Crockett (6-7/200)

I would have a tough time with Crockett leaving as a sophomore, he would have to transfer to another school, and then he would only have one year to play. That just boggles my mind a bit. Crockett rarely started this year, for some reason, but he did put up pretty good numbers, 8.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.1 APG, and 2.4 TPG, while shooting 47.8% from the field and 72.6% from the free throw line. That's really good production, especially when you think that he only averaged about 25 minutes a game.

Sometimes I forget, but with players like Crockett, I forget how young he is and the fact that he just finished his sophomore year means that he's still got plenty of time to improve as a player. Both Crockett and Tolbert need to work on not turning the ball over as those figures are way too high for post players that don't handle the ball as much as the guards.

Dan Swany's Thoughts: Crockett, between me and you was the best player on the team this year. He has the size, can shot the ball, takes it to the rim with force, and can rebound. He is my favorite player on the team, and he also was last year, so I maybe overlook some of his downfalls like ball-handling skills and leaving his feet a lot on defense more than others. But, I think we have a complete player that will do nothing more than get better and better. I was upset it took so long in the year to get him more minutes on the court, but I think it happened when BCG saw Lew was no match for Big 12 centers and moved Tolbert down low and put Crockett and the 4 position for a lot of the game. On thing that sticks out in my mind about Crockett at the UT game in LBK this year was he had a chance to pass the ball off and let someone else take the last-second shot, even though he missed it, that shows leadership and confidence. I want that to stay on this team, and I can only hope he wants the same thing.

PF Jordan Tolbert (6-7/210)

Tolbert had an up and down freshman campaign, starting out the year in non-conference play on fire and earning national recognition, but once conference play started, his game became more inconsistent, which is what you might expect from a true freshman. Tolbert was always a bit undersized as a true freshman to be playing in the low post, which is where he mainly played, but he has a place on the team. As a true freshman, he was the only player to average double-figures in scoring, 11.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 0.6 APG, and 2.6 TPG while shooting 52.1% from the field and 71.9% from the free throw line. The 5.7 RPG for Tolbert and Crockett led the team. Tolbert mainly struggled because I think he is a bit undersized, but he can play the low post because of his long arms and jumping ability. Tolbert certainly showed flashes of being a very good player, but I keep thinking that Tolbert and Crockett need to improve their mid-range game and be the players that can anchor the high post spot in Gillispie's system. There is room for both, in my opinion, and I hope like heck that they stick around as I think that if they put the work in to improve, they can be significant players next year.

Dan Swany's Thoughts: Tolbert was a beast early and faded off in Big 12 play. Mostly because the opposing coaches could see that he was our only real threat on the team and they focused on shutting him down. He has aggression, and does well around the rim. What he needs to work on is his hands when catching the pass. Also, he puts the ball on the floor way to much when he gets it and he could just go straight up with the shot. It’s a learning thing for him, and I do see him at getting better next season. I don’t know why BCG wouldn’t want to keep him or he wouldn’t want to stay. With some work, and our other post players down low to take all the attention in the paint off him that he will excel and become on of the Big 12 all conference team players by his junior and senior year.

Players on the Bubble

This leaves one spot open for one of the other returning players: PG Ty Nurse, PG Javarez Willis, PG DeShon Minnis, PG Kevin Wagner, SF Terran Petteway, and SF Jaron Nash. I'm not counting the two walk-ons, PG Luke Adams and SF Clark Lammert as they do not count against the scholarship limit of 13 players. I'm not going to discuss Adams and Lammert because they're walk-ons and aren't affected by scholarship numbers.

PG Javarez Willis (5-11/170)

I think that Willis is a fine backup point guard in the Big 12, but he's not a full time starter. He doesn't distribute the ball enough and he's not a good enough shooter, one of the things he was known for in high school, to be much of a threat offensively. Willis doesn't finish around the basket and I really can't recall one time that he drove to the basket in the flow of the offense and created with regularity. Willis is a good defender and I think if he plays 10 to 15 minutes a game, I'm fine, but right now, I don't think he's a starter in Big 12 play.

Dan Swany's Thoughts: Willis is one that I think has proven himself. He has some experience and can guard guys on defense very well. In my mind he is not a starting point guard in the Big 12, but a sixth man that will go in and pester the best offensive player from the other team. He can get hot some from three-point land, and has some nice drives from time to time. It looks like he works hard and can keep up with the team if he was coming off the bench. He has gotten better over the season and would be someone I would think BCG would like to keep. I don’t know how he feels though, and if he where not to make the roster next year I wouldn’t be happy at it, but I also wouldn’t be losing any sleep over it.

PG Ty Nurse (6-1/185)

When I ran across the scouting reports about Nurse when he signed, they were of the variety that he's not overly athletic, but he's a good floor general that doesn't turn the ball over. Nurse didn't score in the JUCO ranks and although he started incredibly hot here, it didn't last the entire season. Nurse isn't athletic enough to guard most Big 12 point guards or shooting guards. I think he does give good effort, but I'm not at all enamored with his play to the point that he has to be back. I don't know that Jamal Williams is a better option, but you'd essentially be trading Nurse for Williams and neither of them were or are scorers in the JUCO ranks (more on Williams on Thursday).

Dan Swany's Thoughts: Nurse is a player that never got better over the season. He has a problem turning the ball over, and is not a great point guard in the Big 12. I don’t think he brings much to this team, and while some would say he can hit the three point shot, I think he is very inconsistent in that category. He is slow, and not as athletic as the other guards we have played, and above all I guess I just saw him make bad decisions with the ball and not seem to care or get mad at himself. That is the real reason I don’t mind if he doesn’t come back next year, he didn’t seem to love playing the game or try to get any better then he already is. I was mad he played so much this year.

PG Kevin Wagner (5-8/145)

The one thing that Level and Dickens don't do is archive their Ask Level segments (I think) and as a result I don't have any verification of this, but at one time, Level was asked about Wagner and Level said that there was some disagreement between the coaching staff and Wagner as to how to treat the injury that he incurred that resulted in him being out for the rest of the year. What that means to me is that BCG wanted Wagner to continue to play, but Wagner wanted to shelve his season. We won't know exactly what happened with the injury and how severe it was, but based on that, my guess is that Wagner is gone.

SF Jaron Nash (6-8/180)

So much potential in this basketball body, but it's so unrefined that it's ridiculous. If Nash worked on certain aspects of his game, namely shooting the ball, he'd be a pretty good player, but Nash is an awful offensive player (not as bad as Minnis) that struggles to do simple things that the staff wanted.

Dan Swany's Thoughts (Wagner and Nash collectively): Nash and Wagner combined didn’t do anything for me at all. I didn’t see them in a whole lot, and couldn’t ever really tell if they contributed to the game that much. Nash tried really hard to be a ball hog and make amazing shots, which I feel pissed off BCG. Wagner was too small, and got hurt in the season, but didn’t have the explosion and strength that a small guy needs if he is to be a good guard in the Big 12.

SF Terran Petteway (6-6/185)

I like what Petteway has to offer and if Petteway found his way back onto the roster, I'd be more than happy with that. I think that he's just scratched his potential and can be a very good player in the future, but it's going to take some time with Petteway. He's got to work on his outside shot and in the high school film of Petteway, he dominated by getting garbage buckets, which don't happen as easily in college as they do in high school. If given enough time, I think he can still be a tough defensive minded shooting guard and small forward that every team needs.

Dan Swany's Thoughts: Petteway is a guy that I just like. I know a lot of people don’t think he is that great, but I see him as a guy that could come off the bench each game and hit some threes and give some good defense to our players that need a little break. He does get frustrated easily, as you could tell with his punch earlier this season, and if you watch him closely in games you will see him push and shove other players when he gets beat or boxed out real hard. Since I already think he has some skills I have always hoped he would have made major improvements over the year, but he hasn’t that much. I would like him to be at the end of our bench next season, but I don’t know if BCG really likes Petteway to me it just doesn’t seem so. If we don’t keep him I will bet he will go on to have a decent career at another school for sure.

PG Deshon Minnis (6-3/185)

Minnis was a very late add by the coaching staff and when you watched film of him while in high school, almost every one of his highlights involved him going to the basket and setting up his teammates or himself. Not once did I see a made three-point shot or consistent jump shot from Minnis and that should have been a warning sign (i.e., film don't lie). Minnis gives good effort on defense, but his offensive game is as bad as it gets and as easy as it was to set up teammates in high school (like Petteway) he's finding it to be more difficult in college and without the threat of a jump shot, it makes it incredibly hard to compete.

Dan Swany's Thoughts: Minnis just isn’t cut out to play a lot of minutes in the Big 12. He can’t shot at all, and for how athletic he is when he drives to the basket he doesn’t finish the play. I didn’t see a whole lot of good in his game when he was on the court, on offense or defense. I don’t think he would bring much to the team next year, so I’m not to worried if he makes it back.

DTN Daily Diatribe | Texas Tech News, Notes and Links | 2012-03-02

Seth C — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 10:59:24 -0000

ODDS AND END | There will be a separate football post later this morning. Yes, I'm up incredibly early.

TEXAS TECH SOFTBALL | After two long weekends on the road, the softball team is home for the weekend, playing Binghampton and UTA this weekend. Make sure and check out the official site for game details. LAJ's David Just talks to head coach Shanon Hays:

Texas Tech softball coach Shanon Hays expected a few bumps in the road during a challenging non-conference season. An early four-game losing streak in Tempe, Ariz., was, perhaps, just part of the deal.

The Red Raiders dug in after the Kajikawa Classic, though, and rattled off 10 wins in a row, having already faced eight teams that reached NCAA regionals last season. Tech is 5-3 in those games.

"We’ve scheduled tough this year for a reason," Hays said, "to try and help us in Big 12 play, and hopefully it will pay off for us. Only time will tell."

DT's Matt Villanueva writes about this weekend's series and focuses on the pitching:

The two-headed starting rotation of underclassmen Brittany Talley and Cara Custer have pitched well so far this season, compiling a combined 10-5 record, 57 strikeouts and a 2.27 ERA.

With 55 innings pitched in 11 appearances, two of which were shutouts, Custer has become the pitcher Hays goes to the most.

Hays spoke high praise of his left-handed freshman, as, he said, she is the hardest thrower he has had in his time as head coach of Tech.

"Her ball moves and she’s hard to line up and the ball goes down a lot," he said, "and that’s what you need in a ballpark like here in Lubbock."

RED RAIDER BASKETBALL | LAJ's Nick Kosmider writes that SG Toddrick Gotcher had successful surgery on his ankle yesterday and Kosmider notes that Gotcher should be eligible for a medical redshirt, so that means Gotcher will be a freshman next year.

I try to catch to Ask Level segment on 104.3's Tech Talk when I get up in the morning and this morning, Level was asked which players will for sure return and his money is on Gotcher, Kader Tapsoba and Dejan Kravic with Jordan Tolbert being a strong possibility to return, but he doesn't think Tolbert's return is an absolute. I don't think Level mentioned Crockett at all. As you are running through your roster ruminations, I think this sounds accurate, although I internally struggle with the idea of Tolbert and Jaye Crockett possibly not returning.