SB Nation - Nick Okorie

Post Game Thoughts :: Stanford Cardinal 87, Texas Tech Red Raiders 100

Seth C — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:53:00 -0000

More photos » by Geoffrey McAllister - AP

Texas Tech's D'walyn Roberts, right, defends Stanford's Jarrett Mann during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2009, in Lubbock, Texas. (AP Photo/Geoffrey McAllister). Who else thinks this is a funny picture?

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SB Nation Box Score

The Result :: A Good Rebound Win: The game was tight through much of the first half, with the Texas Tech Red Raiders taking a four point lead into halftime against the Stanford Cardinal. After halftime, the team truly responded and the game seemed in-hand for most of the second half. Part of the reason the game was in hand was that the Red Raiders shot an astounding eFG% of 60.9% (this is really off the charts) and held Stanford to 45.3% (again, pretty good defense). All in all, it's nice to see how the Red Raiders have been able to put away three Pac-10 teams in non-conference play and as this team continues to build a resume, next Tuesday is perhaps this team's biggest challenge to this very young season: New Mexico Lobos.

The Storylines ::

Well Played: There are so many statistics that you could point to which would lead you to the conclusion that the Red Raiders, despite giving up 87 points, played an excellent game on both ends of the floor. Here's the evidence: The Red Raiders made 58.3% of their three-point shots, out-rebounded the Cardinal by five (40 to 35), had only 10 turnovers with 18 assists, and shot 48 free throws for the game. Typically, if you have one of those things happen, the team ends up winning, but in this case, the Red Raiders were playing really well for a good part of the game.

More storylines after the jump.

Falling in Love With the Three: I really want SF Brad Reese to be a big part of this team, but I also want him to ease up a bit on the three-point shot. Last night Reese was 2 of 5 from beyond the arc and right now, Reese is only 10 of 31 for the year. Reese has a lot to offer this team, and it seems as if he wants to be a three-point shooter first and a mid-range guy second. Personally, I think Reese will have cleaner looks in and around the basket if he works on his mid-range game and then the defense will be a bit on their heels and the three-point shot should open up a bit.

Tairu is Incredibly Efficient: I keep talking about it thinking that I'm going to jinx Tairu, but I don't know that I've seen a more efficient scorer than G David Tairu. Last night, Tairu took only 7 shots, made 4, made 9 of 10 free throws and finished with 17 points. With G Nick Okorie injuring his shoulder last night, Tairu should get even more time and personally I think this is a good thing. It will be interesting to see whether or not Tairu starts next Tuesday and if he does, I think it could really work in Texas Tech's favor.

Four Factors, Player Impact and Game Flow: I love these graphs from StatSheet and I hope you do too:

Four Factors:

College Basketball

Player Impact:

NCAA Basketball

Game Flow:

College Basketball

The Offensive MVP :: SF Mike Singletary: Singletary returned to form with an excellent rebound game. Singletary shot incredibly well (9-12) and finished with 28 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and ZERO turnovers. There were a number of times when Singletary was bringing up the ball on a fast break and I was nervous about a potential turnover, but perhaps it's just a matter of Singletary focusing a bit more.

The Defensive MVP :: Perimeter Players: It would be really tough to just single out just one player, but I thought the perimeter players, which would include Roberson, Okorie (until he was injured), Tairu, Reese, and Jenkins all did an excellent job of switching on the outside. The Cardinal still shot 38.9 above their season average on three-point shots, but it just seemed that the length of the team was a problem for Stanford.

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 12.23.09

Seth C — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:20:28 -0000

Lots to Get To: There's lots to get to this morning (including post game thoughts on the Stanford win and if I have the time, a look at the football team's newest recruit), but this will probably be my last DTN DD until this weekend or Monday. I certainly want to wish you guys and gals a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays. Travel safe and you'll have to tell me about all of the great Texas Tech gifts that you received.

Things to Think About, Part I: This is to add a bit to the question of whether or Missouri's possible move to the Big Ten would affect recruiting in Texas, as a large number of players come from Texas and CT's Dave Matter asked this question of Missouri's LB Sean Weatherspoon (who is from Texas):

I posed that question — Could Missouri recruit Texas kids to play in the Big Ten? — to Tigers linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, a native of Jasper, Texas. He leaned toward doubtful for two reasons. "If you look at that conference, you think of it as being cold all the time," he said. "And you think of never really getting the chance to come down south so your parents can see you play or family members that you want to see you play."

Things to Think About, Part II: Have you ever thought that ESPN college football analyst Todd McShay has no idea what he's talking about? Well, the NFL Advisory Committee (the folks that let underclassmen know if where they will be drafted) agrees, per ProFootballTalk:

"That's the problem," the source opined. "McShay is clueless. Up until three weeks before the 2008 draft, he said that [Kentucky's] Andre Woodson would be a first-round pick. He went in the sixth and is out of the league."

Snip

"The problem I have with people like McShay saying stupid things is parents and others who 'advise' these kids think McShay knows what he is talking about," the source said. "And they believe him before they believe the Advisory Committee. Then, when the kids go a lot lower than projected they are pissed and/or depressed. . . . This stuff happens every year and we have to deal with the broken hearts because people who don't know what they are talking about put visions of grandeur into young players' heads."

Red Raiders Take Down Cardinal: LAJ's Courtney Linehan has the story from last night in Texas Tech's 100-87 win over Stanford. Head coach Pat Knight had this to say about the team at halftime:

"They weren’t happy at halftime, they know we weren’t playing well, but I told them you have to feed off that last play," Knight said. "I didn’t think we played with good energy, we played lethargic the first half, with no emotion. We didn’t play athletic. They got it going the last play when Brad made the block, and they really fed off that. It got us going the second half."

I was able to watch almost all of the second half and the team did tend to take care of business after a somewhat close first half. SF Mike Singletary agrees:

"It was good to come back here, take care of business and get the win," Singletary said, "even though it was kind of ugly."

Notebook: LAJ's Courtney Linehan's notebook has additional info about last night's game . . . G Nick Okorie injured his shoulder last night, MRI is scheduled for today . . . PG John Roberson scored his 1,000th point last night and PK had this to say about his point guard:

"The kid’s going to leave here being one of the best guards who ever played at Texas Tech," Knight said, "and we still have him another year and a half."

. . . over 13,000 fans showed up last night (good for the folks at the game) . . .

Moving to San Antonio: LAJ's Don Williams writes that the team and staff had one last practice yesterday in Lubbock and then after the holiday, the team will start working in San Antonio. We've already been down this road, but Leach talked about starting QB Taylor Potts:

"He’s played well, and at some point we need to get consistent at that position," Leach said. "He’s played real well down the stretch, so we’re going to put the reps in him and let him play the best he can. He played real good against Oklahoma, and I thought he played well against Baylor.

"I don’t think we played well as an offense against Baylor (in a 20-13 win). I thought he did. He didn’t have a lot of help."

Wideout Wave: LAJ's Don Williams writes that the coaching staff is excited about the next wave of redshirt freshmen receivers (Aaron Fisher, E.J. Celestie, Derrick Mays and Eric Ward) and captain Mike Leach is excited:

"We’ll find out,’’ Leach said this week, "but we have a young group that’s enthusiastic, that works extremely hard and works well together. I don’t see all those (returnees) holding them off. I really don’t. We’ll play the best eight, but I don’t see all the faces that played this year holding off all the young guys.’’

Williams also mentions where these guys are lining up offensively:

Since they came aboard in the summer, split end Eric Ward, flanker Derrick Mays, "Y’’ inside receiver Aaron Fisher and "H’’ inside receiver Ernest Celestie have built coaches’ anticipation.

And wide receivers coach Lincoln Riley likes what he sees:

"Mays and Fisher both can really run,’’ inside receivers coach Lincoln Riley said this week. "They run better than anybody we’re playing with right now. Fisher does it as a big body. Mays is the fastest person on this team.

"Ward is the most physical receiver right now in the program, more than anybody we’re playing with. As much as we emphasize blocking in playing at (split end) … that’s going to give him a chance.

"Celestie’s probably the most steady of all of them. He shows up every day and does what he needs to do. Guys like that have always had success here, especially at that position.’’

You'll want to go read the whole thing.

Finishing Strong: SAEN's Jerry Briggs writes that the Red Raiders are wanting to finish strong and CB Jamar Wall thinks the team is focused:

"I personally think we have worked harder for bowl preparation than we have in any of my four years here," Tech senior cornerback Jamar Wall said.

Snip

"We usually take it kind of easy," Wall said. "But, I mean, seeing that we took it kind of easy last year and weren't successful, the (coaches) kind of changed things up."

Notebook: LAJ's Don Williams has a notebook of information . . . offensive line coach Matt Moore will be keeping the same starting lineup, although LT Terry McDaniel is close to returning and will be a backup against Michigan St. . . . Moore also talks about how he wants Mickey Okafor and Deveric Gallington to win the right guard spot next year and more on Joel Gray's move to center. . . seven players graduated in December: CB Brent Nickerson, CB Nathan Stone, LT Chris Olson (graduated early), RG Brandon Carter, C Shawn Byrnes, DT Victor Hunter and S LaShawn Vation, congrats to all seven gentlemen!

Miscellaneous Links: The Rivalry Esq.'s Graham Filler with Air Raid basics . . . FWST's Jimmy Burch with post season awards . . .

Post Game Thoughts :: Texas Tech 80, TCU 70

Seth C — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:37:03 -0000

More photos » by Tom Pennington - AP

14 days ago: Texas Tech guard David Tairu (13) celebrates with forward D'walyn Roberts (5) during the the final seconds of the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009 in Fort Worth, Texas. Texas Tech beat TCU 80-70. (AP Photo/Tom Pennington)

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SBN Box Score ::
FoxSports Box Score

The Result :: Workman Like: Maybe this is the sign of a pretty good team. Texas Tech was down by 14 at one point down by 5 at the start of the second half. The Red Raiders ended up holding TCU to 29 points in the second half, while scoring 44. I wish I could find some splits between the first and second halves, but I'd be willing to bet that TCU probably shot lights out in the fist, and the second half was all about the Texas Tech defense.

Follow me after the jump for storylines, stats and some video highlights of the game.

The Storylines ::

Roberts = Rebounding Machine: It was simply unbelievable to see PF D`Walyn Roberts with 19 rebounds. Simply an amazing total, but even better was that of those 19 boards, 9 were offensive. Roberts had a spectacular dunk (see the video highlights below), but it's nice to see Roberts get recognized for his workman like effort for this team.

Solid Bench: Remember when we were all wondering whether or not the JUCO's would make an impact. Well, I cannot say that we should all be sold, but the 3 JUCO's, SF Theron Jenkins, SG David Tairu and SF Brad Reese, combined for 27 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks. That was your bench for last night (I'm curious as to why Nick Okorie only got 4 minutes last night. Anyone?) and outscored TCU's bench by 7. The additional depth that Pat Knight has on board is really something, and the 3 JUCO's are more than capable of making significant contributions this year.

Leaders Lead: PG John Roberson's good shooting continued last night, and led the team in scoring with 21 points on 7-11 from the field. Not only that, and I'm starting to think he turned the corner, is that Roberson had 10 assists and only 4 turnovers for the night. SF Mike Singletary also finished with 17 points, 5 boards, 2 assists and 2 turnovers. Singletary also had a good shooting night, 7-13, and only 2 turnovers while playing 34 minutes. These two are the leaders of the team, along with Roberts and it's nice to see these juniors lead this team moving forward.

Player Impact, Game Flow and Four Factors: I love these graphs from StatSheet and I hope you do too:

NCAA Basketball Stats

The Offensive MVP :: PG John Roberson: This has to be Roberson for the second time in a row. Again, 21 points, 10 assists and only 4 turnovers, while playing 40 minutes. There's something to this team shooting 52.5% for the game and Roberson having 10 assists and shooting well to boot.

The Defensive MVP :: PF D`Walyn Roberts: Another repeat MVP, Roberts work on the board was maybe the difference in the game as Texas Tech out-rebounded TCU by 15 (45 to 30).

Game Highlights:

Post Game Thoughts :: Washington 92, Texas Tech 99

Seth C — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:40:44 -0000

More photos » by Geoffrey McAllister - AP

19 days ago: Texas Tech's John Roberson, left, scores in front of Washington's Venoy Overton during overtime in an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009, in Lubbock, Texas. (AP Photo/Geoffrey McAllister)

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SBN Box Score :: TTU Box Score

The Result :: Tremendous: I really thought that this was a game that the Huskies would ultimately win, especially as they're picked to win the Pac-10, but there's something about playing on the road. Last year, Texas Tech was awful on the road, and in Texas Tech's lone road game, a very close win against SFA, indicates that almost no matter the opponent, playing on the road is tough. Nevertheless, it's still incredibly satisfying for this team to get this win. I've been one of the guys standing behind Pat Knight, I like his style, albeit he's certainly had some rough spots, but I can see the potential and I can see how players would want to play for him. He's still finding his way, and there are going to be some bad losses with this team, but I still like what he's doing.

The Storylines ::

Athletes, Athletes, Athletes: That was not your typical Bob Knight team. It took a season for Pat Knight to transform his team from a typical Bob Knight team (2008) to a team with much better athletes. I loved how the Texas Tech perimeter defense was basically able to switch with just about every Washington player, and that seemingly made it incredibly difficult for UW to get into much of rhythm outside as the Huskies were only 4-15 from the 3-point line. Perhaps the most impressive part was seeing the very long and athletic SF Brad Reese play the point on defense. That's a tough thing for a small point guard to have to around a long 6'6" player and that's not something that could have been done last year. I'd also add that Pat Knight had, for very long stretches of the game, no true post player (i.e. Darko Cohadarevic and Robert Lewandowski), instead opting for a combination of guards and smallish forwards that played really well. This smallish lineup still out-rebounded Washington 42 to 37, something that you just don't see from a typical Texas Tech team.

More storylines after the jump.

In Control Roberson: That's the PG John Roberson I want to see more of from this point forward. Roberson didn't force very much in the first half, taking only 3 shots, but dishing out 5 assists and turning the ball over only 2 times. He was truly a floor leader and didn't look for his shot until the second half, when I think he could sense the offense dragging a bit and scored 9 of his 25 points in the second half.

Transition Defense: With better defense comes better transition defense and Washington had only 6 fast break points for the entire game. It really didn't matter if it was Reese, G David Tairu, SF Mike Singletary, G Nick Okorie, SF Theron Jenkins or PF D`Walyn Roberts, all of these guys are buying into the defense and they are all getting back to man-up or are athletic enough to block shots and make it difficult for an opponent. This is a different team, perhaps not as good of a shooting team, but a different team athletically and it's pretty interesting to watch.

Washington is Pretty Good: I had no idea what to expect from the Huskies, I'm still working my way into basketball mode, but I thought that they were an athletically gifted team and some tremendous players. This is a good team, that's going to have to learn how to play on the road, just like every team in the country, but this is a really good win for this Texas Tech program. I watched a bit of the USC vs. Texas game afterwards and thought that the Longhorns are equally as athletic, but haven't yet figured out how to play as a team. I don't think that the Red Raiders are as athletically gifted as Texas, but the gap is much, much closer than it has been in previous years.

Game Flow and Four Factors: I love these graphs from StatSheet and I hope you do too:

NCAA Basketball Stats

The Offensive Co-MVP's :: PG John Roberson and SF Brad Reese: Roberson had a tremndous line (Pts: 25; Reb: 2; Ast: 7; Stl: 2; TO: 4) and kept Texas Tech in the game in the 2nd half. Reese (Pts: 17; Reb: 5; Ast: 1; Stl: 1; Blk: 2; TO: 2) was the key in the first half and was electric. I thought watching the game that it's been a long time since the Red Raiders had a 6'6" guy step up and hit 3-point shots the way Reese did. That's pretty fun to watch.

The Defensive MVP :: PF D`Walyn Roberts: Roberts' stat line isn't going to be too terribly impressive (Pts: 8; Reb: 5; Ast: 0; Stl: 0; Blk: 2; TO: 0), but I thought he did a pretty good job of battling inside. I have a feeling that the inside players may not have pretty stat lines for a good part of the season, but their play will be very important throughout the year.

Pulse of the Team :: Week 3

Seth C — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:00:17 -0000

The "Pulse of the Team" is a weekly or whenever-I-get-to-it post about the state of the team, what's going well and what isn't. The Pulse of the Team looks at the week that was, the week ahead, what's trending up, what's trending down and the current player impact, courtesy of StatSheet.

Last Week:

Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks
W : 63-61 (Box Score)

Saturday, November 28, 2009
Samford Bulldogs
W : 74-53 (Box Score)

This Week:

Thursday, December 3, 2009
Washington Huskies

Slightly Improved Rebounding: This has been the first time that I've been able to write that the rebounding is improving. I'm going to take this opportunity to highlight last week's game against Samford and hope the team does as well. Against SFA, the team was out-rebounded by 4 (28-32). This team seems to have been much more focused on the rebounding issue as I've read player quotes from PF D`Walyn Roberts and PF Darko Cohadarevic mention that the rebounds must improve and I believe they are taking this to heart. Against Samford, the team was much better, grabbing 35 rebounds to Samford's 20, including 9 offensive boards by the good guys. Granted, anything to this date has been against relatively weaker competition (save Oregon St.), but that's about to change relatively soon.

Playing to Competition: I think the Samford game is an indication that Pat Knight is learning how to coach. I know that PK has adjusted his lineup according to the opposition previously, but against Samford, and a very small squad, PK had the players and confidence in those players to get the job done and secure a 21 point win. The combination of guards John Roberson, Nick Okorie and David Tairu played 100 of the 200 minutes available, which means that the remaining 100 minutes generally went to SF Mike Singletary (20), SF Brad Reese (24) and PF D`Walyn Roberts (27). PK went relatively small against Samford and I hope that's an indication that he has the players to play different styles and not play his best player in Singletary (although he did have 4 fouls), yet still grab a 20 point win.

Tough Road Ahead: There's not much to get down about with this team, but I'd just like to remind everyone about the upcoming non-conference schedule, the KenPom Rank is in parentheses:

12.03.09 :: Washington Huskies (14)
12.08.09 :: @ TCU Horned Frogs (126)
12.19.09 :: @ Wichita St. Shockers (78)
12.22.09 :: Stanford Cardinal (165)
12.29.09 :: @ New Mexico Lobos (13)
01.01.10 :: McNeese St. Cowboys (313)
01.03.10 :: UTEP Miners (27)

The average KenPom ranking of the first 7 opponents was 193.71 and the average KenPom ranking of the next 7 opponents is 105.14, and that factors in a really bad McNeese St. team that's dragging down the rest of the group. There's a reason to be excited about what's happened thus far and thus far the team hasn't lost a game that they should have won. It's only a little bit of progress, but it's progress nonetheless. We'll know quite a bit more about this team after the month of December.

The one thing that this chart doesn't show are the shooting percentages. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit concerned about PG John Roberson's 39.4% shooting, although as I've mentioned before he's always shot at that rate and was hoping that he could get that shooting percentage higher. Also under 40% is SG Nick Okorie (37.2%) and SF Brad Reese (39.0%) and I'm not as concerned about those 2 players because they do not seem to take the volume of shots that Roberson can. I'd love for Roberson to be more selective and I think that percentage improves.

NCAA Basketball Stats

Pulse of the Team :: Texas Tech Basketball, Week 2

Seth C — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:00:13 -0000

The "Pulse of the Team" is a weekly or whenever-I-get-to-it post about the state of the team, what's going well and what isn't. The Pulse of the Team looks at the week that was, the week ahead, what's trending up, what's trending down and the current player impact, courtesy of StatSheet.

Last Week:
Thursday, November 19, 2009 : Northwestern St. Demons : W : 94-75
Saturday, November 21, 2009 : Lamar Cardinals : W : 77-54

This Week:
Tuesday, November 24, 2009 : @ Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks
Saturday, November 28, 2009 : Samford Bulldogs

Well-Rounded Offense: I think it's important to have a go-to scorer and I think the Red Raiders have one in Mike Singletary, however, it's nice to have 3 guys, including Singletary, scoring in double-figures and 3 guys within in 1.5 points of all scoring in double-figures. David Tairu (10.8), D`Walyn Roberts (10.6), Darko Cohadarevic (9.4), John Roberson (9.2) and Nick Okorie (8.5) are all making contributions on a consistent basis. As is the case with any team that struggles, it's usually about consistency and I think I'll take a wait and see approach, but there's definite improvement.

More Time for Reese and Jenkins: This isn't to say that neither SF Brad Reese or SF Theron Jenkins don't have their faults. They do. Reese tends to settle for the 3-point shot a bit much (3 for 12 for the year) and Jenkins may be a little careless with the ball, but I'd still like to see both Reese and Jenkins get more minutes. I was really impressed with their length and athletic ability when I was able to watch against NW St. and their style of play and athleticism will come into play against Big 12 opponents.

Roberson's Shooting: For John Roberson's 3 year career he's shot 42.2%, 37.9% and this year, it's 38.6%. During Roberson's freshman campaign, I thought that because he was a freshman, he struggled. When Roberson was a sophomore, I thought that it was because he was asked to do too much. And now, I'm not sure what alibi I want to create. Roberson has historically not shot the ball well and at some point, Pat Knight will need to limit his shots and ensure that guys like Tairu and Okorie perhaps get more shots while Roberson becomes a pure point guard.

Offense Struggles . . . A Bit: It's not much, and there's really not much to complain about, but per KenPom, the Red Raiders rank 252nd in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency. It's a bit worrisome and having not seen the team play much, it doesn't sound as if this is too troublesome. In any event, I'd rather have the offense catch up as the season goes along.

NCAA Basketball Stats

Double-T Nation Daily Diatribe :: 11.19.09

Seth C — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:08:12 -0000

McCarthy Interview: As always, I try not to push off-topic articles on you guys, but if you enjoy Cormac McCarthy then you'll enjoy this interview in the Wall Street Journal.

Wall and Williams Back: LAJ's Don Williams writes that seniors CB Jamar Wall and LB Marlon Williams returned to practice yesterday and QB Taylor Potts took a majority of the snaps. Also, RB Aaron Crawford and IR Cornelius Douglas were out during yesterday's practice.

Tough OU Defense: DT's Alex Ybarra writes that the Oklahoma defense is still incredibly tough and head captain Mike Leach believes that it is because the Sooners are fundamentally sound:

"The biggest thing they do is the basic sound defense, the ultimate basic fundamental defense," Tech coach Mike Leach said. "They go out there with great fundamentals and energy. I think they do that as good as anybody."

And OU DT Gerald McCoy has this about the Texas Tech offense:

"Tech offense is Tech offense," he said. "It doesn’t really change much. You gotta be ready for it. They’re gonna get numbers. They’re gonna get a lot of points. We just gotta prepare for it. We’ve been playing pretty well on defense, so we’re just gonna try and continue to do that this week."

Oklahoma Sooner and Big 12 Links: Oread Boom Kings (Kansas Jayhawk blog) has some of the backstory between KU head coach Mark Mangino and the athletic director . . . TR's dedfischer with an gameplan for the Texas Tech offense . . . Tulsa World's John Hoover writes his OU notebook and DT Gerald McCoy has a suggestion for Texas Tech fans:

"They throw tortillas?" McCoy said. "They better not throw me one. I'll be hungry. I'll eat it."

Actually, if Red Raider fans want to throw food, McCoy has a menu suggestion.

"They need to throw chicken," he said. "Hey, if they threw fried chicken — shoot, I'll provoke 'em on purpose. Aaahhh! Chomp!"

. . . Ha! . . . The Tulsa World also has a know the foe feature . . . NewsOK's David Ubben writes his OU football notebook as Bob Stoops stands by his former assistant, Mark Mangino . . . NewsOK's Jake Trotter writes that Big 12 spread offenses have taken quite a hit by the Oklahoma Sooner defense . . . LAJ's Adam Zuvanich features OU QB Landry Jones . . .

Game Tonight: Northwestern St. Demons vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders
Time: 7:00 p.m. :: Location: United Spirit Arena
Preview and Game Day Thread: Scheduled for 3:00 p.m. post

Cohadarevic Answers Critics: LAJ's Courtney Linehan sits down with PF Darko Cohadarevic who hopes to answer his critics with better play this year. As an aside, after reading this article, I'm not real sure what to make of Darko. I see him as a bit defensive and hard-headed. Here's a bit from the article:

That’s where the bad reputation began. He admits he didn’t really understand or care about the system coach Pat Knight drilled in practice. On rare occasions when he did pay attention, he says he got conflicting messages from different coaches, became frustrated and never quite understood what they were asking of him. By the time he settled into the Red Raider program, the season was wrapping up.

I'm trying to process all of this and for those of you who question signing JUCO players, this is certainly a feather in your cap. But then Darko wins me back with this:

"I’ve got to buy into this motion offense more," Cohadarevic said. "I’ve got to do other little stuff besides scoring: setting screens, rebounding, having deflections, helping people get open."

I really want to see all guys succeed and I hope like hell that Darko does "buy into" the motion offense and man-to-man defense, but it seems like a shame that we're even having this conversation.

Demons Hit the Road: DT's Mike Graham writes that the Northwestern St. Demons left from Natchitoche, LA on Tuesday and arrived in Lubbock on Wednesday (layover in Arlington). G Nick Okorie expects that the Demons will be very athletic:

"I expect for them to be really athletic," Okorie said. "We just have to stay focussed, the thing that can beat us is ourselves. The single thing we pretty much have to do is play defense and if we play defense we’ll win the game."

DTN's Pulse of the Team :: Texas Tech Basketball : Week 1

Seth C — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:00:15 -0000

The Pulse of the Team is a weekly or whenever-I-get-to-it post about the state of the team. What about the team is trending up (looking great) and what is trending down (a bit worrisome).

Trending Up

Defensive Pressure: I mentioned this on Monday, but thus far, the defensive numbers are quite a turnaround. Last year at this time, the offesne was scoring 176 points and making SportsCenter, but the defensive numbers (those advanced stats I keep talking about) were troubling to say the least. This year it seems to be bit different in that there is a focus and the numbers do play this out. The Red Raiders are holding opponents to a an effective field goal percentage of 41.1% (remember, good is 50% or above and bad is 50% or below). I'd also add that the Red Raiders are holding opponents to a 0.78 points per possession (again, good is 1.00 and anything under that is bad). I know that thus far this is a small sample size, but I think this is certainly an area that's an improvement over last year. I like to celebrate small victories.

JUCO Presence: There's always two thoughts regarding JUCO players in that the player shouldn't be signed because said player can only offer 2 years of eligibility and most likely, one of those years will be spent adjusting to Big 12 play, if he contributes at all. Another thought would be that if the player is truly talented, then he'll rise to the top and contribute immediately. There's certainly a bit of trepedation in signing a JUCO player and thus far, the three major newcomers, G David Tairu, SF Brad Reese and SF Theron Jenkins have combined for 22 points, 6 boards and 3 assists a game. It's understandable to be hesitant to accept the fact that some of these guys can play, in part because a perfect example of a player struggling his first year is PF Darko Cohadarevic. Darko seems to have figured some things out over the summer and it's a shame that he only has this year to make a serious contribution, but if 2 of the 3 JUCO juniors can contribute this year and immediately, then I'll be pretty happy with these guys.

Rebounding Just Enough: The rebounding numbers are better, especially the first game, but the defensive rebound percentage sits around 67% and Texas Tech opponents are sitting at 71%. Texas Tech has never rebounded with the Big 12 conference leaders, but I'd like to see this at least on par with the Red Raider opponents. Not awful, but not great either.

Trending Down

Rounding Out the Roster: I haven't had the opportunity to see any action thus far and my thoughts about the team are from merely looking at the numbers and trying to get an idea as to how the team has performed. Take just about everything I write with a grain of salt, however, I'd love to see the minutes spread out a little more. In Texas Tech's win over Oregon State, the two JUCO small forwards, Brad Reese and Theron Jenkins saw a combined 15 minutes and Robert Lewandowski only saw 11 minutes. I know that each and every win is important to Pat Knight, so it's tough to argue with how things are going now, but I want to make sure that guys like Mike Davis, Lew, Jenkins and Reese continue to see healthy minutes and be solid contributors when conference play starts.

Missing Voskuil: Thus far, the Red Raiders are only 12-43 from beyond the 3-point line and you could attribute the loss of Alan Voskuil, last year's 3-point ace. I think I'd be truly concerned about the numbers if the eFG% were a bit more off, but the fact that the team as a whole doesn't seem to be settling for a ton of 3-point shots isn't too bad. G Nick Okorie is still struggling to find his shot, shooting only 16.7% thus far in 2 games, but Okorie seems like one of those guys where once he finds his shot, it sticks with him for quite some time. PG John Roberson is leading the team with 13 3-point shots and making only 4. Not an awful percentage, but I've never felt comfortable with Roberson taking a ton of shots from past the 3-point line or driving in the lane, but has a very good mid-range game.

Texas Tech Basketball Preview :: Depth Charts and Looking Ahead to 2010 and 2011

Seth C — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:30:29 -0000

Texas Tech's Mike Singletary celebrates Texas Tech's 88-83 win over Texas A&M during an NCAA college basketball game at the Big 12 men's tournament in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, March 11, 2009. Singletary scored 43 points. Via cache.daylife.com

View full size photo »

With the football bye week, DTN is taking this opportunity to look at the men's basketball team. Earlier this week, DTN took a look at the preseason storylines and preseason team MVP's and today, DTN takes a look at the depth chart and the 2010 and 2011 recruiting classes.

Preseason Depth Chart

Point Guard	Shooting Guard	Small Forward	Power Forward	Center
John Roberson (5-11/165; JR)	Nick Okorie (6-1/195; SR)	Mike Singletary (6-6/217)	Brad Reese (6-6/189; JR)	Robert Lewandowski (6-10/240; SO)
Mike Davis (6-2/185; FR)	David Tairu (6-3/180; JR)	Theron Jenkins (6-6/211; JR)	D'Walyn Roberts (6-7/200; JR)	Darko Cohadarevic (6-9/242; SR)
	Wally Dunn (6-4/194; JR)	Jaye Crockett (6-6/186; FR)	Corbin Ray (6-7/225; SO)
			Trevor Cook (6-9/241; SR)

This is an extremely rough estimation of where I could see things shaping up this year. Guessing as to a depth chart is a somewhat risky proposition because there are so many players that could flip-flop between positions and there are a number of players that fit a 6-5 to 6-7 range and could play multiple positions. I still think that at the end of this process, Pat Knight will play the players who play defense first, or at least that's my hope.

Follow me after the jump for a look at each position as well as a look at the 2010 and 2011 recruiting classes and the JUCO conundrum.

Positions:

Point Guard: The problem with this team is that the one true point guard is actually Roberson and I'm not sure if Pat Knight would agree with me, but Davis shouldn't play very much, especially when you have guys that can swing from shooting guard to point guard in Okorie and Tairu. If Davis play, it should be primarily in a backup role on a very limited basis. I do think that Davis is a guy that will push the ball and is a true threat to get to the rim. I like his upside (I like everyone's upside), but he shouldn't see a bunch of time.

Shooting Guard: This is where things get a bit sticky. I think Okorie and Tairu are essentially replacable players in that I think they'll do the same thing, but differently. Okorie represents an upgrade in athleticism at the shooting guard over Voskuil from last year and I think that Okorie can fill those scoring shoes, although his biggest problem is that he doesn't have the true shooting guard height, but in today's 3-guard offense, that's not a huge concern. Tairu and Okorie were backcourt mates at South Plains College and I think they work well together. Tairu is supposed to be more defensive minded, although he can certainly score.

Small Forward: This is where the logjam begins. Singletary and Jenkins are similar players from a physical standpoing, although I'd guess that Singletary has an edge on Jenkins based on his previous work on the Big 12. This team is littered with 6-5 to 6-7 small forward types and if Jenkins doesn't get time at the small forward spot I'm not sure he sees much time at all. Crockett is a project and I'd love to see him redshirt this year. He was a great scorer for his New Mexico squad and supposedly he is still growing. Let him take a year to learn and get bigger.

Power Forward: Again, mid-ranged athletes and I'm struggling to find the minutes. The only other solution would be if the centers didn't get all of the time at center and PK goes with a relatively small lineup. That really hurts from a rebounding perspective, but we'll see. In any event, I think Reese plays the power forward position in name only. He's truly a small forward, but I get the impression that he's more well-rounded than Jenkins and he's not afraid to mix it up offensively or defensively. Roberts continues to be a player that has all of the talent in the world, but has just never been consistent enough to get consistent minutes. He has all of the tools, except for a few extra pounds, to be a tremendous forward in the collegiate level. I'd love it if Roberts developed a low-post game over the summer. Ray is another combo forward and he has the bult to play power forward against most collegiate power forward, but I do worry a bit about his quickness. The one thing that I was impressed with Ray was his athleticism and shooting touch. Pretty nice for a forward. Cook gets on the list here simply because I still have questions about Cook's back, which kept him out all last year. Until I see him on the floor this year, I'm not going to count on him.

Center: I'll fully admit that Darko had a very rough first year on the college level. There were times that he couldn't his the backboard on shots, he worked hard, but was a liability defensively, and sometimes made really bad decisions on the floor. I've been praying, every night, that Darko has turned the corner. PK needs a big guy inside to go along with Lew and if Darko can give PK 10 to 15 minutes a night of good solid basketball, I'll be happy. I mentioned earlier in the week that I'd really look for Lew to make a jump in terms of his ability to contribute at the Big 12 level. He has good size, good mobility and a tremendous attitude. I think Lew wore down a bit as the season progressed, but he gave PK very solid minutes at the center position as a true freshman. Expect big things from Lew.

2010 Commits:

Player	School	Ht/Wt	Rivals	ESPN	Scout
Paul Cooper	Gulf Coast JUCO	6-8/260	-	-	1
Javarez Willis	Pinkston HS	5-11/170	-	82	1
James Outler	Bellaire HS	6-4/180	3	87	2

I think this class is essentially finished. There are 3 seniors on this year's team: Darko Cohadarevic, Trevor Cook and Nick Okorie. I'll have more on this below, but getting Cooper, a big man who apparently rebounds, is going to be big for PK because there's very little frontcourt depth behind Lew. Willis is spending the year at a prep school after failing to qualify from high school and having a guy that is a year more mature is an advantage for the Red Raiders. James Outler is a true shooting guard with athleticism, something that Texas Tech has not had in quite some time (I'm calling both Okorie and Tairu combination guards, not true shooting guards).

2011 Commits:

Player	School	Ht/Wt	Rivals	ESPN	Scout
Kevin Wagner	Estacado HS	5-8/145	-	40	1

This is about a good start to a class that I can envision. I'm very excited that PK was able to get a local player to commit to his program, and not only is it great that Wagner is local, but he's immensely talented. The 2011 class is going to be one of the bigger of the Pat Knight era because there are currently 7 juniors on this team, which means there should be 7 scholarships available (although I seem to recall something about a limit to the number of scholarships given out in a 2 year period). In any event, there will be plenty of holes to fill in this class, but the nice part is that all of the freshman from the 2009, 2010 and probably JUCO's of the 2011 class, will be more than ready to contribute to this team.

JUCO Conundrum:

I'm right there with you guys in terms of the issue as to how appropriate it is to sign JUCO players versus high school players. I've always thought that there's a balance that a coach has to weigh, which is winning quickly to satisfy a fanbase versus taking the time to build the program. Most coaches, Pat Knight included, tries to do both. I have no idea how long PK has on his contract and I'm guessing that if the losing continues, his leash may not be very long, which means that I can understand why he would go the JUCO route. If Knight goes only the high school route, then he could go through a period of really bad teams before making that eventual jump.

I have no doubt that Knight feels the pressure to win now, which is why I think you see an influx of JUCO players on this year's squad. He needs to show improvement and that he can get the job done. Quite a bit hinges on his 2009 recruiting class and their ability to contribute immediately. If you want to use a footblal analogy, Leach has utilized the JUCO player more often than not, especially to help build his program. It is a risky move, but it can pay off some times (McKinner Dixon of 2008 was unbelievable, but couldn't keep it together to play in 2009 vs. Daniel Howard and Brandon Sharpe, who have both been tremendous players and people for the football program).

We all need to watch the 2011 recruiting class and if there are 7 spots available, the ratio of JUCO players to high school players should tell us quite a bit about where Knight believes the program is. If PK is signing 1 JUCO player for every 2 high school players, like the 2010 class, then I'm okay with that. But if the ratio is more 1:1 then I think there's real concern about where things are going and his long-term strategy.

KNOW THY ENEMY: Texas Tech Red Raiders

BracketCat — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:00:27 -0000

Are you still pissed off about Saturday night?

Well, have no fear, because the football team shall be avenged on the hardwood.

Click the jump for a preview of a basketball team with some of the laziest-looking media photos you ever will see, and one whose season prospects don't look so hot...

The Coach

Pat Knight
Third Season (sort of*)

18-26 (7-19)

Knight begins his second full season as the Texas Tech head coach and his ninth season on the Red Raider basketball court.

As a collegiate player and nearly nine seasons as an assistant coach, he was on the sidelines as a player or a coach for 308 of Bob Knight's 902 career wins.

*Knight became the head coach following the 20th game of the 2007-2008 season.

The Departures

Starters

Michael Prince (15.6 minutes per game, 3.8 points per game, 2.8 rebounds per game)
Alan Voskuil (35.7 minutes per game, 14.1 points per game, 4.1 rebounds per game)

Reserves

Rogdrick Craig (6.7 minutes per game, 2.6 points per game, 0.8 rebound per game)
Tyree Graham (14.3 minutes per game, 3.9 points per game, 1.7 rebounds per game)
Esmir Rizvic (10 minutes per game, 1.3 points per game, 1.6 rebound per game)
Damir Suljagic (8.8 minutes per game, 2.4 points per game, 1.5 rebound per game)

The Veterans

		#4 Corbin Ray Sophomore Forward 6-7 \| 225 Katy, Texas Ray saw his first action as a Red Raider in the season opener against St. Francis, in which he played seven minutes, scored two points and grabbed three rebounds. He played in 17 games during the season, started against Sam Houston State, averaged 5.7 minutes per game and 1.6 points per game for the season, played 14 minutes in the home game against Texas A&M, had a season-high five rebounds over East Central University, and had his best showing in the win over New Mexico, in which he played 10 minutes and scored 10 points, was 4 of 6 from the field, and canned two 3-pointers.

		#5 D'walyn Roberts Junior Forward 6-7 \| 200 Dallas, Texas Roberts started the first 19 games for the Red Raiders; played in each game during the season and had 21 starts; averaged 16.5 minutes per game, four points per game, and 3.6 rebounds per game; played 20+ minutes in 13 contests; played 35 minutes at Lamar, made 7 of 8 field goal attempts, and recorded his season-high of 14 points; scored in double figures in six games; was perfect from the free-throw line six times for a combined 13-for-13; registered a double-double in the win over Stephen F. Austin, with 11 points and 11 rebounds; was second on the squad with 21 blocks for the season; and shot .545 from the field for the season.

		#10 Wally Dunn Junior Guard 6-4 \| 194 Midland, Texas Dunn saw his first action as a Red Raider in the season opener against St. Francis, in which he played eight minutes, had a rebound and scored 5 points. He played in 14 games during the season as a walk-on, played a season high of 12 minutes against East Central University, scored 16 points on 6 of 8 field-goal attempts and 4 of 5 3-pointers, shot .588 from the field and made .500 of his 3-point attempts, and had no turnovers for the season. Dunn graduated from Midland College, where the Chaparrals were the 2007 NJCAA National Champions. He was a redshirt his freshman season. The team garnered conference championship honors in 2007-2008, and he played in 32 games as a sophomore and averaged 4.3 points per game.

		#15 Robert Lewandowski Sophomore Forward 6-10 \| 240 Overland Park, Kan. The freshman from Blue Valley West High Sschool played and scored in the first game of the season against St. Francis. Lewandowski scored two points, made a block, and had three rebounds in his eight minutes on the court. He played in 32 games for the season and started 19 times; averaged over 15 minutes per game and played 20+ minutes in 13 contests; averaged 6.6 points per game and 3.7 rebounds per game for the year; shot .581 from the field for the season; scored in double figures 10 times, with 8 of those games during conference play; recorded his season-best of 20 points at Texas A&M, when he made 10 of 15 field-goal attempts and had four rebounds in the game; had a double-double (10 points and 10 rebounds) at Oklahoma State; grabbed 5+ rebounds in 10 games; and led the squad with 23 blocks.

		#21 John Roberson Junior Guard 5-11 \| 165 Plano, Texas Honorable Mention All-Big 12 (2009) U.S. Basketball Writers Association All-District 7 (2009) Roberson and Alan Voskuil were the only players on the 2008-2009 squad to start each game during the season. He was the leading scorer on the team, with 13.9 points per game, and second on the team with 35 steals for the year. Roberson's 212 assists top the previous single-season mark of 182 assists, set by Jason Martin during the 1995-1996 season. He was the assist leader for the Big 12. His 13 assists at Texas A&M were one shy of Stan Bonewitz's single-game record of 14 assists, set against Fresno State in the 1996-1997 season. Roberson's 6.4 assists per game for the season now are the best among all Red Raiders. His 71 3-pointers rank eighth among all Red Raiders in a single season. His 201 3-point attempts equal Bonewitz's mark in the 1997-1998 season and are fourth on the all-time single-season list. Roberson's 35.2 minutes per game were second on the squad. He played 40 minutes in five games; was second on the squad in free-throw percentage (.829), making 97 of 117 attempts; was perfect from the line in 15 games, totaling 58 for 58; averaged 3.5 rebounds per game and had at least five rebounds in six games; established a career high of eight rebounds at Iowa State; had a double-double performance at Texas A&M, with 13 assists and 20 points; and scored 20+ points in five games. Roberson's 33 points at UTEP were a career-best and made him the 36th Red Raider to score 30 or more points in a game, earning him All-Big 12 Honorable Mention and USBWA All-District 7 honors.

		#23 Nick Okorie Senior Guard 6-1 \| 195 Houston, Texas Okorie started his career as a Red Raider in the season opener against St. Francis. He played 19 minutes and scored 16 points. Okorie played in 29 games during the season and had 19 starting spots. He missed four games due to an ankle injury; averaged more than 25 minutes per game and played 30+ minutes in eight games; played 36 minutes at Texas and at Iowa State; was perfect from the free-throw line in nine games, totaling 40 of 40; was third on the team with 21 steals; averaged 3.1 rebounds per game; and grabbed 5+ boards in nine games. His scoring average of 11.3 points per game was fourth among squad members. Okorie scored 15+ points in nine games, with six of those games against conference opponents; sank 10 of 10 free throws and had 17 points against Kansas; scored 24 points at Oklahoma and at Texas; averaged 16.3 points per game over the last 10 games; and started nine times.

		#24 Trevor Cook Senior Forward 6-9 \| 241 Coppell, Texas Legends Classic All-Tournament (2008) Cook was awarded his undergraduate degree in May 2009. He played in 14 games during the season and had eight starts, but missed 19 games due to a back injury. Cook averaged 14 minutes per game and played 25+ minutes in three games, and was perfect from the free-throw line in four games, totaling 16 for 16. His eight rebounds against East Central University equal his top mark from the previous season. He had 13 blocks in his abbreviated season, averaged 7.6 points per game, scored in double figures six times and had 20 or more points in two games. His 24 points against Pittsburgh mark his best scoring performance as a Red Raider, and he was selected to the Legends Classic All-Tournament Team for his performances against Pittsburgh and Mississippi State.

		#31 Darko Cohadarevic Senior Forward 6-9 \| 242 Belgrade, Serbia Cohadarevic played his first game as a Red Raider in the season opener against St. Francis. He played 12 minutes, grabbed two rebounds and scored four points. Cohadarevic played in 26 games and started twice; averaged nearly 11 minutes per game and had five games in which he played 15+ minutes; was perfect from the free-throw line in four games; averaged 2.2 rebounds per game and had at least five rebounds in five games; scored double figures in three contests; had 12 points against East Central University and against Stephen F. Austin; and scored 10 points and had six rebounds in the win over Texas A&M in the opening round of conference championship play.

		#32 Mike Singletary Junior Forward 6-6 \| 217 Humble, Texas Second Team Academic All-Big 12 (2009) Big 12 Championship All-Tournament (2009) Singletary was one of four players to play in each game during the season. He had four starts and averaged 23.1 minutes per game; played 30+ minutes against six opponents; was perfect from the free-throw line in four games; attempted more free throws than all other teammates (187) and made more free throws than all other teammates (136); had three games in which he made 34 of 40 free-throw attempts; was the leading rebounder on the team, with 5.8 boards per game; had three games (Centenary, Kansas and at Iowa State) of 10+ rebounds and 12 games with at least seven rebounds; and had double-double performances against New Mexico, Kansas and at Iowa State. His 12.2 points per game were third on the squad and he scored at least 15 points in 13 games, averaged 18.2 points per game over the final nine games of the season, was named to the Academic All-Big 12 Second Team, and gained Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team honors after scoring 60 points in two games (Texas A&M and Missouri). Singletary made 21 of 33 attempts during those two games. He set a Big 12 Championship scoring record with 43 points in the opening round game against Texas A&M (the previous record was 38 points by Marcus Fizer of Iowa State vs. Baylor in 2000). His 43-point game equals Dub Malaise's 1966 performance against TCU as the fourth-highest scoring output in Texas Tech history. Singletary led the biggest rally in Big 12 championship history, erasing the Red Raiders' 21-point, second-half deficit and taking Texas Tech to an 88-83 win over Texas A&M (the previous record was 20 points by Texas two seasons ago). He scored 29 consecutive points for the Red Raiders, with no other Tech player scoring, to become the NCAA's No. 2 consecutive-points scorer, behind Temple's Bill Mlkvy's 54 consecutive points against Wilkes on March 3, 1951.

My thanks to the Texas Tech sports information department for the photos and most of the information for the bios.

The Newcomers

#1 Brad Reese
Junior Forward
6-6 | 189
Laurel Hill, Fla.

Reese played two seasons for Jay Powell at Gulf Coast Community College in Panama City, Fla. He started all 30 games in his first season with the Commodores, played 30 minutes per game, and averaged 16.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game on the 18-12 squad.

Reese was named the Panhandle Conference Freshman of the Year. As a sophomore, Reese was named NJCAA Player of the Week (Jan. 7) as he powered GCCC to three wins, which included a pair of 30-point performances. He started 32 of 33 games as a sophomore, and averaged 16.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game on the 24-9 squad, which earned him All-Panhandle Conference First Team honors in his second season.

#2 Mike Davis
Freshman Guard
6-2 | 185
Houston, Texas

Davis played for Willie Patrick III as a senior at Phillis Wheatley High School, but previously played at St. Pius X, where the Panthers were in the TAPPS 6A Final Four in his junior year.

As a senior, Davis averaged 24 points per game over four games to lead the Wheatley Wildcats to the Whataburger Tournament title in Fort Worth from Dec. 29-31. He also earned MVP honors at the tournament.

The Wheatley Wildcats were 32-5 in Davis' final season and he was selected Co-MVP for District 22-4A. He averaged 23.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and five assists per game as a senior, and was selected to the TABC All-Region (3) Team, the TABC 2009 All-Star Team and the TABC Class 4-A All-State Team.

#13 David Tairu
Junior Guard
6-3 | 180
Temple Hills, Md.

Tairu played two seasons for Steve Green at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas. The Texans (30-5) claimed the NJCAA National Championship in 2007-2008 in Hutchinson, Kan. He was named All-Conference in 2007-2008, averaged 14.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game in his freshman season, scored in double figures 29 times, led the 2008-2009 squad with 17.5 points per game and a 27-4 season, was named to the National Junior College third-team All-American squad, was voted the Most Valuable Player in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference and also named to the Region 5 team, and was selected to the 2009 NJCAA Men's All-Star team.

#20 Theron Jenkins
Junior Forward
6-6 | 211
Flowood, Miss.

Jenkins played two seasons for Marty Cooper at Itawamba Community College in Fulton, Miss. In his two seasons, the Indians were 49-13. As a freshman, he played in all 34 games and averaged 7.1 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. ICC captured the division, state and regional championships in its 30-4 season.

Jenkins averaged 13.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, and played in all 28 games in his second season. The ICC Indians were 19-9 and won their third-straight north division title for the first time since 1974.

#30 Jaye Crockett
Freshman Forward
6-6 | 186
Clovis, N.M.

Crockett played for J. D. Isler at Clovis High School. The Wildcats were 29-2 in his junior season. The Purple and White completed the season as the Class 5A State Runner-up.

Crockett averaged 20.9 points and 10.4 rebounds per game as a junior, and was the only junior named to New Mexico's first-team all-state squad. Clovis won the 2008-2009 district championship on the road at Hobbs.

As a senior, Crockett scored 31 points in his final game to become the second-leading scorer in Clovis High School history. He averaged 29 points and 12 rebounds, and earned all-state first-team honors, as a senior.

The Analysis

Although Texas Tech returns several starters and even more returners, I'm not sure this is a team that many teams in the conference should fear. The chief reason for that is the departure of Alan Voskuil, the sharpshooter who fueled the upset win over Kansas with his many treys.

Now that Voskuil has graduated, it will fall to Mike Singletary to provide most of the Red Raiders' scoring. His ridiculous 43-point outburst against Texas A&M in the Big 12 Tournament singlehandedly won the game and nearly broke Michael Beasley's/Denis Clemente's Big 12 single-game record.

That game was a freakish deviation from the mean, though, as Singletary only averaged 12.2 points per game and hasn't yet shown that he is capable of being a 25- to 30-point scorer night in and night out. But he will have help in trying, in the form of honorable-mention All-Big 12 point guard John Roberson. Roberson has established himself as one of the best point guards in the league and should provide the Red Raiders with the leadership presence they need in the backcourt to challenge most Big 12 teams.

Guard Nick Okorie and forward Trevor Cook both were banged up at various times last season, but now both are healthy and look to secure starting spots in the Tech lineup. I predict that Robert Lewandowski, an Overland Park native, will step up in the post as the fifth starter, after Tech lost a slew of Eastern European big men to graduation last year.

Predicting the reserves is trickier, and that's one of the reasons I think Tech will struggle in 2009-2010. D'wayln Roberts started several games last season before being demoted, and he seems like a sure bet to net some serious playing time. David Tairu is a highly touted juco prospect who probably will have a big impact, too. But it drops off after that.

Corbin Ray started one or two games, but is not a particularly impressive player. Nor is Darko Cohadarevic, the only remaining Serbian on the roster after the Eastern bloc exodus of 2009, who is Tech's only other sizable, experienced option in the paint.

Tech is so thin that I have penciled in true freshman Mike Davis as the backup point guard, if that tells you anything. Brad Reese, like Tairu, is a juco player who probably will factor in somewhere, but he doesn't really project strongly to a certain position right now. Other players who probably won't be a factor, unless injuries pile up, are Wally Dunn, a walk-on guard of little consequence; Theron Jenkins, and incoming juco forward; and Jaye Crockett, a raw forward fresh out of high school.

Projected Starting Lineup


John Roberson	Nick Okorie	Mike Singletary	Trevor Cook	Robert Lewandowski
1	2	3	4	5

Projected Top Reserves


Mike Davis	David Tairu	D'walyn Roberts	Corbin Ray	Darko Cohadarevic
1	2	3	4	5

The Final Verdict

When your team looks as though it only can field a serious lineup of 7-8 players, in terms of functional, athletic depth, and you play in the Big 12 South, a good season probably is not in your near future. That seems to be the case for Texas Tech. Yes, they showed some drastic improvement at the end of last year — upsetting Kansas at home (a game I greatly enjoyed watching), mounting the frenzied comeback against Texas A&M and nearly knocking off Texas in Austin — but how much of that simply was due to the hot hands of Voskuil and Singletary?

If that's all that it was, Tech will struggle in a deep Big 12 and Pat Knight's seat will be plenty toasty by the end of the season. But if Tech added some underrated pieces and the rest of the team continues to improve, it potentially could move up the pecking order a few notches. I don't see it happening, though. To me, the Red Raiders look like a less talented version of Baylor: a team that is dangerous if it is knocking down the threes, but otherwise is somewhat toothless.

Predicted finish: 10th

Best-case scenario: 8th

Previously on KNOW THY ENEMY...

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Iowa State
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		#4 Corbin Ray Sophomore Forward 6-7 \| 225 Katy, Texas Ray saw his first action as a Red Raider in the season opener against St. Francis, in which he played seven minutes, scored two points and grabbed three rebounds. He played in 17 games during the season, started against Sam Houston State, averaged 5.7 minutes per game and 1.6 points per game for the season, played 14 minutes in the home game against Texas A&M, had a season-high five rebounds over East Central University, and had his best showing in the win over New Mexico, in which he played 10 minutes and scored 10 points, was 4 of 6 from the field, and canned two 3-pointers.

		#5 D'walyn Roberts Junior Forward 6-7 \| 200 Dallas, Texas Roberts started the first 19 games for the Red Raiders; played in each game during the season and had 21 starts; averaged 16.5 minutes per game, four points per game, and 3.6 rebounds per game; played 20+ minutes in 13 contests; played 35 minutes at Lamar, made 7 of 8 field goal attempts, and recorded his season-high of 14 points; scored in double figures in six games; was perfect from the free-throw line six times for a combined 13-for-13; registered a double-double in the win over Stephen F. Austin, with 11 points and 11 rebounds; was second on the squad with 21 blocks for the season; and shot .545 from the field for the season.

		#10 Wally Dunn Junior Guard 6-4 \| 194 Midland, Texas Dunn saw his first action as a Red Raider in the season opener against St. Francis, in which he played eight minutes, had a rebound and scored 5 points. He played in 14 games during the season as a walk-on, played a season high of 12 minutes against East Central University, scored 16 points on 6 of 8 field-goal attempts and 4 of 5 3-pointers, shot .588 from the field and made .500 of his 3-point attempts, and had no turnovers for the season. Dunn graduated from Midland College, where the Chaparrals were the 2007 NJCAA National Champions. He was a redshirt his freshman season. The team garnered conference championship honors in 2007-2008, and he played in 32 games as a sophomore and averaged 4.3 points per game.

		#15 Robert Lewandowski Sophomore Forward 6-10 \| 240 Overland Park, Kan. The freshman from Blue Valley West High Sschool played and scored in the first game of the season against St. Francis. Lewandowski scored two points, made a block, and had three rebounds in his eight minutes on the court. He played in 32 games for the season and started 19 times; averaged over 15 minutes per game and played 20+ minutes in 13 contests; averaged 6.6 points per game and 3.7 rebounds per game for the year; shot .581 from the field for the season; scored in double figures 10 times, with 8 of those games during conference play; recorded his season-best of 20 points at Texas A&M, when he made 10 of 15 field-goal attempts and had four rebounds in the game; had a double-double (10 points and 10 rebounds) at Oklahoma State; grabbed 5+ rebounds in 10 games; and led the squad with 23 blocks.

		#21 John Roberson Junior Guard 5-11 \| 165 Plano, Texas Honorable Mention All-Big 12 (2009) U.S. Basketball Writers Association All-District 7 (2009) Roberson and Alan Voskuil were the only players on the 2008-2009 squad to start each game during the season. He was the leading scorer on the team, with 13.9 points per game, and second on the team with 35 steals for the year. Roberson's 212 assists top the previous single-season mark of 182 assists, set by Jason Martin during the 1995-1996 season. He was the assist leader for the Big 12. His 13 assists at Texas A&M were one shy of Stan Bonewitz's single-game record of 14 assists, set against Fresno State in the 1996-1997 season. Roberson's 6.4 assists per game for the season now are the best among all Red Raiders. His 71 3-pointers rank eighth among all Red Raiders in a single season. His 201 3-point attempts equal Bonewitz's mark in the 1997-1998 season and are fourth on the all-time single-season list. Roberson's 35.2 minutes per game were second on the squad. He played 40 minutes in five games; was second on the squad in free-throw percentage (.829), making 97 of 117 attempts; was perfect from the line in 15 games, totaling 58 for 58; averaged 3.5 rebounds per game and had at least five rebounds in six games; established a career high of eight rebounds at Iowa State; had a double-double performance at Texas A&M, with 13 assists and 20 points; and scored 20+ points in five games. Roberson's 33 points at UTEP were a career-best and made him the 36th Red Raider to score 30 or more points in a game, earning him All-Big 12 Honorable Mention and USBWA All-District 7 honors.

		#23 Nick Okorie Senior Guard 6-1 \| 195 Houston, Texas Okorie started his career as a Red Raider in the season opener against St. Francis. He played 19 minutes and scored 16 points. Okorie played in 29 games during the season and had 19 starting spots. He missed four games due to an ankle injury; averaged more than 25 minutes per game and played 30+ minutes in eight games; played 36 minutes at Texas and at Iowa State; was perfect from the free-throw line in nine games, totaling 40 of 40; was third on the team with 21 steals; averaged 3.1 rebounds per game; and grabbed 5+ boards in nine games. His scoring average of 11.3 points per game was fourth among squad members. Okorie scored 15+ points in nine games, with six of those games against conference opponents; sank 10 of 10 free throws and had 17 points against Kansas; scored 24 points at Oklahoma and at Texas; averaged 16.3 points per game over the last 10 games; and started nine times.

		#24 Trevor Cook Senior Forward 6-9 \| 241 Coppell, Texas Legends Classic All-Tournament (2008) Cook was awarded his undergraduate degree in May 2009. He played in 14 games during the season and had eight starts, but missed 19 games due to a back injury. Cook averaged 14 minutes per game and played 25+ minutes in three games, and was perfect from the free-throw line in four games, totaling 16 for 16. His eight rebounds against East Central University equal his top mark from the previous season. He had 13 blocks in his abbreviated season, averaged 7.6 points per game, scored in double figures six times and had 20 or more points in two games. His 24 points against Pittsburgh mark his best scoring performance as a Red Raider, and he was selected to the Legends Classic All-Tournament Team for his performances against Pittsburgh and Mississippi State.

		#31 Darko Cohadarevic Senior Forward 6-9 \| 242 Belgrade, Serbia Cohadarevic played his first game as a Red Raider in the season opener against St. Francis. He played 12 minutes, grabbed two rebounds and scored four points. Cohadarevic played in 26 games and started twice; averaged nearly 11 minutes per game and had five games in which he played 15+ minutes; was perfect from the free-throw line in four games; averaged 2.2 rebounds per game and had at least five rebounds in five games; scored double figures in three contests; had 12 points against East Central University and against Stephen F. Austin; and scored 10 points and had six rebounds in the win over Texas A&M in the opening round of conference championship play.

		#32 Mike Singletary Junior Forward 6-6 \| 217 Humble, Texas Second Team Academic All-Big 12 (2009) Big 12 Championship All-Tournament (2009) Singletary was one of four players to play in each game during the season. He had four starts and averaged 23.1 minutes per game; played 30+ minutes against six opponents; was perfect from the free-throw line in four games; attempted more free throws than all other teammates (187) and made more free throws than all other teammates (136); had three games in which he made 34 of 40 free-throw attempts; was the leading rebounder on the team, with 5.8 boards per game; had three games (Centenary, Kansas and at Iowa State) of 10+ rebounds and 12 games with at least seven rebounds; and had double-double performances against New Mexico, Kansas and at Iowa State. His 12.2 points per game were third on the squad and he scored at least 15 points in 13 games, averaged 18.2 points per game over the final nine games of the season, was named to the Academic All-Big 12 Second Team, and gained Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team honors after scoring 60 points in two games (Texas A&M and Missouri). Singletary made 21 of 33 attempts during those two games. He set a Big 12 Championship scoring record with 43 points in the opening round game against Texas A&M (the previous record was 38 points by Marcus Fizer of Iowa State vs. Baylor in 2000). His 43-point game equals Dub Malaise's 1966 performance against TCU as the fourth-highest scoring output in Texas Tech history. Singletary led the biggest rally in Big 12 championship history, erasing the Red Raiders' 21-point, second-half deficit and taking Texas Tech to an 88-83 win over Texas A&M (the previous record was 20 points by Texas two seasons ago). He scored 29 consecutive points for the Red Raiders, with no other Tech player scoring, to become the NCAA's No. 2 consecutive-points scorer, behind Temple's Bill Mlkvy's 54 consecutive points against Wilkes on March 3, 1951.