What do you guys think of Texas Tech this year?

[thebigabd]

They are going to start 5 seniors this year, and signed a couple of talented freshman guards in Jamel Outler and Javarez Willis. Willis is the #74 player in the class and some called him one of the best three point shooters in the class.

They can really shoot at 4 positions and have 5 good seniors starting. This could be a strong year for Tech.

PG: John Roberson (5'11'' 170-senior)
-All Big 12 Honorable Mention. John has played in 99 Red Raider games and has 93 starts in three seasons...led the squad with nearly 36 minutes of playing time per game...played at least 40 minutes in eight games...had a season high of 46 minutes at Nebraska...second on the squad in scoring with 14.5 points per game...had nine games of at least 20 points and had a season high of 28 points in the win over Oklahoma State... had a double-double (10 assists and 12 points) in the win at TCU...Texas Tech career assist leaders with 503 assists...is the first Red Raider to tally 500 assists...led the 2009-2010 squad with 190 assists.

SG: David Tairu (6'3'' 180-senior)
-Averaged 9.2 points and 3 rebounds per game in his first season out of junior college. Shot 46% from the 3pt line and 47% from the field. Played 19 minutes per game as a backup for Nick Okorie. Had 16 double figure games.

SF: Brad Reese (6'6'' 195-senior)
-Completed his first Texas Tech season out of junior college with 27 steals, 29 blocks, and 35 assists...averaged 7.5 points per game and had eight games of at least 10 points...scored 16 or more points in five games...his season best was 20 points against Missouri...recorded his first Tech double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Jacksonville in the NIT.

PF: Mike Singletary (6'6'' 235-senior)
-All Big 12 Honorable Mention. .led the team in scoring with 15.0 points per game...had ten games with at least 20 points including a season high of 28 points against Stanford and at Mississippi...second on the squad with 43 steals...second on the squad with 80 assists...led the team in rebounding with 6.8 boards per game...established a personal best of 17 rebounds against Missouri...had six games of at least 10 rebounds...tallied double-double figures in three games.

PF: D'walyn Roberts (6'7'' 200-senior)
-Led the squad with 44 blocks...second on the team with 6.2 rebounds per game...averaged just over 23 minutes of playing time per game...played at least 30 minutes in three games and was on the court for 47 minutes in the NIT double-overtime game at Mississippi...averaged seven points per game for the year...scored in double figures eleven times and had a top mark of 15 points against UTEP.

 

[CarlWeathers]

hard to say. I for one don't think pat knight has what it takes.

 

[thebigabd]

hard to say. I for one don't think pat knight has what it takes.

If you can't win with 2 all-conference players, 5 starting seniors, and a talented bench you are never going to.

Do or die for Pat Knight.

 

[campbest]

If you can't win with 2 all-conference players, 5 starting seniors, and a talented bench you are never going to.

Do or die for Pat Knight.

Agreed.

 

[DFWHoopster]

I think KU, KSU, Missouri, Baylor and A&M have enough skilled balance to finish 1-5 in the league barring injuries.

I really don't understand why the Aggies are being rated 9th preseason. Loubeau is a very good inside player and the word is that Roberson is their best interior guy (freshman). Middleton is a potential all conference guy. Turner and Hibbert are solid. BJ Holmes and Dash Harris give them a proven backcourt. I think they are one of the 5 best teams personally.

OSU, Colorado, Texas and Tech are all very talented teams but I question whether their lack of inside strength will allow them to put together winning streaks in the big12 similar to Baylor two years ago and OU last year.

OSU is probably the most likely to surprise me there because they have better all around talent on the interior than those other 3 teams.

OU and Nebraska are wild cards. Too much uncertainty on their rosters to know what you have pre-season.

Iowa State will probably go 1-15 in the league.

 

[HoHum]

I think KU, KSU, Missouri, Baylor and A&M have enough skilled balance to finish 1-5 in the league barring injuries.

I really don't understand why the Aggies are being rated 9th preseason. Loubeau is a very good inside player and the word is that Roberson is their best interior guy (freshman). Middleton is a potential all conference guy. Turner and Hibbert are solid. BJ Holmes and Dash Harris give them a proven backcourt. I think they are one of the 5 best teams personally.

OSU, Colorado, Texas and Tech are all very talented teams but I question whether their lack of inside strength will allow them to put together winning streaks in the big12 similar to Baylor two years ago and OU last year.

OSU is probably the most likely to surprise me there because they have better all around talent on the interior than those other 3 teams.

OU and Nebraska are wild cards. Too much uncertainty on their rosters to know what you have pre-season.

Iowa State will probably go 1-15 in the league.

I think OSU might have more strength inside than any team not named KSU. Pilgrim and Moses are probably the best two rebounders in the conference. I expect Darrell Williams to be very good as well. Cobbins is a wild card.

As for Tech, like everyone else said this is probably make or break for P. Knight. It sure doesn't seem like he got the Defense Gene from pops.

 

[sys]

I really don't understand why the Aggies are being rated 9th preseason. Loubeau is a very good inside player and the word is that Roberson is their best interior guy (freshman). Middleton is a potential all conference guy. Turner and Hibbert are solid. BJ Holmes and Dash Harris give them a proven backcourt. I think they are one of the 5 best teams personally.

a&m gets underrated every single year. it's bizarre. not only as a team, but the individual players don't get the recognition they deserve.

a&m has way more talent than tech. tech does not have upper division talent. not close.

 

[DFWHoopster]

sys- I agree on A&M. Outside of Texas and Kansas, they have been the most consistent program in the big12 the last 5 years making the dance and winning a first round game each of those years.

HoHum- tell me about Darrell Williams. I forgot about him. I've seen Cobbins play. I think he will need a year in the weight room to contribute. He may become a terrific player, but I wouldn't count on him this year.

Can Pilgrim and Moses play together? Last year, OSU seemed to struggle when both were on the court at the same time. And foul trouble seems to plague both guys as well.

OSU is one of the most interesting teams for me to watch this year. Where does the ball go in crunch time? Moses? Penn? I think Penn can create off penetration but his height is not ideal for a player when the shot clock is winding down. In the big 12, it seems like every team has a defensive guard that can match Penn's quickness but has a couple of inches advantage.

Anderson had the size to get off shots whenever he needed them. You could say the same thing about Obi. Perhaps Markel Brown is that guy but that is a lot to expect of a freshman who was not thought of as a difference maker recruit coming in to college.

Don't get me wrong, I think OSU is probably a tournament team this year. But I don't think they have the star power or inside game to finish 1-5 in the conference. Although I think the South is weaker than the North this year so maybe they will shock me.

Against a team like Baylor who can roll out Perry Jones 6'11", Cory Jefferson 6'9", Anthony Jones 6'10", Quincy Acy 6'8" and possibly Bobo Morgan (expected to get a waiver) at 6'11", I think OSU will struggle scoring hoops inside and staying out of foul trouble. Same would be true against KSU and Kansas who can roll out a lot of skilled size.

 

[HoHum]

sys- I agree on A&M. Outside of Texas and Kansas, they have been the most consistent program in the big12 the last 5 years making the dance and winning a first round game each of those years.

HoHum- tell me about Darrell Williams. I forgot about him. I've seen Cobbins play. I think he will need a year in the weight room to contribute. He may become a terrific player, but I wouldn't count on him this year.

Can Pilgrim and Moses play together? Last year, OSU seemed to struggle when both were on the court at the same time. And foul trouble seems to plague both guys as well.

OSU is one of the most interesting teams for me to watch this year. Where does the ball go in crunch time? Moses? Penn? I think Penn can create off penetration but his height is not ideal for a player when the shot clock is winding down. In the big 12, it seems like every team has a defensive guard that can match Penn's quickness but has a couple of inches advantage.

Anderson had the size to get off shots whenever he needed them. You could say the same thing about Obi. Perhaps Markel Brown is that guy but that is a lot to expect of a freshman who was not thought of as a difference maker recruit coming in to college.

Don't get me wrong, I think OSU is probably a tournament team this year. But I don't think they have the star power or inside game to finish 1-5 in the conference. Although I think the South is weaker than the North this year so maybe they will shock me.

Against a team like Baylor who can roll out Perry Jones 6'11", Cory Jefferson 6'9", Anthony Jones 6'10", Quincy Acy 6'8" and possibly Bobo Morgan (expected to get a waiver) at 6'11", I think OSU will struggle scoring hoops inside and staying out of foul trouble. Same would be true against KSU and Kansas who can roll out a lot of skilled size.

Williams was the leading scorer and rebounder for Midland College out of Texas, who was ranked #1 virtually all season before they lost 3 games after the middle of February, and two of them were to Howard, who eventually won it all. His numbers were somewhere around 13.5 and 10.

He's 6'7", 6'8", and around 240-250. So, he's a pretty big guy. I know he's supposed to be a heck of a rebounder, and I think his offensive game is pretty similar to Moses'.

As for other teams with size, Pilgrim and Moses are really good post defenders. Pilgrim did well against Aldrich, and did very well against Udoh in Stillwater after Pilgrim became the new starter. They did a fairly good job on Lawal and Favors in the tournament too.

The bigs that hurt them last year were Pittman (in Austin, when Pilgrim was suspended) and Damion James. So, a guy like Acy could do some damage, but he'll do it to anyone.

As for Baylor, Acy of course is a force, but Anthony Jones hasn't struck me as a guy who would even guard or be guarded by Pilgrim and Moses, since he seems to be pretty consistently on the perimeter. Jefferson has a long way to go, and I'm real interested to see how developed Jones is this year.

I agree with the sentiment of where OSU will finish, somewhere between 4-7, but I think their question marks are outside shooting, and who can be the guy that can go get a bucket at the end of the shot clock. I feel the team's strength is inside play and rebounding.

 

[DFWHoopster]

HoHum- sounds like Williams is cut out of the same mold as Pilgrim and Moses. Strong barrel-chested guy. It is funny I have always wanted one of those guys at Baylor. But clearly Drew's preference is length over strength. Anthony Jones is not very strong. Cory Jefferson isn't either. But Cory is aggressive like Acy. He will bang and he crashes the board with the same tenacity that Acy does.

With the 2-3 matchup zone, the weak spot is usually the big guys shooting the free throw jumper or baseline jumpers. Most teams don't hit a high percentage of those shots because most bigs aren't comfortable shooting it, especially with some length to bother it. But my perception is that Moses can make a living off the free throw jumper against that zone.

Interesting that you say outside shooting is the question mark for OSU. I feel the same way about Baylor. Outside of Dunn and Page, lots of unknowns on both teams from the outside. Ready for basketball to get going. I got the fever...

 

[CarlWeathers]

The thing that worries me about darrel is he comes from a juco team that is like Fords first two osu teams. 4 out 1 in, which made it hard for moses to adjust to another big being on the court, so I feel like darrel may have trouble making that transition as well.

I do like that hes listed as 10 pounds larger than pilgrim.

 

[hoopsaustin]

They are going to start 5 seniors this year, and signed a couple of talented freshman guards in Jamel Outler and Javarez Willis. Willis is the #74 player in the class and some called him one of the best three point shooters in the class.

They can really shoot at 4 positions and have 5 good seniors starting. This could be a strong year for Tech.

PG: John Roberson (5'11'' 170-senior)
-All Big 12 Honorable Mention. John has played in 99 Red Raider games and has 93 starts in three seasons...led the squad with nearly 36 minutes of playing time per game...played at least 40 minutes in eight games...had a season high of 46 minutes at Nebraska...second on the squad in scoring with 14.5 points per game...had nine games of at least 20 points and had a season high of 28 points in the win over Oklahoma State... had a double-double (10 assists and 12 points) in the win at TCU...Texas Tech career assist leaders with 503 assists...is the first Red Raider to tally 500 assists...led the 2009-2010 squad with 190 assists.

SG: David Tairu (6'3'' 180-senior)
-Averaged 9.2 points and 3 rebounds per game in his first season out of junior college. Shot 46% from the 3pt line and 47% from the field. Played 19 minutes per game as a backup for Nick Okorie. Had 16 double figure games.

SF: Brad Reese (6'6'' 195-senior)
-Completed his first Texas Tech season out of junior college with 27 steals, 29 blocks, and 35 assists...averaged 7.5 points per game and had eight games of at least 10 points...scored 16 or more points in five games...his season best was 20 points against Missouri...recorded his first Tech double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Jacksonville in the NIT.

PF: Mike Singletary (6'6'' 235-senior)
-All Big 12 Honorable Mention. .led the team in scoring with 15.0 points per game...had ten games with at least 20 points including a season high of 28 points against Stanford and at Mississippi...second on the squad with 43 steals...second on the squad with 80 assists...led the team in rebounding with 6.8 boards per game...established a personal best of 17 rebounds against Missouri...had six games of at least 10 rebounds...tallied double-double figures in three games.

PF: D'walyn Roberts (6'7'' 200-senior)
-Led the squad with 44 blocks...second on the team with 6.2 rebounds per game...averaged just over 23 minutes of playing time per game...played at least 30 minutes in three games and was on the court for 47 minutes in the NIT double-overtime game at Mississippi...averaged seven points per game for the year...scored in double figures eleven times and had a top mark of 15 points against UTEP.

bump.. for irony of one's latest post

 

[Tony]

Really?