Texas Tech Friday Morning Notes - Running Through Air Edition

by Seth C on May 30, 2008 6:15 AM CDT Comment 2 comments

Double-T Nation News:

In no particular order, DTN's Top Four:

Re-upping in the military is awesome (DTN heartily thanks you), but convincing your chief to let you wear your college gear is even better.
The inspiration for Indiana Jones (via Kottke).
True Hoop with an interesting look at runners and recruiters - Part I and Part II.
Hybrid big cats, ligers and tigons (via The Morning News).

College football preview magazines are hitting the newstands as we speak. This will be great reading as I'm on vacation in about a week or so.

Texas Tech Football:

The Sporting News' Matt Hays thinks Texas Tech is overrated (clap, clap, clap, clap, clap). That's fine. In fact, I think that most folks who don't follow the program closely should think this about Texas Tech and that's okay. Looking at it from the outside, Texas Tech did struggle defensively in the latter part of the season, except for Baylor. As I've said before, these guys (offense and defense) are going to have to earn the right to be considered elite. No one is going to hand respect to you, it's got to be earned. And I would hope that if the defense needs negative press to get motivated, then this is the same defense from under Setencich, which I don't think it is. I don't think these guys are motivated by outside press, but I do think they will play their tails off for McNeill. I think he has that big of an influence on his players.

What this does mean is that enough folks are thinking highly of Texas Tech to consider the Red Raiders over-rated.

Former Red Raider Dwayne Slay is playing the Canadian Football League, specifically the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and he's featured in an article in the Winnipeg Sun and talks about the perfect hit (if you live in a cave, go here):

"The perfect hit," Slay said, repeating the words like they were sacred. "Squaring up, all you see is the ball carrier. My eyes get a little bigger. You just want to take the right angle, maybe put that face mask on his face mask at a certain velocity. And maybe that ball will come out, if you get him right."

And if you get him just right? "It feels like you're just running through air. You don't even feel it. Not at all. You definitely know it."

Texas Tech Basketball:

Bob Knight will be inducted into the Army Sports Hall of Fame on September 19, 2008:

A native of Orrville, Ohio, Robert Montgomery Knight is a graduate of Ohio State where he was a member of the Buckeye hardwood teams that won Big Ten titles in 1960, 1961, and 1962 and the NCAA Championship in 1960 while posting an overall record of 78-6. Many of the Big Ten team records that Knight's Indiana teams shattered were those he had a part in making as an Ohio State player.

After graduating with a degree in History and Government, Bob Knight was an assistant coach at Cuyahoga Falls (Ohio) High School one year before entering the U.S. Army where he was assigned to assist Coach Tates Locke at West Point. When Locke became head coach at Miami (Ohio) University in 1965, Knight was named to succeed him and became the youngest Varsity Coach in major collegiate history.

Bob Knight began his illustrious coaching career at West Point as a 24-year-old. He put together a 102-50 record during his six seasons and made four trips to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT). Indiana was his next stop after Army and he led the Hoosiers to three national titles before taking the head-coaching job at Texas Tech. He departed Texas Tech earlier this year after winning 138 games in just over six and a half seasons at the helm of the Red Raider program and as college basketball's all-time winningest coach with 902 victories. He currently serves as an analyst on ESPN.

LAJ's Jeff Walker talks with Bob Knight about the honor (go read the whole thing):

"I was really kind of taken by that," Knight said. "I was there just six years as a coach, so that's pretty nice. Out of those six years, we were in the NIT four times and that may have been the most satisfying period that I have coached."

Congrats to RMK for a well-deserved honor.

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Overrated?

Well, the guy has a point. We were much improved on defense and finished strong. But we did give up a ton of points to three good schools and only won one of those. We need to prove the naysayer’s wrong this season over the course of a full year – and not drop a turd vs. OSU or A&M. We do that, beat tu and maybe OU and we can make our case. But it is a show-me sport and until Tech shows it, over a full year, the defense SHOULD be called into question. I personally think they’ll be much improved statistically this coming season and we should have a good shot at 10 wins. But in our conference, 10 wins won’t get us into the BCS. Given the choice w/an at-large bid a BCS game will always, always, ALWAYS take a Texas or an OU or a Nebraska over Tech, all other things being equal. So for us to make the BCS party, we need to win the conference or hope the other teams traditonally associated with success and the BCS fail to measure up. That’s just the way the BCS will treat us…we don’t have tradition and history on our side, and we don’t normally travel really well to distant bowls outside of Texas (though in recent years that is changing, thankfully).

by Tech92 on May 30, 2008 12:22 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

this makes for a really

big year for TT and the thought that it might take some time to get invited to the “cool party” (BCS) I completely concur, it takes time, consistency, etc. I still think we’re getting there. Slowly, but surely.

Go Raiders . . .

by Seth C on May 30, 2008 11:16 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs