Report Card: Texas Tech 63, Colorado 55

by Seth C on Jan 20, 2009 10:22 PM CST in Basketball Comment 8 comments

The turnovers were absolutely awful and disturbing in the first half, but the offense settled down in the second half, the defense was consistent all game long and the Red Raiders were able to pull out a win against the Colorado Buffaloes, 63-55 (boxscore).

I'll be honest, I've been in somewhat of a sports-slump or sports-malaise since the Cotton Bowl loss and it's continued to bleed over into basketball season. I'm a pretty patient guy, but this was getting a little tough for even a homer like me to continue to stay positive. Quite simply, I needed a win. And if lowly blogger "Seth C" needed a win, then I can only imagine how Junior Knight and the entire team felt.

I know these guys feel like they're better than their record indicates, but the unforced turnovers and errors really kill the team. If they can just be careful with the ball, I'm pretty sure this would have been a 20 point victory. Again, I'm talking about something that hasn't happened all year, so it's totally hypothetical, but taking care of the ball is key.

Offensive MVP

Mike Singletary: Son of a gun, if he could hit all of his free throws (6-12) and layups, he would have scored 30 points.

Defensive MVP

Michael Prince: He may hold this spot the rest of the season. He obviously has his limitations, but he plays the game as hard as anyone I've ever seen.

BACKCOURT
C	Improvement. The turnovers were still pretty bad, but they weren't coming from Roberson, which makes my sports-pants go crazy. Roberson had 13 points, 6 assists and 3 TO's. That's not a bad game and if we could get something similar to that every game, I'd be a pretty happy camper. Voskuil was manned by Colorado the entire time he was in the game, was able to get off one shot, a three, and made it. Pretty quiet night for Voskuil, but his teammates need to run the picket-fence or something in order to get him some looks. You don't beat a box-and-one by completely ignoring your best offensive player. Okorie played well and it's amazing to watch him shoot a shot in rhythm and when he's a little pressed. It's night and day. Rogdrick Craig received 20 minutes and considering the lack of overall guards on this team, I've got no problem with Craig getting 15 to 20 minutes a game, but much like Singletary, if he could hit a layup, we would have been alright.
FRONTCOURT
B	It was the Mike Singletary Show in the second half and it was really fun watching him play. Let me go ahead and get out the frustrating part, which is he also had 4 TO's for the game and in the first half, he seemed like he was a turnover machine. I never yell at the TV, but I did during this game. Thankfully, he slowed it down in the second half and the Mike Singletary that we know is capable of carrying this team showed up. Singletary finished up with 20 points and 9 boards. Go Mike. Michael Prince didn't show up much in the boxscore, but damn't he's all over the floor whenever he's in the game. I think he's been told at some point that if he doesn't leave the game with 4 fouls, then he's not playing very hard. I'm okay with that. D'Walyn Roberts had the dunk of the night as Roberson lobbed a beauty of a pass to him, started by a Lewandowski fast-break. Sounds crazy, but it happened and it was tremendous. I could have sworn that Roberts also had 1,000,000 turnovers in the first half, but the boxscore says that he didn't have a one. I guess I need a bigger TV. Robert Lewandowski struggled a bit from the floor, but the refs were so inconsistent, that I thought he should have gotten a few calls inside that weren't called at all. Still, I'll take 4 points and 5 boards a game from Lewandowski off the bench. Darko Cohadarevic was in the game for 4 minutes, made his only shot, but managed collect 3 turnovers and 1 personal foul. Should. Not. Play. Corbin Ray and Damir Suljagic received token minutes.
COACHING
C	There was some good and bad for Junior Knight. First, I'm pretty sure that when the opposing team runs a box-and-one on your best player, the best strategy is not to completely take him out of the game. I know you ended up winning, but that seems really counterproductive. There should be some way to get Voskuil open if he's being covered like stink on $#!*, i.e. The Picket Fence. Against Colorado, we got caught watching the paint dry. That's the bad, the good was that I loved the fact that Knight tightened up his rotation a bit. My only suggestions is that Lew needs 20-25 minutes a night no matter what. Yeah, he may get lost defensively, or he may not make an easy bucket, but Lew needs to go through those learning curves now rather than next year. Let him figure it out. He hustles and plays hard and I can live with his mistakes. Other than when Trevor Cook returns, if he does, I've got no problem with PK playing Roberson, Voskuil, Okorie, Craig, Prince, Roberts, Singletary, and Lewandowski receiving the bulk of the minutes.

Up Next:

January 24, 2009 - Texas Tech @ Missouri - 1:30 p.m.

0 recs | Comment 8 comments | Share

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

And I'm also pretty sure that

we won because Voskuil got a haircut . . reverse Samson.

Go Raiders . . .
Double-T Nation

by Seth C on Jan 20, 2009 10:43 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

not sure

what you see in michael prince. I’ve been to almost every game in person, and I have not really been impressed with him. Maybe it’s one of those things thats easier to see when you watch it on tv, but just watching him in person maybe he plays hard but he’s not a guy I like seeing on the floor. I agree wholeheartedly about Darko though. I really like Rogdrick Craig, he’s a senior and he’s very athletic (almost made that alley-oop dunk). I’ve been wanting him to get more minutes all season long. I like his leadership and heady play, it’s about time PK finally put him in.

by swishgoal6 on Jan 20, 2009 11:38 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

At least he's trying

and he plays pretty good defense whether it be on the perimeter or in the post. He’s very limited offensively but he’s Rodman-Extra-Lite.

Go Raiders . . .
Double-T Nation

by Seth C on Jan 21, 2009 5:11 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

And yes,

it’s somewhat sad that I praise a player because he’s trying and playing good defense. Guilty.

Go Raiders . . .
Double-T Nation

by Seth C on Jan 21, 2009 5:19 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

This year is a wash. As such, our starters need to be:
Big Lew
Singletary
Okorie
Roberson
Roberts

Voskuil may be our best shooter, but he’s also part of a senior class that isn’t doing much. Let’s work on getting ready for next year now.

Okorie, Roberson, and Singletary can score some points and I like the hustle of Lew and the athleticism of Roberts (he may be the most athletic on the team. Reminds me of a raw martin zeno except that in Pat’s system he’s willing to jump, get some blocks and some dunks). If that team can gel, plus Ray and Craig rotating in as forwards, and get contributions from the new signees next season, there is potential to not be the worst team in south.

All of that said, it’ll be put up or shut up time for Pat next season and 20 wins is a reasonable expectation. I’m rooting for him to become successful.

by kayakyakr on Jan 21, 2009 8:48 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

whoops craig’s a senior. That’s what you get when you recruit JC’s.

replace him with cook, i guess. or someone new.

by kayakyakr on Jan 21, 2009 8:53 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

What Seth said....

I’ll be honest, I’ve been in somewhat of a sports-slump or sports-malaise since the Cotton Bowl loss and it’s continued to bleed over into basketball season. I’m a pretty patient guy, but this was getting a little tough for even a homer like me to continue to stay positive

Thank you for justifying my feelings on sports also…….misery loves company.

"There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you." Woody Hayes

by cityman on Jan 21, 2009 9:56 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Junior High

Ahh, watching this game (my first opportunity to see a game this season) brought me back to the days of watching junior high girls basketball when my sister played. Anytime BOTH teams go on a 10 minute scoring drought at the same time, you know you are witnessing the epitome of mediocrity. I have high hopes for the Pat Knight era, but after seeing what he is dealing with this season, I’m realistically thinking that was the only Big 12 win TTU gets in 2009.

by ndockray001 on Jan 21, 2009 2:01 PM CST reply actions 0 recs