Surprised?  Me too.  The 2011 roster was released and there are some surprises, including the addition of SG/PG DeShon Minnis (6-3/200), from Philadelphia, PA.  The good part is that the roster conundrum has been resolved as the 2011-12 roster was released last week:

Your returning players are PG Javarez Willis, SF Jaye Crockett and C Robert Lewandowski. 

The players that "left" during the offseason were PG Mike Davis, SF Theron Jenkins, PF Paul Cooper, SG Marshall Henderson, and SG Jamel Outler.  I don't know where Jenkins and Henderson went, but I think that Davis, Outler and Cooper found other basketball homes. 

One player that committed to Texas Tech, PF/C Daouda Soumaro, is not on the official roster. 

The new players are:  SF Cameron Forte, SG/PG Toddrick Gotcher, SG/PG DeShon Minnis, SF Jaron Nash, PG Ty Nurse, SF Terran Petteway, C Kader Tapsoba, PF Jordan Tolbert, PG Kevin Wagner and C Dejan Kravic.  Kravic will have to sit out all of this year as he is a transfer.

Lets get to Minnis.

The Measurables:

DESHON MINNIS
Position: SG/PG
DTN Profile
Video: Clip 1 | Clip 2
Rivals Profile N/A
Scout Profile N/A
ESPN Profile N/A
Ht: 6'3"
Wt: 200 lbs
High School: South Philadelphia High School (Philadelphia, PA)

I couldn't find a profile for Rivals or Scout and the ESPN profile was relatively worthless as it has Minnis going to Kent St.  And the reason why I have Minnis as a shooting guard is that there are few guards on this team with much, if any height and Minnis and Gotcher, will be playing some shooting guard, most likely, as there are three other true point guards (Nurse, Willis and Wagner) on this team.  Someone has to fill that role.

The Player Speaks:  When Minnis finally made it to Texas Tech, here's what he had to say:

"I am excited for the opportunity," said Minnis. "After talking with coach Walker and coach Gillispie, I feel like this the best fit for me. I think we have a chance to be successful."

And a month ago, Minnis spoke with RecruitScoop who got this from Minnis:

"Yes," he said by phone on Tuesday night. "I made the verbal."

"When I spoke to Coach Gillispie, he said he produces guards," said Minnis. "He didn’t tell me anything I didn’t want to hear. He told me they needed a big guard and they like to run. That’s my style."

Minnis' comments, i.e. Texas Tech needs a big guard, seems to mesh with my thought that Minnis, despite maybe not playing much shooting guard, will see some minutes there this year.

Offers and Rankings:  Couldn't find much of anything.

More after the jump.

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I thought I had the Texas Tech roster conundrum figured out, but apparently I don't, as Billy Clyde Gillispie don't care.  SF Cameron Forte, a 6'6" small forward or shooting guard from Tempe, Arizona, committed to Texas Tech last week.  I guessed earlier in the week that Forte was probably a preferred walk-on, but per the East Valley Tribune, according to Forte, he says he has a scholarship:

It’s been a long wait, but McClintock forward Cameron Forte finally committed to a school on Tuesday. Texas Tech offered him a scholarship, and with only about a month left before school starts, Forte jumped on it. He was planning on bypassing a few lower level scholarship offers to hone his game at La Jolla Prep in San Diego, but liked the opportunity to play with Texas Tech. Forte said he’s happy to finally have a destination. "Man, every day I get people writing me on Facebook, calling me, texting me, asking me where I’m going," Forte said. "Now everybody knows I’m going to Texas Tech, so that’s good." Forte has been a pretty divisive player the past couple years. He put up fantastic high school numbers (Forte was the Tribune’s Player of the Year as a junior and he averaged 36.2 points and 12.7 rebounds as a senior) but his lack of energy on defense and his unconventional shooting motion seemed to keep most of the top colleges away. However, Forte said he received a full ride scholarship offer from Texas Tech, so it will be interesting to see if he can prove the critics wrong at the next level.

I have no idea how this is going to work and who has a scholarship and who doesn't.

The Measurables:

CAMERON FORTE
Position: SF
DTN Profile
Video: Clip 1 | Clip 2 | Clip 3
Rivals Profile N/A
Scout Profile N/A
ESPN Profile N/A
Ht: 6'6"
Wt: 200 lbs
High School: McClintock (Tempe, AZ)

The Player Speaks:  It was tough to find comments after Forte's commitment, but I don't like to disappoint.  AZCentral's Richard Obert talked to Forte's AAU coach, who had this to say about Forte:

"He's a brand new coach, so he's looking for guys who have talent, and obviously Cameron has the talent," Pump N Run coach Jeff de Laveaga said. "He needed someone who can score right away and produce points. Cameron had a great spring. He's grown up a lot this summer, and he's proven that in his excellent play. He was the leader in most of our 29 straight wins. It's a great opportunity for Cameron."

And Forte seems grateful to have found a place to play:

"It  seems like I fit in with the program," Forte said. "It's good to finally have it done. Everybody was, 'What is Cameron doing?'

"I just thank God. I feel blessed to be in the situation I'm in."

I usually don't advocate reading comments, but the comments are fairly telling about Forte's game, which is that they don't think he's a Division I player due to his inconsistency, only uses his strong hand (left hand) and isn't a very good shooter. 

Forte's commitment was then made official and coach Billy Clyde Gillispie, who had this to say about Forte:

"We are extremely excited to have Cameron be a part of our group," said Gillispie "He has a unique and special set of abilities for scoring the basketball for a player his size. Cameron is also one of the most versatile prospects I have seen. He can play a lot of positions. He plays the game with great emotion. I feel he will be able to fit in well with the other players we have returning and make an immediate impact on our team.

And Forte:

"Coach Gillispie was straight forward and very honest with me," said Forte. "I never felt he was sugarcoating anything. He made it very obvious that he wanted me to go to Texas Tech. I liked that he was honest. I never thought I would play in the Big 12. It is a phenomenal conference. I look forward to the challenge.

More after the jump.

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Sometimes Twitter is right and sometimes it's really wrong.  I mentioned this on Sunday, but last Thursday, I was seeing some things about a small forward out of California, Merv Lindsay, possibly committing to Texas Tech.  I stuck these rumblings at the end of the C Kader Tapsoba post.  As of Sunday, Scout reported that Lindsay signed a letter of intent and he makes the 9th commitment of the 2011 Texas Tech men's basketball class.  Let's get to it. 

The Measurables:

MERV LINDSAY
Position: SF
DTN Profile
Video: Clip 1 | Clip 2
Rivals Profile N/A
Scout Profile
ESPN Profile 77
Ht: 6'5" | Wt: 188 lbs
High School: Canyon Springs (Moreno Valley, CA)

More good-good after the jump.

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This is the third of the JUCO commitments and most likely, it's the last of head coach Billy Clyde Gillispie's commitments.  Eight is enough (some of you will have no get this reference).  And at some point, it's really tough to talk or discuss a commitment when there's just so little information on Nurse, Tapsoba and Nash.  This is the trust part in the sense that it seems as if the JUCO-3 are relatively unknowns and Texas Tech fans have to trust that Gillispie has had his eye on these guys for a year and he's hand-picked these three to help his eventual team bring his style of basketball. 

The Measurables:

TY NURSE
Position: PG
DTN Profile
Video: N/A
Rivals Profile N/A
Scout Profile N/A
ESPN Profile N/A
Ht: 6'1" | Wt: 180 lbs
JUCO: Midland College (Midland, TX)

A bit more after the jump.

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It's probably not the best thing to start this out with, but please temper your expectations with good old Kader, he's a 6-10/200 center who is incredibly raw and he's not going to be a scoring option, but he should be a defensive presence.  Nevertheless, this team needs height and it needs a defensive presence. 

The Measurables:

KADER TAPSODA
Position: C
DTN Profile
Video: N/A
Rivals Profile N/A
Scout Profile N/A
ESPN Profile N/A
Ht: 6'10" | Wt: 200 lbs
JUCO: Tyler J.C. (Tyler, TX)

More about Tapsoba after the jump and a nugget about another possible recruit (grain of salt).

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This is the first profile of three recent basketball commits, both are from Tyler J.C., SF Jaron Nash and C Kader Tapsoba.  Both of these players provide some depth and height to a team that's not terribly tall inside.  And I should clarify that Nash, Kader Tapsoda and Ty Nurse are commits #6, #7 and #8 in the 2011 recruiting class.  Right now, there's a bit of a roster conundrum, which will be solved before the season starts, but it's still something to watch.

The Measurables:

JARON NASH
Position: SF
DTN Profile
Video: N/A
Rivals Profile N/A
Scout Profile 
ESPN Profile 40
Ht: 6'8" | Wt: 185 lbs
JUCO: Tyler J.C. (Tyler, TX)

More good-good after the jump.

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When I started to look back at the archives, I couldn't find a DTN profile for Texas Tech's first commit for the 2011 basketball class, Estacado point guard Kevin Wagner.  I couldn't find one because I didn't write one, and for that, I owe Kevin an apology.  Let's get to it.

The Measurables:

Kevin Wagner
Position: PG
DTN Profile
Video: Clip 1 | Clip 2 | Clip 3
Rivals Profile
Scout Profile
ESPN Profile 88 Grade
Ht: 5'8"
Wt: 145 lbs
High School: Estacado (Lubbock, TX)

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I'm incredibly late with this, but better late than never.  This is the 5th commitment for Pat Knight and his 2011 recruiting class as SG Toddrick Gotcher commits to the Red Raiders.  For those of us who have been complaining that PK has recruited too many JUCO band-aids, this is five high school commits for the 2011 class.  It may not be pretty after this year, but this is the right way to build a program.

The Measurables: 

Toddrick Gotcher
Position: SG
DTN Profile
Rivals Profile
Scout Profile
ESPN Profile 88 Grade
Ht: 6'3"
Wt: 185 lbs
High School: Lakeview Centennial (Garland, TX)

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