Let the new era begin in Lubbock. That word - "new" - will be the operative term when the Texas Tech men's basketball team tips off its season at 8:30 p.m. today against Troy at United Spirit Arena. New coach. New players. New attitude.
November 10, 2011 - 8:21pm
Robert Lewandowski was walking into church, hand in hand with his girlfriend, when he received a transformative phone call. He had heard rumors, but now he knew for sure. Billy Gillispie was going to be the next basketball coach at Texas Tech.
November 10, 2011 - 8:23pmOne good sign for the Red Raiders on Saturday is that the nerves of the team's first-year players had largely dissipated following a frantic opening to Thursday's game against Southwestern Oklahoma State. Tech took command of the game against Our Lady of the Lake early, opening with an 8-0 run. The Red Raiders were rarely threatened and put the game away with a 17-4 run to open the second half.
Here are some notes, quotes and observations from the 119-80 exhibition victory:
Tech demonstrated a handful of improvements in its second exhibition contest on Saturday, cruising by NAIA foe Our Lady of the Lake, 119-80.
November 5, 2011 - 11:44pmFor a young, inexperienced team like Texas Tech, success during the preseason portion of its schedule is measured in signs of progress, an ability to correct mistakes. Tech demonstrated a handful of improvements in its second exhibition contest on Saturday, cruising by NAIA foe Our Lady of theLake,...
November 5, 2011 - 10:50pm
After a narrow 76-70 exhibition win over Southwestern Oklahoma State on Thursday, first-year coach Billy Gillispie said his team is still very much a work in progress.
November 4, 2011 - 11:48pmThe biggest thing we learned from Tech's 76-70 exhibition win over Southwestern Oklahoma State was, well, that we still have plenty to learn.
It was good to finally get a look at this very young group of players and their first-year head coach, Billy Gillispie, even if the product on the court wasn't always pretty basketball. Tech turned the ball over 28 times. It committed 16 fouls in the first half alone. In the opening period, the Red Raiders were clearly tight. Gillispie called them "shell-shocked."
Texas Tech coach Billy Gillispie repeated an interesting phrase shortly after his team's narrow 76-70 exhibition game victory over Southwestern Oklahoma State on Thursday at United Spirit Arena.
November 3, 2011 - 11:26pm
Texas Tech coach Billy Gillispie repeated an interesting phrase shortly after his team’s narrow 76-70 exhibition game victory overSouthwesternOklahomaStateon Thursday at United Spirit Arena.
“I thought it was perfect,” he said.
Gillispie wasn’t talking about his team’s performance. Far from it, in fact.
“We didn’t really have anybody do anything,” Gillispie said. “We were just totally outside of everything, individually and as a team.”
Perfection, Gillispie said, referred to the experience of having a horde of new players, including a handful of freshmen, play in their first game situation.
The inexperience of the young Red Raiders showed. They turned the ball over 28 times among other struggles.
But the game served as a measuring stick. Some teams around the country choose not to schedule exhibition games, opting instead for scrimmages that are closed to the public and the media.
Gillispie said he prefers the exhibition format because it allows his team to experience playing in front of a crowd – like the 21,088 on hand Thursday – even if it means “they see how bad you are.”
“You can say what you need to do in practice and all those kind of things, but until you play against someone else, sometimes, it doesn’t always stick,” Gillispie said.
For all Tech struggled with on Thursday, it did pull out a win in front of a spirited crowd enticed by free admission and the chance to be among the first to witness the tip-off of a new era of basketball in Lubbock.
Tech made ’em sweat.
The Red Raiders led 72-66 with just 22 seconds to play. But the Bulldogs’ Marin Zelalija – who led all scores with 24 points – hit a 3-pointer and was fouled by Ty Nurse. Zelalija made the free throw to convert a four-point play, cutting Tech’s lead to two with 20 seconds left.
That was as close as the Bulldogs would get, though, as they committed three turnovers in their final four possessions, and the Red Raiders were perfect from the free throw line down the stretch to hold off the late charge.
Javarez Willis led the way for Tech with 22 points. He was the spark during a tight first half, when Tech turned the ball over 14 times and committed 16 fouls.
Trailing 35-31 at halftime, the Red Raiders established their game plan early in the second period.
Tech quickly got the ball inside to senior Robert Lewandowski, who scored six quick points to help his team tie the score for the first time since the opening tip. Lewandowski finished with 18 points.
The Red Raiders finally grabbed their first lead when Jaron Nash, who sparked the team with 11 points and solid defense, made a layup with 12 minutes left in the game to put Tech up 50-49.
“The only guy that really started taking things away from them was Jaron Nash,” Gillispie said. “He did a fantastic job of denying passes like we normally try to, and he really turned the game for us.”
November 3, 2011 - 10:30pm
