HOOPS: Preview: North Florida (Tues, Nov 9th at 7pm) - Texas Tech -23

TTUHoopsFans · Nov 7, 2021

PREVIEW: North Florida

North Florida at Texas Tech | 7 p.m., Tuesday | TV: Big 12 Now on ESPN+

November 07, 2021
https://texastech.com/news/2021/11/7/mens-basketball-preview-north-florida.aspx

LUBBOCK, Texas – A new era of Texas Tech basketball begins this week with head coach Mark Adams leading the Red Raiders against North Florida in the season opener at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the United Supermarkets Arena.

"We want to be the most aggressive team on the court every time we play," Adams said. "That's on both ends of the court. We are going to play with a lot of intensity and make sure we always have effort and energy. Our team is ready to get started. We're still a work in progress, but it's time to get going. The objective will be to get this team better with each game and get ready for Big 12 competition."

The Red Raiders begin the season with a three-game home stand which also includes hosting Grambling at 7 p.m. on Friday and then Prairie View A&M on Monday, Nov. 15 at the USA. Tech has been a dominant program in non-conference home games, going 57-1 at the USA in non-conference games over the past seven years. The program is 167-16 in non-conference home games since opening the USA in 1999.

Texas Tech has won 21 straight season openers and is 69-27 all-time after earning a 101-58 win over Northwestern State in the 2020-21 season opener on Nov. 25 at the USA. TTU finished last season with an 18-11 overall record and was 11-4 at home. North Florida went 8-15 last season, including 3-10 record on the road.

Adams is entering his first season as the program's head coach after officially being named on April 6, 2021. A Brownfield native, Adams has won 554 games as a head coach and has worked as the Red Raider associate head coach over the past five seasons.

ROSTER REPORT: Texas Tech returns five players from last year with Marcus Santos-Silva, Terrence Shannon, Jr., Kevin McCullar, Clarence Nadolny and Chibuzo Agbo returning. Bryson Williams, Kevin Obanor, Davion Warren, Sardaar Calhoun, Mylik Wilson, KJ Allen, Adonis Arms and Daniel Batcho are all set to make their Red Raider debuts on Tuesday after transferring in over the summer.

"You want a competitive team and guys who hate to lose," Adams said. "You want them to want to win every possession. We have a very physical team who is like that. They hate to lose. It's a great group of guys with veterans. They understand how to get ready for a game. I think that will be a strength of our team. We're going to come ready to play every night."

Williams arrives in Lubbock after playing at Fresno State and UTEP where he has accumulated 1,627 points and 745 rebounds in his career. A Fresno native, Williams is coming off a senior season at UTEP where he averaged 15.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Obanor recorded three double-doubles for Oral Roberts in the NCAA Tournament last season before deciding to transfer. A Houston native, Obanor has played the last three years at ORU where he has averaged 15.2 points and 8.0 rebounds through 86 games. He had 15 double-doubles last season where he averaged 18.7 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.

Warren is the nation's fourth leading scorer that returns after going for 21.2 points per game at Hampton University last season. That average was the 13th most nationally and made him an All-Big South selection. A Buffalo, New York native, Warren played two seasons at Hampton after starting his career at Olney Central College. He scored a career-high 34 points last season and finished the year with 48 made 3-pointers. Calhoun advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 with Florida State last season before deciding to transfer to Texas Tech with two years of eligibility remaining. A Tappahannock, Virginia native, Calhoun began his career with two seasons at Missouri State – West Plains. He is coming off a season at FSU where he averaged 5.3 points and 1.3 rebounds per game.

Wilson played two seasons at Louisiana where he averaged 12.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game while in Lafayette. A Rayville, Louisiana native, Wilson went for 12.9 points per game as a sophomore last season and maintains three years of eligibility for the Red Raiders. A versatile guard, Wilson has 168 assists in his career after having 83 last season – 3.2 per game. Arms played in the NCAA Tournament last season with Winthrop after beginning his career with two seasons at Mesa Community College and one season at Northwest Nazarene. Now at his fourth school after earning his bachelor's degree at Winthrop, Arms is listed as a super senior. He is coming off averaging 10.5 points and 4.7 rebounds at Winthrop after going for 20.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game with 93 assists in his one season at Northwest Nazarene (DII) during the 2018-19 season.

Allen is a sophomore who was unable to play last season after COVID-19 shut down the East Los Angeles College season. A Los Angeles native, Allen averaged 18.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game for the Huskies in the 2019-20 season which was cut short due to the pandemic. His team was featured on the Netflix series Last Chance U: Basketball. Batcho redshirted last season at Arizona.

McCullar earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection last season after averaging 10.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. A San Antonio native, McCullar is the only current Red Raider who was on the Final Four team where he was a redshirt freshman. He started 19 games last season and led the team with 34 steals. Santos-Silva is back for his second season at Tech and his fifth collegiate season. After playing three seasons at VCU, Santos-Silva transferred in last season where he would lead the Red Raiders with 6.4 rebounds per game to go along with scoring 8.3 ppg. A Taunton, Mass. native, he has scored 1,069 points and has 806 rebounds in his career. He also led Tech with 32 blocked shots last season.

Shannon returns after being named to the All-Big 12 Third Team last season. He is on the 2022 Jerry West Award Watch List coming into his third season with the Red Raiders after averaging 12.9 points and 4.0 rebounds per game last season. A dynamic player from Chicago, Shannon has scored 644 points through 57 games in his career. He will not play in the game against North Florida. Nadolny has played in 48 games through two seasons at Tech. He averaged 1.8 points and 1.1 rebounds per game last season as a sophomore with 24 games played as a reserve. A guard from France, Nadolny made five 3-pointers last season and also had 15 assists. Agbo is entering his second season with the Red Raiders after playing in 22 games as a reserve last season as a true freshman. A San Diego native, Agbo scored a career-high with six points against Arkansas with two 3-pointers in the NCAA Tournament Second Round matchup. He averaged 2.0 points per game last season.

TEXAS TECH NOTES

Texas Tech has advanced to three straight NCAA Tournaments for first time in program history. The Red Raiders are 8-3 with trips to the 2018 Elite 8, 2019 Final and to the 2021 Second Round after a win over Utah State to open last year's tournament in Bloomington, Indiana before falling to Arkansas. TTU has the third most NCAA Tournament wins over the past three tournaments with Gonzaga and Michigan tied for the most with 10. Baylor, Houston and Duke each have seven and Virginia has six.
Texas Tech returns five players from last year's team: McCullar, Shannon, Santos-Silva, Agbo, Nadolny
Texas Tech has three starters back from last year's team: McCullar, Santos-Silva, Shannon
Texas Tech added six upperclassmen transfers: Williams, Warren, Obanor, Calhoun, Wilson, Arms
Texas Tech consists of five returners, seven transfers from the transfer portal, one junior college transfer and one player from high school
Texas Tech has eight players with NCAA Tournament experience: Calhoun (FSU), Obanor (ORU), Arms (Winthrop), TTU returners.
Texas Tech has eight players who scored in double-figures last season: Davion Warren (21.2 ppg. / 6.3 rpg.); Kevin Obanor (18.7 ppg. / 9.6 rpg.); Bryson Williams (15.1 ppg. / 7.4 rpg.); Terrence Shannon (12.9 ppg. / 4.0 rpg.); Mylik Wilson (12.9 ppg. / 5.5 rpg.); Kevin McCullar (10.4 ppg. / 6.3 rpg.); Adonis Arms (10.4 ppg. / 4.5 rpg.); *KJ Allen (18.5 ppg / 9.3 rpg. - 2019-20 at ELAC)
Texas Tech has 11 of its 14 players over 6-foot-5; F players over 6-foot-7 (Batcho tallest at 6-11 / Obanor & Williams at 6-foot-8)
Texas Tech has two players who went through the NBA Draft process but elected to return to college… Shannon returns from the NBA Draft Process as team's leading returner in scorer at 12.9 points per game last season… Obanor transfers in from ORU after going through the NBA Draft Process and then the transfer portal
Santos-Silva is the leading returner in rebounding with 6.4 per game; McCullar had 6.3 rebounds per game… Williams averaged 7.4 rebounds per game at UTEP
Double-doubles: Obanor recorded 15 double-doubles last season… Williams had five double-doubles last season at UTEP and Wilson four double-doubles at Louisiana… Santos-Silva and McCullar led Tech with two each last season… Obanor's 15 double-doubles were the 5th most in the NCAA last season.
Kenpom.com: adjusted defensive efficiency: No. 17 (2021), No. 9 (2020), No. 1 (2019)
SERIES HISTORY: Texas Tech and North Florida will be playing for the first time.
SEASON OPENERS: Texas Tech is 69-27 all-time in season openers, including winning 21 in a row. The Red Raiders have not lost in a season opener since a 68-60 defeat to Indiana in the 1999-20 season opener. TTU earned a 101-58 win over Northwestern State to begin last season.
FIRST-YEAR HEAD COACHES: Texas Tech is 10-7 all-time in season openers under a new coach. The Red Raiders have won the past six season openers when starting with a new head coach. Dell Morgan was the first new TTU coach to earn a win in his first game with a 41-24 win at Wayland Baptist to start the 1931-32 season.
RANKINGS: Texas Tech was ranked throughout last season and finished at No. 21 in the Associated Press Top-25. The Red Raiders are unranked in the preseason poll but are receiving votes in both rankings. TTU was ranked throughout a season in 2020-21 for the first time in program history.
LEADERS: Three Texas Tech assistants have head coaching experience: Sean Sutton (Oklahoma State), Corey Williams (Stetson), Barret Peery (Portland State)

NORTH FLORIDA: The Ospreys are coming off an 8-15 overall record and were 6-6 in Atlantic Sun play last season. The team returns nine players, including five of their top-six scorers from last year. Matthew Driscoll is entering his 13th season leading the program and has a 192-194 record, including three 20-plus win season. UNF went 21-12 during the 2019-20 season, falling 73-71 to Lipscomb in the ASUN Championship game. Carter Hendricksen led the Ospreys with 14.9 points per game, while Jace Placer averaged 14.5. Both players are back following years where Placer hit 48 3-pointers and Hendrickson knocked down 43. UNF made 229 3-pointers last season in 23 games, including getting 36 from Emmanuel Adedoyin who is back after averaging 8.6 points per game and leading the team with 94 assists. UNF added Jarius Hicken to its roster this season after he played two years at Oklahoma Baptist. Hicken, a Desoto HS graduate, led OBU with 16.2 points per game last season as a sophomore.

UNF will play at Texas A&M on Wednesday following its game against the Red Raiders as part of a grueling non-conference schedule where they will also play Arizona State, UCLA, Kentucky, Florida and Florida State.

RED RAIDER BASKETBALL WITH MARK ADAMS: The Mark Adams radio show made its debut last Thursday at Rudy's with Calhoun, Santos-Silva and Corey Williams as guests. The hour-long program is being hosted by Geoff Haxton for the sixth year. The show is scheduled for Dec. 2, Dec. 9, Dec. 20, Jan. and Jan. 20.

SOCIAL MEDIA: Follow Texas Tech basketball throughout the season @TexasTechMBB on Twitter for updates, photos and videos.

TTU STATEMENT: Terrence Shannon, Jr. went through the NBA Draft process over the summer and subsequently withdrew his name to return to Texas Tech University and the basketball program as NCAA rules allow. Out of an abundance of caution, Texas Tech is withholding Shannon from competition to ensure there are no possible issues resulting from that process and that all NCAA rules were followed. Shannon will not compete until this review process is completed. Texas Tech is working diligently to complete this review.