Texas Tech has had a run of good coaches with good successes. Tubby Smith breathed life back into the program, we all know the good things Chris Beard did, and now Grant McCasland. The Red Raiders have no business being in some of these games, much less winning them. There have been 4 or 5 conference games already that fall into this category, and TCU last night was one of them. Texas Tech finds a way - they claw and punch and kick and flail and they just don't give up. They find the unlikeliest baskets at critical junctures, they will themselves into rebounds, they go from giving up any shot for 35 minutes to giving up nothing to close a game.
There were a couple of notable baskets last night, late, where Texas Tech was beaten. TCU had them boxed and cornered and trapped and falling out of bounds yet Pop Isaacs finds a streaking Darrion Williams for a dunk. Joe Toussaint is trapped three feet in the air with absolutely no shot against three Horned Frogs yet he finds a streaking Pop Isaacs for a layup plus one. KyeRon Lindsay plays thirty minutes all season and then plays nearly that many last night and was a complete problem for TCU: 8 points, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 7 rebounds.
You could see it unfold late in the game when Tech was down 8 or 10 points. Raiders get a bucket and a turnover, the crowd was crazy, and there was a look on the faces of TCU when they went to their huddle. I could see pressure in their eyes, and they experienced a painful lesson: The game is not 32 minutes, the game is not 35 minutes. When you play Texas Tech, it is a 40 minute game.
Isaacs is struggling shooting the ball, but that's all he's struggling with. He makes plays, he makes points, he's a firebrand, and he's a winner. If Texas Tech players were a mafia, Isaacs is the Don. His shot will come back, nothing else has left him.
Lindsay is a rough diamond but you can see it. He's long, he plays tall, he's got offensive skill. He trails Robert Jennings right now in minutes, but it feels like it won't be long until Lindsay is ahead of him. His last three outings have been pretty good. In the preseason he could not guard my sister, but that has changed. He's better, not great, but he can give you rotation minutes - and his future is bright.
Toussaint is not struggling shooting the ball, this is who he is - so let not your heart be troubled about his shooting. He's a scorer more than a shooter. He's a good defender, he's a good passer, he's a good leader.
I learned something new last night, having now seen it 4-5-6 times this season it is fact: You better put Texas Tech away. You better step on their neck and kick them in the teeth and make sure they are dead. Do not give them a breath, do not give them a glimmer of hope, do not stop punching them just because they look dead. You better be sure because if they rise up then you're dead, then they step on your neck and they kick you in the teeth, they steal your lunch money and kiss your girl.
There were a couple of notable baskets last night, late, where Texas Tech was beaten. TCU had them boxed and cornered and trapped and falling out of bounds yet Pop Isaacs finds a streaking Darrion Williams for a dunk. Joe Toussaint is trapped three feet in the air with absolutely no shot against three Horned Frogs yet he finds a streaking Pop Isaacs for a layup plus one. KyeRon Lindsay plays thirty minutes all season and then plays nearly that many last night and was a complete problem for TCU: 8 points, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 7 rebounds.
You could see it unfold late in the game when Tech was down 8 or 10 points. Raiders get a bucket and a turnover, the crowd was crazy, and there was a look on the faces of TCU when they went to their huddle. I could see pressure in their eyes, and they experienced a painful lesson: The game is not 32 minutes, the game is not 35 minutes. When you play Texas Tech, it is a 40 minute game.
Isaacs is struggling shooting the ball, but that's all he's struggling with. He makes plays, he makes points, he's a firebrand, and he's a winner. If Texas Tech players were a mafia, Isaacs is the Don. His shot will come back, nothing else has left him.
Lindsay is a rough diamond but you can see it. He's long, he plays tall, he's got offensive skill. He trails Robert Jennings right now in minutes, but it feels like it won't be long until Lindsay is ahead of him. His last three outings have been pretty good. In the preseason he could not guard my sister, but that has changed. He's better, not great, but he can give you rotation minutes - and his future is bright.
Toussaint is not struggling shooting the ball, this is who he is - so let not your heart be troubled about his shooting. He's a scorer more than a shooter. He's a good defender, he's a good passer, he's a good leader.
I learned something new last night, having now seen it 4-5-6 times this season it is fact: You better put Texas Tech away. You better step on their neck and kick them in the teeth and make sure they are dead. Do not give them a breath, do not give them a glimmer of hope, do not stop punching them just because they look dead. You better be sure because if they rise up then you're dead, then they step on your neck and they kick you in the teeth, they steal your lunch money and kiss your girl.
