The Red Raider Confidential is sponsored by Cardinal's Sports Center. If you need Texas Tech gear or Under Armour apparel, the best place to go in our opinion is Cardinal's -- they have a tremendous location in Lubbock (Slide and S. Loop 289), a store in Plano and a fantastic selection on their website.
Ifyou're in the Lubbock area and looking to get into shape, but don't know where to start, check out the website for Cardinal's Fitness. You can sign up for individual classes -- no contract or membership required -- that are good for people at any fitness level.
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Trophy Club (Texas) Byron Nelson offensive tackle Anders Huizenga has been in talks with the Tech coaching staff for a good while now and co-offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie went by to check out the DFW area lineman.
Cumbie called the tackle later on and told him that they'd like to see him in action at one of their camps in the coming weeks.
"We talked, and as far as an offer goes, he didn't give me one, but we really talked about what he saw," Huizenga said. "He said that he really liked what I did and they want to get me out to one of their camps. It was really good to talk to him again, and we just talked about stuff."
Right now, Huizenga is planning on being at the camp. He wants to get to know the new coaching staff better and get a feel for the way the way they coach.
"I'm thinking I probably will," he said. "That whole thing has been going really good. I was being recruited under the previous coaching staff and it's been really a restart for me with the new staff. I think the camp will be a great way to get back in there and get to know them really well."
While he's not sure which camp it is that he'll be attending, Huizenga knows that he'll be fighting for a chance at a scholarship.
"I don't know which one I'm going to go to for sure," Huizenga said. "Of course, going to a camp going into my senior year is a great opportunity to try and get an offer. If not at the camp. You want to get in the right direction to get an offer in the near future. I'm just going into it with the mindset that I'm trying to set up myself for the next four years after high school. It's an opportunity to find a school this summer."
He'll also be at a few other summer camps as well, including at OU and TCU.
"I'll be at Tulsa on June 1, on June 2 Baylor, and I believe June 14 will be TCU and the 15th will be Rice," Huizenga said. "Then on June 8th, I'll be out at OU's camp."
-McKay
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The Red Raiders are keeping tabs on several of their spring game visitors, including Plano (Texas) West offensive guard Zach White.
Things have been going very, very well for the DFW lineman as of late as he's started receiving a lot of attention from BCS programs like Vanderbilt, Oregon, Texas, Oklahoma, and Alabama among others.
Things are still going well with the Red Raiders, too.
Safeties coach Trey Haverty stopped by Plano West to catch a glimpse of White and teammate and Northwestern running back commit Auston Anderson. White said that things are going well with the former star receiver, and he's looking to head out to one of Tech's Dallas camps in a few weeks.
"Things are going good," White said. "He came out to practice and watched us last week. Each and every time we talk, he's just like telling me to keep doing what I'm doing and that I'm doing the right things. I'm probably going to go out to one of their camps, either the one at Lancaster or Rockwall, and then I'm probably going to visit on July 18. Right now, Texas Tech is really high on the list and I want the family to see it so we'll see how things go from there."
The lineman is looking forward to seeing offensive line coach Lee Hays again. He's hoping to impress the former Houston coach at the camp.
"Probably just working with Coach Hays, cause he's really been my main recruiter," White said. "I want to show off my power in front of him. I just want to work with him and get in there with the competition. I know there are probably going to be some really good guys out there with the talent in the area, and I just want to do my thing out there."
White has had nothing but great things to say about Tech so far, and he says it's because of the changes going on in Lubbock. He feels that there's a new air about the Red Raider program and likes everything he's seen.
"The new energy and the new vibe with the new coaching staff, and the school and the town as well.," White said. "Everyone is pretty amped about next fall, and I'm looking forward to getting back out there and see a game. It really is just a new energy and a whole new life to the program, really."
-McKay
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Could Alex Foster be categorized with Chris Bosh's style of play in future seasons?
Former Seton Academy head coach Brian Thomas seems to think so as he explained to Chris Level and Brian Hanni on their radio show "Tech Talk."
"As a high school coach, I don't get to watch a lot of college basketball," Thomas told Level and Hanni. "I don't necessarily have an answer for you there. But I can definitely see him developing that type of Chris Bosh type of game. He's just productive and he can shoot the ball so once he gets that shot consistently out to the 3-point line he's going to be a matchup problem.
"He's so quick. I mean he has guard like quickness. His first step is fast. I get out there and play with him myself sometimes during open gym. He's tough to guard on the perimeter because he's so quick and he ambidextrous. He writes with his right and but shoots with his left hand so he's pretty fluid with both hands around the basket."
-Graham
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Did you know there's a former Rivals100 player affiliated with the Texas Tech basketball program?
Tubby Smith has brought back Derrick Jasper whom Smith actually recruited to Kentucky and Billy Gillispie hired as a video graduate assistant upon his own arrival in Lubbock.
The graduate assistant was cut loose with the rest of the staff save Chris Walker in the days after the Big 12 tournament.
Jasper was the No. 5 point guard in the nation in the 2006 recruiting class and the No. 38 player overall out of Paso Robles, California.
"The idea of playing for Coach Smith is something that really makes me excited," Jasper told CatsIllustrated's Jeff Drummond way back in 2006 as the cited the primary reason he chose the Wildcats in favor of offers from then-elite programs in Memphis, Illinois, and Washington. "He's a proven winner. His teams are always up there with the best in the country. I just can't wait to be a part of it."
Jasper won favor with Smith on campus, replaced Rajon Rondo and recorded 100 assists in 34 games to complement about four points per game.
A testament to Smith's recruiting, Jodie Meeks came to Lexington, Ky., in the same recruiting class along with a few other players who helped fuel Gillispie's only NCAA Tournament run post-Texas A&M.
Smith resigned from Kentucky at the end of Jasper's freshman season and headed to Minnesota and Gillispie came in.
After Gillispie hired Jasper, Kentucky radio host Matt Jones wrote a piece for CBSSports.com that the hire was unusual because the two didn't exactly see eye-to-eye at Kentucky.
It suggests Jasper needed micro fracture surgery for an injury in his left knee but was persuaded to play and Jasper later admitted it probably wasn't the right decision. The article then goes on to say the Gillispie-Jasper relationship was the most strained of all.
Regardless, Jasper transferred to UNLV after his sophomore season and finished a successful college career full of alley-oops and blocking highlights you can find on YouTube.
All that to say Jasper has been reunited with someone he is certainly comfortable with after two head coaching changes.
Jasper is an extraordinarily popular figure on the Red Raider basketball team because of his age, 24. He easily gets along with the players and some of his best friends are the training staff.
In its own way, this is a hire that can link the players to the staff once they're all on the floor together.
This post was edited on 5/17 9:24 AM by C. Level
Ifyou're in the Lubbock area and looking to get into shape, but don't know where to start, check out the website for Cardinal's Fitness. You can sign up for individual classes -- no contract or membership required -- that are good for people at any fitness level.
---
Trophy Club (Texas) Byron Nelson offensive tackle Anders Huizenga has been in talks with the Tech coaching staff for a good while now and co-offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie went by to check out the DFW area lineman.
Cumbie called the tackle later on and told him that they'd like to see him in action at one of their camps in the coming weeks.
"We talked, and as far as an offer goes, he didn't give me one, but we really talked about what he saw," Huizenga said. "He said that he really liked what I did and they want to get me out to one of their camps. It was really good to talk to him again, and we just talked about stuff."
Right now, Huizenga is planning on being at the camp. He wants to get to know the new coaching staff better and get a feel for the way the way they coach.
"I'm thinking I probably will," he said. "That whole thing has been going really good. I was being recruited under the previous coaching staff and it's been really a restart for me with the new staff. I think the camp will be a great way to get back in there and get to know them really well."
While he's not sure which camp it is that he'll be attending, Huizenga knows that he'll be fighting for a chance at a scholarship.
"I don't know which one I'm going to go to for sure," Huizenga said. "Of course, going to a camp going into my senior year is a great opportunity to try and get an offer. If not at the camp. You want to get in the right direction to get an offer in the near future. I'm just going into it with the mindset that I'm trying to set up myself for the next four years after high school. It's an opportunity to find a school this summer."
He'll also be at a few other summer camps as well, including at OU and TCU.
"I'll be at Tulsa on June 1, on June 2 Baylor, and I believe June 14 will be TCU and the 15th will be Rice," Huizenga said. "Then on June 8th, I'll be out at OU's camp."
-McKay
--
The Red Raiders are keeping tabs on several of their spring game visitors, including Plano (Texas) West offensive guard Zach White.
Things have been going very, very well for the DFW lineman as of late as he's started receiving a lot of attention from BCS programs like Vanderbilt, Oregon, Texas, Oklahoma, and Alabama among others.
Things are still going well with the Red Raiders, too.
Safeties coach Trey Haverty stopped by Plano West to catch a glimpse of White and teammate and Northwestern running back commit Auston Anderson. White said that things are going well with the former star receiver, and he's looking to head out to one of Tech's Dallas camps in a few weeks.
"Things are going good," White said. "He came out to practice and watched us last week. Each and every time we talk, he's just like telling me to keep doing what I'm doing and that I'm doing the right things. I'm probably going to go out to one of their camps, either the one at Lancaster or Rockwall, and then I'm probably going to visit on July 18. Right now, Texas Tech is really high on the list and I want the family to see it so we'll see how things go from there."
The lineman is looking forward to seeing offensive line coach Lee Hays again. He's hoping to impress the former Houston coach at the camp.
"Probably just working with Coach Hays, cause he's really been my main recruiter," White said. "I want to show off my power in front of him. I just want to work with him and get in there with the competition. I know there are probably going to be some really good guys out there with the talent in the area, and I just want to do my thing out there."
White has had nothing but great things to say about Tech so far, and he says it's because of the changes going on in Lubbock. He feels that there's a new air about the Red Raider program and likes everything he's seen.
"The new energy and the new vibe with the new coaching staff, and the school and the town as well.," White said. "Everyone is pretty amped about next fall, and I'm looking forward to getting back out there and see a game. It really is just a new energy and a whole new life to the program, really."
-McKay
--
Could Alex Foster be categorized with Chris Bosh's style of play in future seasons?
Former Seton Academy head coach Brian Thomas seems to think so as he explained to Chris Level and Brian Hanni on their radio show "Tech Talk."
"As a high school coach, I don't get to watch a lot of college basketball," Thomas told Level and Hanni. "I don't necessarily have an answer for you there. But I can definitely see him developing that type of Chris Bosh type of game. He's just productive and he can shoot the ball so once he gets that shot consistently out to the 3-point line he's going to be a matchup problem.
"He's so quick. I mean he has guard like quickness. His first step is fast. I get out there and play with him myself sometimes during open gym. He's tough to guard on the perimeter because he's so quick and he ambidextrous. He writes with his right and but shoots with his left hand so he's pretty fluid with both hands around the basket."
-Graham
--
Did you know there's a former Rivals100 player affiliated with the Texas Tech basketball program?
Tubby Smith has brought back Derrick Jasper whom Smith actually recruited to Kentucky and Billy Gillispie hired as a video graduate assistant upon his own arrival in Lubbock.
The graduate assistant was cut loose with the rest of the staff save Chris Walker in the days after the Big 12 tournament.
Jasper was the No. 5 point guard in the nation in the 2006 recruiting class and the No. 38 player overall out of Paso Robles, California.
"The idea of playing for Coach Smith is something that really makes me excited," Jasper told CatsIllustrated's Jeff Drummond way back in 2006 as the cited the primary reason he chose the Wildcats in favor of offers from then-elite programs in Memphis, Illinois, and Washington. "He's a proven winner. His teams are always up there with the best in the country. I just can't wait to be a part of it."
Jasper won favor with Smith on campus, replaced Rajon Rondo and recorded 100 assists in 34 games to complement about four points per game.
A testament to Smith's recruiting, Jodie Meeks came to Lexington, Ky., in the same recruiting class along with a few other players who helped fuel Gillispie's only NCAA Tournament run post-Texas A&M.
Smith resigned from Kentucky at the end of Jasper's freshman season and headed to Minnesota and Gillispie came in.
After Gillispie hired Jasper, Kentucky radio host Matt Jones wrote a piece for CBSSports.com that the hire was unusual because the two didn't exactly see eye-to-eye at Kentucky.
It suggests Jasper needed micro fracture surgery for an injury in his left knee but was persuaded to play and Jasper later admitted it probably wasn't the right decision. The article then goes on to say the Gillispie-Jasper relationship was the most strained of all.
Regardless, Jasper transferred to UNLV after his sophomore season and finished a successful college career full of alley-oops and blocking highlights you can find on YouTube.
All that to say Jasper has been reunited with someone he is certainly comfortable with after two head coaching changes.
Jasper is an extraordinarily popular figure on the Red Raider basketball team because of his age, 24. He easily gets along with the players and some of his best friends are the training staff.
In its own way, this is a hire that can link the players to the staff once they're all on the floor together.
This post was edited on 5/17 9:24 AM by C. Level
