Takeaways from our convo with the head coach earlier. Some good nuggets in here about Lamar, Tech's own deficiencies and how McCasland is viewing the impending revenue sharing...
Opening statement: “It's great to be back at the USA. We've made some strides recently defensively. We've got a real connected group that's learning every game we step on the floor. Is such a great opportunity for us. So to be back at home and get this one going into conference play is going to be huge.”
How have these games prepared you for Big 12 play?
All non-conference schedules kind of take their own path. I mean, we played in a tournament, so you don't know you're going to play there. And some teams that people thought were going to be better aren't as good, and some teams that people didn't think were going to be very good are better. And that's never been more evident than this time period in college basketball. But for the most part, other than just having so many different lineups because of injuries, you know, I felt our teams improved, and that's kind of what you want to see. And you don't want to be playing your best basketball in November or December. You want to be playing your best basketball in March, but you gotta put yourself in position for March to be a reality. So we've made steps in the right direction. We're moving in a way that I think we're improving. And conference play is going to be extremely difficult, as it always is, but playing 20 games is going to be unique, and I do think we've improved in the areas that we needed to improve.”
Has the 20-game conference schedule snuck up on you with the short non-con?
“Yeah. I mean, I don't think anything's sneaking up on anybody. You know, you go into the season and you think, you think you get 30 games plus the MTE games, you get 31 games. And you know what those are for the most part, and you put the schedule in front of you and where conference play jumps into that, you do know your next opponent is, so I just think the key to us has just been like, how do we prepare our best to win the next game that you play? And there's no more important one than this Lamar game, and because of who they are and their roster and the guys that I know that are coaching them, I mean, this is going to be as difficult as a game as we'll play, and doing our best to be our best for this one, and we've been able to embrace that, I think, because of the group that we have, and that's, that's kind of where it's at.”
How do you keep your guys focused on this game with a break approaching?
“Lamar, I can tell you how just impressed I've been in watching them on film. They've won four straight games on the road. And I don't there's not a team in the country that can say that consecutively like they have, and the way they've won them too has been impressive. They've blown people out. They've won close games. They've been more physical rebounding. Their defense has gotten better. Coach Brooks, the head coach, and I were on staff here under James Dickey, so I know him personally. There's not a better guy in college basketball than him. He's a tremendous person, but he's also an awesome coach. Charles Harrell, who's one of the assistants, was a manager here when I was the ops guy for Coach Dickey, back in 99 to 01, I know both of them. Well, Charles was a great coach that had awesome success at Arizona Western as the head coach. And so, I mean, they've just improved their team. You look at what they did last year, I think they finished 12-6 in their league, and made a big jump, won 19 games. And then this year, they're playing their best basketball right now, and it isn’t close. I mean, they're really good. They won at Southern Miss at a true road game in their last outing. So I just think we're catching a team that really knows who they are, and you don't win on the road unless you're physically and mentally tough, and they've done both. So I just have a lot of respect for them. And when you look at who they're playing and how they're playing, I mean their athleticism and their size is a Big 12 team. They've got Big 12 size, and so we've got to do everything we can to put ourselves in the best position. Our team knows that going into this game, they're not looking at this past anything other than this is our most important game. And I believe our team hears that message.”
How do you feel your team has come along in the gelling process with so many injuries?
“It's been a challenge to try to build, I think, you know, a team flow to how we want to play guys and what their roles are, because I do see it changing. Take Fede for example. I mean, he had a double double and led us in scoring and played, had a career high in his last game out, right? Well, he had done that previously. And so, you know, we've had games where Kevin Overton's come off the bench and led us in scoring. I mean, we've got a lot of different lineups where guys have had success, and I will say everybody's practicing really hard with great intentions, but I don't know if we know where we're getting it from every night. And I think it's come from a variety of different ways that we've scored. And then also, I think as you play teams and you play different styles, and you play different competitors, you see what they do well and what you need to take away. And I think that experience and playing those different lineups is really what let's take A&M, for example, in that game, they’re such a great defensive offensive rebounding team, and they played through the post so much, and then they were good enough in transition, but really, could we keep them off the glass? And their switch ability was good, then they threw in some zone possessions and they pressed us the whole game. It's just, how does your team have enough experience to know what that feels like, so that when you go into it, you're not necessarily coaching what you need them to see during the timeouts, they can communicate that on the floor. And that's where I'll tell you, our team is still growing in their ability to communicate with each other on the floor quickly enough to take advantage of what teams are doing offensively and defensively. And that's where I think the real challenge is not what we can tell them, but what they can communicate amongst themselves. And that, to me, feels like where there's the biggest gap with our team, it's that just because of the different lineups and the different things that we've faced, and we don't have enough experience to be at our best. That's what makes the season fun. That's why I'm telling you. I think we can be really good when we get to the end.”
Have you thought about how you will operate with revenue sharing?
“If there's anything we're in constant communication about, now, the schedule is one thing, but that is, it is every day. I mean, I think we're all trying to figure out where this is headed and how we best put ourselves in position. I can tell you this, Texas Tech will put ourselves in the best position, and I honestly believe it. And so I do think there's some challenges, and I think there's some ways that we can put ourselves in a better position, and I do feel like we're strategically trying to find a way to best position ourselves, and we are meeting on that regularly, and that's something that we're we're attacking. We're not sitting to try to see what happens. I mean, I think we're really trying to plan for it and put ourselves so we've talked about every, every option at this point of how do we put a roster together for next year? And you don't want to go into details of specifics with people, but I think the plan in general, we've got a good plan.”
Opening statement: “It's great to be back at the USA. We've made some strides recently defensively. We've got a real connected group that's learning every game we step on the floor. Is such a great opportunity for us. So to be back at home and get this one going into conference play is going to be huge.”
How have these games prepared you for Big 12 play?
All non-conference schedules kind of take their own path. I mean, we played in a tournament, so you don't know you're going to play there. And some teams that people thought were going to be better aren't as good, and some teams that people didn't think were going to be very good are better. And that's never been more evident than this time period in college basketball. But for the most part, other than just having so many different lineups because of injuries, you know, I felt our teams improved, and that's kind of what you want to see. And you don't want to be playing your best basketball in November or December. You want to be playing your best basketball in March, but you gotta put yourself in position for March to be a reality. So we've made steps in the right direction. We're moving in a way that I think we're improving. And conference play is going to be extremely difficult, as it always is, but playing 20 games is going to be unique, and I do think we've improved in the areas that we needed to improve.”
Has the 20-game conference schedule snuck up on you with the short non-con?
“Yeah. I mean, I don't think anything's sneaking up on anybody. You know, you go into the season and you think, you think you get 30 games plus the MTE games, you get 31 games. And you know what those are for the most part, and you put the schedule in front of you and where conference play jumps into that, you do know your next opponent is, so I just think the key to us has just been like, how do we prepare our best to win the next game that you play? And there's no more important one than this Lamar game, and because of who they are and their roster and the guys that I know that are coaching them, I mean, this is going to be as difficult as a game as we'll play, and doing our best to be our best for this one, and we've been able to embrace that, I think, because of the group that we have, and that's, that's kind of where it's at.”
How do you keep your guys focused on this game with a break approaching?
“Lamar, I can tell you how just impressed I've been in watching them on film. They've won four straight games on the road. And I don't there's not a team in the country that can say that consecutively like they have, and the way they've won them too has been impressive. They've blown people out. They've won close games. They've been more physical rebounding. Their defense has gotten better. Coach Brooks, the head coach, and I were on staff here under James Dickey, so I know him personally. There's not a better guy in college basketball than him. He's a tremendous person, but he's also an awesome coach. Charles Harrell, who's one of the assistants, was a manager here when I was the ops guy for Coach Dickey, back in 99 to 01, I know both of them. Well, Charles was a great coach that had awesome success at Arizona Western as the head coach. And so, I mean, they've just improved their team. You look at what they did last year, I think they finished 12-6 in their league, and made a big jump, won 19 games. And then this year, they're playing their best basketball right now, and it isn’t close. I mean, they're really good. They won at Southern Miss at a true road game in their last outing. So I just think we're catching a team that really knows who they are, and you don't win on the road unless you're physically and mentally tough, and they've done both. So I just have a lot of respect for them. And when you look at who they're playing and how they're playing, I mean their athleticism and their size is a Big 12 team. They've got Big 12 size, and so we've got to do everything we can to put ourselves in the best position. Our team knows that going into this game, they're not looking at this past anything other than this is our most important game. And I believe our team hears that message.”
How do you feel your team has come along in the gelling process with so many injuries?
“It's been a challenge to try to build, I think, you know, a team flow to how we want to play guys and what their roles are, because I do see it changing. Take Fede for example. I mean, he had a double double and led us in scoring and played, had a career high in his last game out, right? Well, he had done that previously. And so, you know, we've had games where Kevin Overton's come off the bench and led us in scoring. I mean, we've got a lot of different lineups where guys have had success, and I will say everybody's practicing really hard with great intentions, but I don't know if we know where we're getting it from every night. And I think it's come from a variety of different ways that we've scored. And then also, I think as you play teams and you play different styles, and you play different competitors, you see what they do well and what you need to take away. And I think that experience and playing those different lineups is really what let's take A&M, for example, in that game, they’re such a great defensive offensive rebounding team, and they played through the post so much, and then they were good enough in transition, but really, could we keep them off the glass? And their switch ability was good, then they threw in some zone possessions and they pressed us the whole game. It's just, how does your team have enough experience to know what that feels like, so that when you go into it, you're not necessarily coaching what you need them to see during the timeouts, they can communicate that on the floor. And that's where I'll tell you, our team is still growing in their ability to communicate with each other on the floor quickly enough to take advantage of what teams are doing offensively and defensively. And that's where I think the real challenge is not what we can tell them, but what they can communicate amongst themselves. And that, to me, feels like where there's the biggest gap with our team, it's that just because of the different lineups and the different things that we've faced, and we don't have enough experience to be at our best. That's what makes the season fun. That's why I'm telling you. I think we can be really good when we get to the end.”
Have you thought about how you will operate with revenue sharing?
“If there's anything we're in constant communication about, now, the schedule is one thing, but that is, it is every day. I mean, I think we're all trying to figure out where this is headed and how we best put ourselves in position. I can tell you this, Texas Tech will put ourselves in the best position, and I honestly believe it. And so I do think there's some challenges, and I think there's some ways that we can put ourselves in a better position, and I do feel like we're strategically trying to find a way to best position ourselves, and we are meeting on that regularly, and that's something that we're we're attacking. We're not sitting to try to see what happens. I mean, I think we're really trying to plan for it and put ourselves so we've talked about every, every option at this point of how do we put a roster together for next year? And you don't want to go into details of specifics with people, but I think the plan in general, we've got a good plan.”
