Had a lengthy chat with Grant this afternoon. Here are some highlights.
Opening Statement:
"Man, it's great to be back to starting the season. You know, we've had an eventful off season. So much fun to actually get to play basketball. I think everybody starts talking about, well, this is what the team could be, and you're recruiting, and you're trying to go around and I'm just excited to actually play. Our team's been practicing extremely hard and this being the 100th season of Red Raider Basketball, how cool is that? And to be able to to to compete in the best league in the country, in the Big 12 in the 100th season. I feel like we've got a good quality of depth, six returners that believe in how we're going to win everyday and then we have the eight newcomers. The guys that transferred that we gave scholarships to, all played in the NCAA tournament at one point. So every transfer that's been a part of our program that we've given a scholarship to is has played an NCAA tournament. So guys are here not because they want to play, it's because they want to win. Excited to get ramped up, excited to get the season started on the fifth."
Update on Devan Cambridge:
"Devan has been released in regards to full participation practices. We've played in a couple of scrimmage situations, and we actually have played him a little bit, and so we're excited about his progress, and would anticipate him having the opportunity to play early in the season."
Update on Jazz Henderson:
"Jazz, we see him out for foreseeable future. He's got a little he's dealing with something with his foot, but he's been a tremendous teammate, but he won't, he won't be playing in the early part of the season."
Based on what you've seen those these scrimmages. Are you seeing signs that defensively could be improved this year?
"Well, we've seen signs that our rebounding has improved significantly. In regards to how we've defended the ball and at the rim, we've been better. How we've defended the ball, we still got a significant need for improvement in that area. I just want to really give credit to Joe Toussaint, because Joe was a guy in our program that we could put on the ball, and he had played at the highest level and competed in the Big 12, and knew what it took to stop that initial action in the middle of the floor. We're still searching for that. I mean, I do think we've got good pieces for that, but trying to figure out who's going to be our on ball defender that really can dig in and guard every possession. I think we're growing with that, and that's an area we've got to continue to improve on. But overall, rebounding, physicality, size, athleticism, depth, we've definitely improved."
Is there anything you can take from last year to better yourself on in year two?
"The biggest thing about improving over year one and stepping into year two is, how do we build this so that we win in the end? Yeah, I mean, every day we were you got to have a growth mindset. You got to feel like, how do we get better in these individual days? I do feel like having a year where we see these are the ways that we can have success as a group is so important and that they understand and not just understand it, but it's their ownership and belief in it can't under value what it means to have a group that steps on the court looking at each other with the same expectation. Not just, okay, this sounds good, but does it work. I think we honestly know what works now....I think an area that I've got to I've got to grow in, and this is where I'm thankful for being at a place like Texas Tech is we've got the resources. Like, how do we utilize all the resources to build with what we're doing? And there's a comfort level, and I think now with the whole staff, like this is the process here. This is how we build our team. And I mean, I just love all the resources, and we've got the best practice facility in the world. And I think year one, you're just trying to figure out how to put your team together. Now I feel like we're taking advantage of all the all the technology, and everything at our disposal."
Could you walk us through what Bethune-Cookman will bring to the table on Tuesday?
"Yeah, you know specifically in regard to Bethune Cookman, I mean, Coach Theus being such a fantastic coach, I went back and watched a lot of his teams play. I've seen him play historically, and really spent a lot of time watching him, actually, for a short stint when he was at New Mexico State. They play the game with a lot of confidence, and I know that they're aggressive defensively, they're aggressive offensively. They've got some transfers that have experience, and I think like any team like you better have yourself prepared more than you better try to over consume yourself, because we haven't seen them play. You just don't know what changes. I do think we've got a grasp on the tendencies but man, I think we've done really significant work on, how do we get our team to be where we can face anything, throw anything at us, and we'll be prepared, but I know it'll be a great test, and we're excited about tipping it off, and we know we play a great opponent."
Do you perceive circumstances in which you may play both of your point guards simultaneously?
"Definitely. In some of these preseason opportunities, you know, we played Elijah and Christian together. Darrion Williams has played some point, Chance has played some at point. Honestly, we've got some versatile players. I mean, one thing about Elijah, when you look at his stats, he's actually a great catch and shoot guy. I mean, can make threes from the perimeter. I mean, he's a leading returning assist guy in the country, for a reason, but man, an underrated part of his game is his ability to catch and shoot. And then Christian Anderson can really shoot. So when you look at the lineups, it's like, man, if we can give each other some space and we can put some size at the rim, then we can be very difficult to guard different lineups, and those two guys have played together and have we've had some really positive numbers from those lineups."
Founded by a Red Raider, All Hands Craft Cocktails is proud to announce their partnership with RedRaiderSports.com. Try these bar strength, ready-to-drink vodka cocktails at Jones AT&T Stadium this football season or find them at a retailer near you. Cheers.
@ALL HANDS
Opening Statement:
"Man, it's great to be back to starting the season. You know, we've had an eventful off season. So much fun to actually get to play basketball. I think everybody starts talking about, well, this is what the team could be, and you're recruiting, and you're trying to go around and I'm just excited to actually play. Our team's been practicing extremely hard and this being the 100th season of Red Raider Basketball, how cool is that? And to be able to to to compete in the best league in the country, in the Big 12 in the 100th season. I feel like we've got a good quality of depth, six returners that believe in how we're going to win everyday and then we have the eight newcomers. The guys that transferred that we gave scholarships to, all played in the NCAA tournament at one point. So every transfer that's been a part of our program that we've given a scholarship to is has played an NCAA tournament. So guys are here not because they want to play, it's because they want to win. Excited to get ramped up, excited to get the season started on the fifth."
Update on Devan Cambridge:
"Devan has been released in regards to full participation practices. We've played in a couple of scrimmage situations, and we actually have played him a little bit, and so we're excited about his progress, and would anticipate him having the opportunity to play early in the season."
Update on Jazz Henderson:
"Jazz, we see him out for foreseeable future. He's got a little he's dealing with something with his foot, but he's been a tremendous teammate, but he won't, he won't be playing in the early part of the season."
Based on what you've seen those these scrimmages. Are you seeing signs that defensively could be improved this year?
"Well, we've seen signs that our rebounding has improved significantly. In regards to how we've defended the ball and at the rim, we've been better. How we've defended the ball, we still got a significant need for improvement in that area. I just want to really give credit to Joe Toussaint, because Joe was a guy in our program that we could put on the ball, and he had played at the highest level and competed in the Big 12, and knew what it took to stop that initial action in the middle of the floor. We're still searching for that. I mean, I do think we've got good pieces for that, but trying to figure out who's going to be our on ball defender that really can dig in and guard every possession. I think we're growing with that, and that's an area we've got to continue to improve on. But overall, rebounding, physicality, size, athleticism, depth, we've definitely improved."
Is there anything you can take from last year to better yourself on in year two?
"The biggest thing about improving over year one and stepping into year two is, how do we build this so that we win in the end? Yeah, I mean, every day we were you got to have a growth mindset. You got to feel like, how do we get better in these individual days? I do feel like having a year where we see these are the ways that we can have success as a group is so important and that they understand and not just understand it, but it's their ownership and belief in it can't under value what it means to have a group that steps on the court looking at each other with the same expectation. Not just, okay, this sounds good, but does it work. I think we honestly know what works now....I think an area that I've got to I've got to grow in, and this is where I'm thankful for being at a place like Texas Tech is we've got the resources. Like, how do we utilize all the resources to build with what we're doing? And there's a comfort level, and I think now with the whole staff, like this is the process here. This is how we build our team. And I mean, I just love all the resources, and we've got the best practice facility in the world. And I think year one, you're just trying to figure out how to put your team together. Now I feel like we're taking advantage of all the all the technology, and everything at our disposal."
Could you walk us through what Bethune-Cookman will bring to the table on Tuesday?
"Yeah, you know specifically in regard to Bethune Cookman, I mean, Coach Theus being such a fantastic coach, I went back and watched a lot of his teams play. I've seen him play historically, and really spent a lot of time watching him, actually, for a short stint when he was at New Mexico State. They play the game with a lot of confidence, and I know that they're aggressive defensively, they're aggressive offensively. They've got some transfers that have experience, and I think like any team like you better have yourself prepared more than you better try to over consume yourself, because we haven't seen them play. You just don't know what changes. I do think we've got a grasp on the tendencies but man, I think we've done really significant work on, how do we get our team to be where we can face anything, throw anything at us, and we'll be prepared, but I know it'll be a great test, and we're excited about tipping it off, and we know we play a great opponent."
Do you perceive circumstances in which you may play both of your point guards simultaneously?
"Definitely. In some of these preseason opportunities, you know, we played Elijah and Christian together. Darrion Williams has played some point, Chance has played some at point. Honestly, we've got some versatile players. I mean, one thing about Elijah, when you look at his stats, he's actually a great catch and shoot guy. I mean, can make threes from the perimeter. I mean, he's a leading returning assist guy in the country, for a reason, but man, an underrated part of his game is his ability to catch and shoot. And then Christian Anderson can really shoot. So when you look at the lineups, it's like, man, if we can give each other some space and we can put some size at the rim, then we can be very difficult to guard different lineups, and those two guys have played together and have we've had some really positive numbers from those lineups."
Founded by a Red Raider, All Hands Craft Cocktails is proud to announce their partnership with RedRaiderSports.com. Try these bar strength, ready-to-drink vodka cocktails at Jones AT&T Stadium this football season or find them at a retailer near you. Cheers.
@ALL HANDS
