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*** Like everyone else, I’m still trying to process all of this. I knew that life had changed when, Thursday morning at 10:51 a.m., someone wearing a coat and tie, speaking into a walkie-talkie, walked onto the court at the Sprint Center and informed Texas Tech and Texas players to immediately return to the locker room. I can’t get that image out of my head.
We met at 8 a.m. that morning for team breakfast and Chris Beard was at his best. His team was locked in and as prepared as any could ever be for a quarterfinal game. While some players were a bit freaked out that there wouldn’t be any fans in the stands, Texas Tech’s head coach was embracing the uniqueness of it. “Boys, I coached for an ABA Championship with 50 people in the stands and (Mark) Adams has done the same in JUCO.” Beard also mentioned Brian Burg coaching at smaller levels, too. Burg even relayed a few tricks to use in a quiet gym that would help.
Beard knew the Red Raiders needed a result that morning and he couldn’t wait to watch them play. Losing four in a row isn’t something that had creeped into that locker room. They were all engaged, on the same page and ready to pound Texas.
They never got that chance.
I think sports are something everyone takes for – or, perhaps more accurately – took for granted, myself included, because they have always been there. ALWAYS. You get live, mainstream American sports on television every single day of the year except for the day before and after the MLB All-Star Game. Even then, you get a Home Run Derby to pass the time.
What in the world are we all going to do in the coming weeks and months? I’m not real sure, but we’ll figure it out. I do know this, though: When sports begins again, and they will, I won’t be taking them for granted anymore.
*** I remember back to the immediate aftermath of 9/11 and how the message then was to get out, live life and don’t let the terrorists win. Sports helped everyone heal, maybe more than anything else. Those NFL teams running out of the tunnel with Old Glory to thundering chants of U-S-A. It helped everyone move forward. Now, everything shuts down, quarantines are being put in place and there’s nothing to bring everyone together because that isn’t allowed with COVID-19 circulating. It sucks.
Think about it: The next Texas Tech athletics home game currently scheduled is the Red Raider football team’s home opener against Alabama State on Sept. 12. That’s six months until a crowd hears Texas Tech’s fight song or RAIDER-POWER. That’s crazy to think about.
*** As I think about the circumstances and how the season ended, I guess I’m thankful in a way that the NCAA didn’t approve Joel Ntambwe’s waiver. It would have all been for naught. Ntambwe’s presence in the rotation would have meant a better record and a better NCAA tournament seed and then it would have been wasted. This is about the only silver lining I can come up with.
*** I can’t help but feel for the Dayton and San Diego State basketball programs and fans right now. They were going to hear their name called as a 1 or 2-seed yesterday. These are arguably the best teams in those programs’ history and they have nothing to show for it outside of a conference title. If you hadn’t seen Obi Toppin play for the Flyers yet, you were in for a treat over these next few weekends.
I don’t feel bad for Kansas or Baylor, though. You hate to see it, or maybe it is just karma at work. Who knows? Either way, those two programs were set for lengthy March runs. It would have been a failure had either not made it to Atlanta. I definitely won’t miss seeing their two big men from this year. Azubuike and Gillispie were a handful on both ends of the court and game-changers nearly every night out.
*** I’m very curious how athletic departments and coaches handle the various bonus structures in most contracts because so much of it is based on tournament results – conference tournaments, NIT and/or NCAA tournament. There are, obviously, things that deserve more attention at this point, but eventually this will need to be sorted out.
*** I immediately felt bad for TJ Holyfield and Chris Clarke that their collegiate careers likely ended this way. I include likely because there is still a chance that seniors could get an extra semester of eligibility back but I’m told that is doubtful. It’s not fun ending anything in life when it isn’t on your terms.
*** Was this Tim Tadlock’s best team? I think you’ll find plenty of people that would suggest that very thing. I can’t disagree with them. I’m still grasping what this will do to his roster even though everyone can technically come back under the same classification as they were this year. What must John McMillon be thinking? Do the juniors all return or all head for the draft? Do the seniors want to be seniors again or move on with their lives? And even though they finished with two losses, they were loaded and I think the Red Raiders were headed for a lengthy trip to Omaha. It doesn’t seem fair that we’ll never get to find out.
*** I know most are frustrated by the cancellations into May and June but based on what the Big 12’s higher ups were discussing, the spread of COVID-19 is expected to continue well into those months. I keep wanting to think it isn’t or won’t be as bad as they think but the announcement Friday evening from the Big 12 was pretty much the final say. I’m still trying to wrap my head around all of this as it doesn’t seem real.
*** The recruiting part of this will be fascinating to see, too. Here are just some of the things I’m curious about:
Allowing another year of eligibility for spring sport athletes was the right thing to do but how many high school seniors and junior college transfers will have their spots taken by players returning to school? Will the NCAA temporarily expand rosters/scholarship limits to account for this?
It will be interesting to see how Beard handles his roster for next season with no allowable in-person recruiting allowed over the next several weeks.
*** Along those lines, is Jah’mius Ramsey staying or going? Someone tell me when the NBA Combine will be and when the NBA Draft will be held before we start trying to nail down what he does. I can tell you that he was as excited as anyone with Nimari Burnett committed and signed with Texas Tech. I happened to be right there when he found out. The Red Raiders will be fine either way.
You’ll see Texas Tech mentioned with Wichita State’s Erik Stevenson, Harvard’s Seth Townes and other potential grad transfers – even some that aren’t even in the portal yet. Believe all of it. The Red Raiders will continue to be in the grad transfer business if they can find the right one(s).
Who stays or goes? No idea but I am most curious about Clarence Nadolny and Andrei Savrasov. We are way ahead of schedule here, as most of this stuff usually plays out in April and May. There is always the unexpected DeShawn Corprew-type situation that could happen, too.
*** Over the weekend I watched the first half of the Gonzaga/Texas Tech game and aside from Reggie Miller saying over and over again that Tech couldn't compete with the Zags offense the one thing that stuck out to me was this ... when they showed that video of Moro's family surprising him at our hotel in Anaheim. They hadn't seen him play in a long time in person and it was such a happy time. They saw two wins and one of Texas Tech's greatest achievments. One year later, Moro headed home to Italy for a lengthy spring break and at one of the scariest and most uncertain times ever for his home country.
*** I watched all of or parts of these movies this weekend, Rocky 4, Hoosiers, The Perfect Storm ... started the HBO documentary McMillions and watched the 30 for 30 on Junior Seau. Rocky 4 is the best of the Rocky's, Hoosiers is the best sports movie imo and watch that doc on HBO if you're able, it is nuts. McDonald's, Monopoly and The MOB.
