Just a few thoughts this afternoon as this 6th ranked Tech basketball team gets ready to finish out their regular season over the next 12 days...
*First, my thoughts on Saturday night's loss at Baylor. The Red Raiders fall by two points on the road to the hottest team in the Big 12 without Keenan Evans in the second half. I think most would tell you that's completely understandable, and the AP Poll voters agreed, even moving Tech up a spot. I think that ranking speaks to the respect the voters have for Keenan Evans more than anything. He's put on an absolute show over the last month, and in my opinion, he's overtaken Trae Young as the slim, slim favorite to win Big 12 POTY after outplaying him in Lubbock last week. Even without Evans, the team fought their absolute tails off and about got that W anyway. I think that speaks to this team, their resolve, and how they still play as good of defense as anyone not named Virginia in college basketball this season.
*Now, to Evans. I don't know much about how long he'll truly be out here, but I think from what I and both @C. Level have heard through a couple different people that you'll definitely see him play basketball again this season, and I guess a lot sooner than later. It wasn't a catastrophic injury to his toe. So, that's the good news here. Hopefully you can get him back by Saturday against Kansas, and again, that's my hope and not a fact. Though, based on what I've gathered, I personally think you could see him on Saturday. Regardless, it was clear to me that once crunch time came in the final two minutes against Baylor that the Red Raiders were a bit of a rudderless ship offensively without number 12 on the court. He's been that guy that hits the big shot in the big moment for this team, the anchor, the centerpiece, whatever you want to call it. When winning time came around, Keenan Evans was there. But he wasn't there in Waco, and I don't think you had anyone in the game to take the big shot or make the big decision in crunch time. That will have to change if Evans misses some time here if Tech's going to continue on this run late.
*However, I will say this: I personally believe the offense will run smoother and find its rhythm without Keenan if they've had a few days to prep without him. Against Baylor, he gets pulled from the mix and the gameplan out of left field, and I think that can cause major issues to your team's on-court chemistry on the fly, if that makes sense. If you're prepared to play without him, you're mentally ready to get it done without him. If you aren't and it's sudden, then you can look out of sorts. Hope that all adds up.
*So, the real question is, how do you replace Evans' production on the offensive end? Well, you don't entirely. You just can't get everything a player like that gives you from another single player trying to step into his shoes. It just won't happen. You can, however, try to piecemeal some things together with a handful of players. For this team, those players will have to be Justin Gray, Niem Stevenson, Jarrett Culver, and Brandone Francis. That foursome has to play their best offensive basketball as a collective in order to get back some of those points that Evans was giving you. I think all four are capable of short bursts and smart shots, but the question is can they do it consistently for more than a game? Can they do it for two games? Can they do it for three? I don't know if you'll need them to for that long, but it is something you have to ask yourself. I think Culver certainly is capable. He can stroke it behind the arc and has the physical tools to drive it. But he had his worst game of the season against Baylor with a lot of poor decision making as a passer and scorer once Evans went out of the game. Francis tried to do too much at times. Gray fouled out. Stevenson is up and down. They'll all have to get it together and bump up their per-game production by a couple of points a piece here to keep winning should Evans miss more than a game.
*So, four games to go in league play, and Tech and Kansas are deadlocked at 10-4 for the league crown. Tech plays: @ OSU, KU, @ WVU, TCU. Kansas plays: OU, @ TTU, UT, @OSU. The Jayhawks appear to have the easier overall schedule, but they're pretty close. It really depends on what you think of OU and Texas at this point. OU still has Young and could go on a berserk night offensively, which they haven't done in a while. Texas can match up with anyone with their talent, but they're so up and down. But, here's the kicker: No matter what happens, Tech or Kansas will lose at least one more game since they play each other. 4-0 gets the solo league crown, and both teams tying at 3-1 guarantees a shared league title. 2-2 likely means you're going to finish the league in 2nd place. So, that's what's at stake here. There's no real room for error.
*I still feel good about this basketball team, whether they win the league title or not here. The reason for that being that I think you're going to have both Keenan Evans and Zach Smith in the postseason. Yes, you want to win the league title and be the team that knocks of Kansas. It would be so, so, SO sweet to be a team that jumps up and grabs that kind of history. But if you don't, it's okay. This team has accomplished more already this season than I ever thought they would've. They're going to have a chance at a really fun postseason here. As I said early on this season: Don't worry about the letdown. Continue to enjoy this team, because these years are extremely rare so far in Lubbock.
*First, my thoughts on Saturday night's loss at Baylor. The Red Raiders fall by two points on the road to the hottest team in the Big 12 without Keenan Evans in the second half. I think most would tell you that's completely understandable, and the AP Poll voters agreed, even moving Tech up a spot. I think that ranking speaks to the respect the voters have for Keenan Evans more than anything. He's put on an absolute show over the last month, and in my opinion, he's overtaken Trae Young as the slim, slim favorite to win Big 12 POTY after outplaying him in Lubbock last week. Even without Evans, the team fought their absolute tails off and about got that W anyway. I think that speaks to this team, their resolve, and how they still play as good of defense as anyone not named Virginia in college basketball this season.
*Now, to Evans. I don't know much about how long he'll truly be out here, but I think from what I and both @C. Level have heard through a couple different people that you'll definitely see him play basketball again this season, and I guess a lot sooner than later. It wasn't a catastrophic injury to his toe. So, that's the good news here. Hopefully you can get him back by Saturday against Kansas, and again, that's my hope and not a fact. Though, based on what I've gathered, I personally think you could see him on Saturday. Regardless, it was clear to me that once crunch time came in the final two minutes against Baylor that the Red Raiders were a bit of a rudderless ship offensively without number 12 on the court. He's been that guy that hits the big shot in the big moment for this team, the anchor, the centerpiece, whatever you want to call it. When winning time came around, Keenan Evans was there. But he wasn't there in Waco, and I don't think you had anyone in the game to take the big shot or make the big decision in crunch time. That will have to change if Evans misses some time here if Tech's going to continue on this run late.
*However, I will say this: I personally believe the offense will run smoother and find its rhythm without Keenan if they've had a few days to prep without him. Against Baylor, he gets pulled from the mix and the gameplan out of left field, and I think that can cause major issues to your team's on-court chemistry on the fly, if that makes sense. If you're prepared to play without him, you're mentally ready to get it done without him. If you aren't and it's sudden, then you can look out of sorts. Hope that all adds up.
*So, the real question is, how do you replace Evans' production on the offensive end? Well, you don't entirely. You just can't get everything a player like that gives you from another single player trying to step into his shoes. It just won't happen. You can, however, try to piecemeal some things together with a handful of players. For this team, those players will have to be Justin Gray, Niem Stevenson, Jarrett Culver, and Brandone Francis. That foursome has to play their best offensive basketball as a collective in order to get back some of those points that Evans was giving you. I think all four are capable of short bursts and smart shots, but the question is can they do it consistently for more than a game? Can they do it for two games? Can they do it for three? I don't know if you'll need them to for that long, but it is something you have to ask yourself. I think Culver certainly is capable. He can stroke it behind the arc and has the physical tools to drive it. But he had his worst game of the season against Baylor with a lot of poor decision making as a passer and scorer once Evans went out of the game. Francis tried to do too much at times. Gray fouled out. Stevenson is up and down. They'll all have to get it together and bump up their per-game production by a couple of points a piece here to keep winning should Evans miss more than a game.
*So, four games to go in league play, and Tech and Kansas are deadlocked at 10-4 for the league crown. Tech plays: @ OSU, KU, @ WVU, TCU. Kansas plays: OU, @ TTU, UT, @OSU. The Jayhawks appear to have the easier overall schedule, but they're pretty close. It really depends on what you think of OU and Texas at this point. OU still has Young and could go on a berserk night offensively, which they haven't done in a while. Texas can match up with anyone with their talent, but they're so up and down. But, here's the kicker: No matter what happens, Tech or Kansas will lose at least one more game since they play each other. 4-0 gets the solo league crown, and both teams tying at 3-1 guarantees a shared league title. 2-2 likely means you're going to finish the league in 2nd place. So, that's what's at stake here. There's no real room for error.
*I still feel good about this basketball team, whether they win the league title or not here. The reason for that being that I think you're going to have both Keenan Evans and Zach Smith in the postseason. Yes, you want to win the league title and be the team that knocks of Kansas. It would be so, so, SO sweet to be a team that jumps up and grabs that kind of history. But if you don't, it's okay. This team has accomplished more already this season than I ever thought they would've. They're going to have a chance at a really fun postseason here. As I said early on this season: Don't worry about the letdown. Continue to enjoy this team, because these years are extremely rare so far in Lubbock.
