Had a chance to interview 4-star forward Tyreek Smith along with his guardian, Hellion "Boog" Knight about Tyreek's decision to go to Texas Tech.
Tyreek Smith on his official visit to Texas Tech
How was your visit to Texas Tech?
Tyreek Smith: "My visit was really good, as soon as I landed in Lubbock I just felt the energy from the fan base already. It's a college town so the program gets a lot of support and I kinda sensed that it was a good fan base. I felt the energy and that's something I really liked."
Who was your host for the weekend?
Smith: "My host was Kyler Edwards. I kinda knew Kyler from before because we played on the same AAU team when we were younger, we played 15U together so I already knew Kyler."
How does the coaching staff see you fitting in and what kind of role do they see you playing as a freshman?
Smith: "They see me coming in and doing a little bit of everything. Of course I rebound and block shots, I run the floor well, I'm a good athlete, but they're looking forward to me coming in and doing a little bit of everything."
You had a bunch of offers, a bunch of Power 5's and big name schools, at the end of the day why did you choose Texas Tech?
Smith: "It really came down to the vibe. You can go to any school but the vibe is what really matters most. If you don't have that good connection with the coaches you'll always be bumping heads and that's not something I wanted so we made a good connection on my visit and I trust them and they trust me so that's what really came down to my decision."
Is there any player in college or in the NBA that you model your game after?
Smith: "Yeah I like to model my game after Anthony Davis, just because he's so versatile and skilled, he can shoot the 3, the mid-range, he's a good athlete, he blocks shots, he can do it all so that's who I model my game after."
What is your updated height and weight?
Smith: "6-foot-8 and a half, 205 pounds."
When do you expect to get to campus?
Smith: "Around June 1st or June 2nd, something like that."
What is one last thing you want to tell Texas Tech fans before you make it to campus?
Smith: "Get ready because we're going to turn it up! We're gonna cut up!"
Tyreek Smith, Boog Knight and coach Beard on Smith's official visit
The following questions were asked to Hellion "Boog" Knight, his guardian, mentor and coach.
What kind of player should Texas Tech fans be expecting to be getting in Tyreek?
Boog Knight: "Energetic, the hardest working player on the floor, every possession taking no plays off at both ends, a guy that's going to rip the rim off and every time he dunks it everyone in Lubbock is going to get a feeling. He blocks shots also, you know hand down, man down."
What did you see on the visit that made you comfortable with Tyreek's decision to go to Texas Tech?
"Man coach Beard is a players coach first and foremost. He has an environment that they've created, it's a culture that you know they're going to win. It's a winning culture. The fact that he works his butt off, everybody on the staff works their butt off, and all the players work their butt of as a result. Every time you look up there's people in the gym, in the weight room, they all work to get better and towards winning, and I mean the fan base is second to none. They're basketball crazy in Lubbock right now so that's what stood out the most."
How was it for you seeing Tyreek blow up with all of this recruiting attention, is this something that you expected and knew would happen?
"Not originally when we first started to be honest. But as he grew and as we got going I kind of started to see the writing on the wall, to see how this thing is going and how it should be going. But I think even now fans don't really understand yet how good he can be but it's up to him to make it all come to light as it should. But I think there's a whole more out there that people don't understand."
Tyreek Smith on his official visit to Texas Tech
How was your visit to Texas Tech?
Tyreek Smith: "My visit was really good, as soon as I landed in Lubbock I just felt the energy from the fan base already. It's a college town so the program gets a lot of support and I kinda sensed that it was a good fan base. I felt the energy and that's something I really liked."
Who was your host for the weekend?
Smith: "My host was Kyler Edwards. I kinda knew Kyler from before because we played on the same AAU team when we were younger, we played 15U together so I already knew Kyler."
How does the coaching staff see you fitting in and what kind of role do they see you playing as a freshman?
Smith: "They see me coming in and doing a little bit of everything. Of course I rebound and block shots, I run the floor well, I'm a good athlete, but they're looking forward to me coming in and doing a little bit of everything."
You had a bunch of offers, a bunch of Power 5's and big name schools, at the end of the day why did you choose Texas Tech?
Smith: "It really came down to the vibe. You can go to any school but the vibe is what really matters most. If you don't have that good connection with the coaches you'll always be bumping heads and that's not something I wanted so we made a good connection on my visit and I trust them and they trust me so that's what really came down to my decision."
Is there any player in college or in the NBA that you model your game after?
Smith: "Yeah I like to model my game after Anthony Davis, just because he's so versatile and skilled, he can shoot the 3, the mid-range, he's a good athlete, he blocks shots, he can do it all so that's who I model my game after."
What is your updated height and weight?
Smith: "6-foot-8 and a half, 205 pounds."
When do you expect to get to campus?
Smith: "Around June 1st or June 2nd, something like that."
What is one last thing you want to tell Texas Tech fans before you make it to campus?
Smith: "Get ready because we're going to turn it up! We're gonna cut up!"
Tyreek Smith, Boog Knight and coach Beard on Smith's official visit
The following questions were asked to Hellion "Boog" Knight, his guardian, mentor and coach.
What kind of player should Texas Tech fans be expecting to be getting in Tyreek?
Boog Knight: "Energetic, the hardest working player on the floor, every possession taking no plays off at both ends, a guy that's going to rip the rim off and every time he dunks it everyone in Lubbock is going to get a feeling. He blocks shots also, you know hand down, man down."
What did you see on the visit that made you comfortable with Tyreek's decision to go to Texas Tech?
"Man coach Beard is a players coach first and foremost. He has an environment that they've created, it's a culture that you know they're going to win. It's a winning culture. The fact that he works his butt off, everybody on the staff works their butt off, and all the players work their butt of as a result. Every time you look up there's people in the gym, in the weight room, they all work to get better and towards winning, and I mean the fan base is second to none. They're basketball crazy in Lubbock right now so that's what stood out the most."
How was it for you seeing Tyreek blow up with all of this recruiting attention, is this something that you expected and knew would happen?
"Not originally when we first started to be honest. But as he grew and as we got going I kind of started to see the writing on the wall, to see how this thing is going and how it should be going. But I think even now fans don't really understand yet how good he can be but it's up to him to make it all come to light as it should. But I think there's a whole more out there that people don't understand."
