 |
| |
|
 |
 |
|
|
Posted: Saturday October 26, 2002 11:57 PM Updated: Wednesday October 30, 2002 4:54 PM Texas Tech Red Raiders
The following preview is provided by Blue Ribbon. For the most thorough preview available of the upcoming season, order the 2002-03 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, on sale now at 1-800-775-2518. Team Preview | Blue Ribbon Analysis
When Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight was forced out at the University of Indiana after the 1999-2000 campaign, even some of his staunchest supporters thought it was time for him to hang up his red sweater for good. After all, it certainly appeared that the game and the players had passed him by. Not one of his last six Indiana teams advanced past the second round of the NCAA tournament. Four of those teams bowed out in the first round, losing by an average of 14 points per game. And with each new story detailing Knight’s temper (a short fuse that was becoming as legendary as his coaching acumen), the glow from those three national titles and his nearly 800 wins was fading. So when he traded that red sweater for a much less famous one (he took over a Texas Tech program that hadn’t been ranked in the Top 25 in five years), Joe Hoopsfan thought it was a sad attempt by Knight to hold on --much like a punch-drunk fighter trying to get a couple more paydays. They were not alone in their skepticism. At the time of his hiring, some of Knight’s future Texas Tech players were worried about their temperamental new mentor, too.
"I was, like, 'Whoa, I can't play for coach Knight,'" said Andre Emmett, a reserve who had just finished his freshman season when Knight was hired in March 2001. "I knew the man was a genius, but I couldn’t play for him, his style of game. But when he came, he sat us down and told us what he wanted, when he wanted it and how he wanted it. I said, 'If that's the way it's going to be, I'm cool with that.'" Emmett wasn’t the only one who ended up being cool with it. Inheriting a program with seven 20-win seasons in 76 years, Knight cleaned house. Ole Red Sweater kept only four players from the previous season, with three freshmen and four junior college transfers increasing the talent base. And then Knight did what he does best. He took a team with little talent and made it believe it was the best team in the Big 12. In 2000-01, the Red Raiders weren't anything but the Red-headed Stepchildren -- at 3-13 in the conference and 9-19 overall. But with his made-over roster and the confidence that Knight’s presence instilled in holdovers such as 6-foot-11 center Andy Ellis and Emmett, the Red Raiders got off to a 13-1 start and Knight was the biggest thing in Lubbock since Buddy Holly. The inspired early-season play of the Red Raiders galvanized fans in West Texas. In fact, Tech enjoyed the largest jump in attendance of any Division I school last season, an extra 4,186 fans per game. A Jan. 6 game against then-No. 6 Oklahoma turned Tech’s United Spirit Arena into a virtual Krzyzewskiville, as thousands of Tech students camped out the night before for choice seats. One Red Raider alum bought them pizzas, donuts and hot chocolate, and Knight ventured out the morning of the game to talk to the students. Then he sent his players out. "It’s crazy," Emmett said. "That day, we probably had more fans camping outside than we had inside the year before." Sure, there were times when the Raiders looked like a team that went 9-19 in 2000-01 -- an early-season home loss to Sam Houston State and road losses to Oklahoma (by 26), Kansas (27) and Texas (25). But they also boasted consecutive 24- and 13-point wins over Oklahoma State and Oklahoma, respectively; a 23-point trouncing of Missouri; and a 20-point rout of Minnesota. By the end of the year, Knight’s team had notched 23 wins and earned a No. 6 seeding in the NCAA tournament’s East Region. Sure, the Red Raiders were tripped in the first round of the Big Dance by Southern Illinois, continuing a trend of first-round flameouts by Knight-coached teams. But for a coach some said had lost his edge near the end of a 28-year run as Indiana’s head coach/living legend, last season was proof-positive that Knight belongs as one of the greatest coaches to ever pace the sideline. Or throw a chair. "He’s coached his basketball team to play together and play unselfishly and play extremely hard, particularly on the defensive end of the floor, and to minimize their mistakes," Kansas coach Roy Williams said. Indeed, the Red Raiders exhibited many hallmarks of a Knight-coached team. They played honest defense, were second in the Big 12 in assists and first in assist/turnover ratio. Their scoring was balanced; three players averaged at least 15 points: the 6-foot-5 Emmett (18.7), Ellis (16.5) and 6-foot-7 senior Kasib Powell (15.1). "Bob didn’t get this thing turned around with smoke and mirrors," Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson said. "Coach Knight does what he does. He’s not overly interested in your opinion or my opinion or anybody else's. He’s a great coach whose track record is proven. We talk about legends and icons; they just don't get much better than Bobby Knight." Knight’s legend will be tested again this year, because one of his key components from last season is gone in Ellis, a skilled big man who thrived as both a shooter and a high-post passer in Knight’s motion offense. Ellis finished his brilliant Tech career as the school’s 12th all-time leading scorer (1,431 points). His shooting skill, size and rebounding (7.0 rpg in 2001-02) will be sorely missed. But even without Ellis, look for the excitement -- and the winning -- to continue in Lubbock. Knight returns four starters from last year’s NCAA qualifier, led by one of the nation’s most underrated players in the 6-foot-5 highlight film Emmett. After a year of coaching him at Texas Tech, Knight is convinced that Emmett, a junior guard/forward, could be the best college player that he has ever coached. That’s high praise indeed, considering Knight coached 17 All-America players during his run at Indiana, including Isiah Thomas, Calbert Cheaney and Steve Alford. "I think Andre Emmett could be the best college player that I’ve ever coached, but that’s going to be up to him," Knight said. "He’s going to have to be a much better defender. He’s just got to have a greater responsibility toward his own abilities and how they can be used." Emmett improved by leaps and bounds in his first year playing for Knight, who loves Emmett’s talent but was clearly frustrated by Emmett’s lapses in concentration -- particularly at the defensive end of the floor. Still, Emmett was a revelation last season, winning the Big 12’s most improved player in a media poll last season. As a freshman, Emmett started just once and averaged 7.7 points. Challenged by Knight to be the best he could be, Emmett bulked up from 202 pounds to 223 and became a key cog in Tech’s improbable run to the NCAAs. He finished the season as the Big 12’s third-leading scorer, behind only a pair of eventual 2002 first-round NBA draft picks -- Kansas star Drew Gooden and Missouri swingman Kareem Rush. But Knight is right that Emmett still has work to do. His season ended with a 4-for-17 shooting performance in the loss to Southern Illinois. That clunker in an NCAA tournament game, Knight’s comments that he can be his best-ever collegiate player and the fact that Texas Tech will have to be even better in 2002-03 to keep up with the Big 12 elite seems to have Emmett even more motivated. He hit the weight room with a vengeance in the summer and should be quicker and stronger (his goal is to play at 230 pounds) in 2002-03. Emmett is just one of four returning starters for Knight. Rejoining him in Texas Tech’s deadly perimeter attack will be 5-foot-10 senior point guard Will Chavis and Powell. Both Chavis and Powell were 11th-hour signees by Knight last spring. Chavis and Powell were added after two players that Knight’s predecessor, James Dickey, had signed -- Westark (Ark.) College teammates Billy Pharis and Jamal Holden -- were both granted releases after the coaching change. Powell was an honorable mention JUCO All-American at Butler County (Kansas) Community College, while Chavis had handed out 10 assists per game at Panola (Texas) College. Both became starters last season, and each added some much-needed toughness to the Tech roster. Powell started all 32 games, earning a spot on the Big 12’s All-Newcomer team after averaging 15.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists. Powell teams with Emmett to give Knight’s team a lethal set of wings. The man that runs the show is Chavis, who played part of his career in the same high school backcourt as former Temple star Lynn Greer. Playing at Philadelphia’s Engineering & Science High School with Greer, who was the nation’s eighth leading scorer last season as a senior for the Owls (22.6 ppg), enabled Chavis to develop into an old-fashioned, pass-first point guard. After a stellar prep career, Chavis originally signed with New Hampshire, but didn’t make the grade and had to go the junior college route. A year ago, Chavis started 24 games for the Red Raiders, averaging 7.7 points and handing out 112 assists -- second on the team to Powell’s 123. Chavis is a deadly shooter from behind lines (.770 FT, .409 3PT). With a year of playing for Knight behind them, Powell and Chavis should be much improved over last season. During the summer, Chavis further sharpened his point guard skills as a member of the Big 12 All-Star team that went undefeated during its 11-day Scandanavian tour. Rounding out the list of returning starters is burly 6-foot-9 power forward Pawel Storozynski, a native of Poland who averaged 23 points and 12 rebounds at Dodge City (Kansas) Community College in 2000-01. Storozynski didn’t officially play for Knight for the first time until last Dec. 14 against Houston. The reason? He was suspended under the NCAA’s foreign amateurism rule. Once he joined the squad, Storozynski started 18 of the 25 games he played, averaging 6.3 points and 4.0 rebounds. The four returning starters aren’t the only experienced hands on deck for Knight. Senior Nick Valdez (4.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg) played in 29 games last season, including nine starts. The 6-foot-6 Valdez plays close to 20 minutes per night and is a good passer (68 assists in 2001-02) and a reliable three-ball shooter (.423 3PT last season). Junior guard Mikey Marshall, a starter for Texas Tech in 2000-01, became a bench player under Knight. The 6-foot-4 Marshall averaged 2.0 points and 2.7 rebounds last year. Sophomores Nathan Doudney (a backup 6-foot-4 shooting guard), Ronald Ross (a 6-foot-2 reserve point man) and Mickey Michalec (a 6-foot-10 center) also return. That threesome combined for 11 starts and nearly 10 points per game last season. Doudney and Ross, both walk-ons, will serve as backups again in 2002-03, while Mihalec with battle with Storozynski and Tech’s newcomers for significant minutes in the paint. Knight has added five new faces. During last year’s early signing period, Tech signed three other newcomers for the fall -- 6-foot-4, two-sport star Josh Washington from nearby Lubbock Montrerey High School, 6-foot-8 forward John Ofoegbu from San Antonio Taft High School and 6-foot-8 forward Robert Tomaszek, a junior college transfer from Eastern Wyoming College. Then Knight added two walk-on players last spring in former Seminole (Texas) High guard Tanner Ogden and Midland (Texas) High guard LucQuente White. Both of last year's walk-ons, Nathan Doudney and Ronald Ross, started for Tech at times last season. Washington averaged 20-plus points his last two seasons at Monterey and was ranked as the No. 16 prospect in Texas by texashoops.com. After getting serious interest from Boston College in basketball, Washington elected to follow in the footsteps of his dad, Joe, who also played basketball for Tech. Joe wore jersey No. 40, the same number Josh plans to wear. Knight’s biggest competition for Washington might have been the gridiron, because Washington received big-time Big 12 recruiting interest (Texas, Texas A&M, etc.) as a wide receiver before electing to play hoops. "Coach Knight knows players," recruiting guru Bob Gibbons said. "I know Josh Washington will be one of the top freshmen in the conference next year." If Washington is as good as advertised, he could start at the two-guard --allowing Emmett to play the three-spot, Powell the four-spot and Storozynski to try his hand at the center position. Ofoegbu (pronounced "O-fay-boo"), who chose Texas Tech over Boston College and Tulsa, is a relative newcomer to the game and appears to be a project. In fact, if the JUCO import Tomashek is ready to play right away as expected, then Ofoegbu likely will red-shirt to pack some meat on his bones. He was 6-foot-8 and 215 pounds last year -- much too slight to play in the paint in the Big 12. Ofoegbu’s father is an international Christian minister from Nigeria, making him an interesting fit for Knight. With no scholarships left at Tech for the coming fall, Ogden and White elected to join the team as non-scholarship players, a status that has never held any meaning for Knight in terms of potential playing time. White (6-foot, 165 pounds) averaged 19.7 points, seven rebounds and 6.5 assists per game on Midland's playoff team (24-7) as a senior. He also received recruiting interest from Southern Methodist and New Orleans. White's first name is pronounced "Luh-quent-ee." His nickname since seventh grade has been "Q." The addition of White as a walk-on enabled Tech to win the hotly contested sweepstakes for Midland’s stud senior guard Drew Coffman, one of the top players in the Lone Star State’s high school Class of 2003. Ogden is the younger brother of University of Texas junior forward Chris Ogden. Tanner Ogden (6-foot-6, 190 pounds) graduated from Seminole in 2000 at 150 pounds before moving on to Fork Union Academy, a military prep school in Virginia. At Fork Union, he matured physically and become one of seven Division I prospects on his team, which finished the year 24-6. Ogden also received recruiting interest from Kansas and smaller Division I schools on the East Coast. Like him or not, Bob Knight proved last year that he is still one of the best X-and-O men in the business. Knight’s totally made-over roster produced 23 wins and an unexpected trip to last March’s Madness -- where the Red Raiders were unceremoniously bounced out in the first round by Southern Illinois. Now with four returning starters, including top-notch wing men Emmett and Powell, the expectations will be through the roof in Lubbock. And even though underrated five-man Ellis will be sorely missed, Knight has the horses for a top-five finish in the absolutely loaded Big 12 (where Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas could all be preseason Top 10). The presence of legit Final Four hopefuls Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas leaves Tech to battle with Missouri, yet another possible Top 25 team, for fourth place in the Big 12. Because of the loss of Ellis, it looks like a fifth-place finish in the Big 12 for Knight and Co. in 2002-03 -- even with the lethal wing duo of Emmett and Powell, a solid point man in Chavis and a good screen-setter/blue-collar worker in Storozynski. That’ll be enough to land the Red Raiders a ticket to the 2003 Big Dance. The question is: Can they stay around longer this time? We’ll see.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
