Texas Tech Basketball:
Wow, DMN's Tim MacMahon has a pretty special story this morning on Tech guard Benny Valentine. I've often said that Valentine seems over-matched by players in the Big 12, but now I get the feeling that Knight signed this kid to save him from himself. I know that's awfully self-righteous for me to say about Knight, but I have to think that Knight's a good enough talent evaluator to know that Valentine would be a little overwhelmed (this is not to say that Valentine wasn't a good player) but he gave Valentine a scholarship anyway. For those of you who hate Knight, keep this article in mind when that thought runs through your head. Knight isn't a horrible hateful person, at least not all of the time.
[editor's note, by Seth C]I should go on the record by saying that I have a ton of respect for Coach Knight and don't think he is a horrible hateful person.Tim ends his article like this:
Those close to Valentine believe he couldn't have found a better fit than Tech, which is a 13-hour drive from Omaha. They say Valentine needs a tough, take-no-bull authority figure like Bob Knight in his life.
"He definitely needed to get out of town," Poepsel said. "To me, he's in a perfect spot, especially with a guy like Bobby Knight there.
"No probation officer can be as tough as he can be."
Tim also has this note from the DMN College Blog, Knight was a no-show at the Big 12 telephone conference.
LAJ's Jeff Walker has an article on the new "travel squad" policy instituted by Knight. My posting is a day late, but it's still worth your time if you haven't read it. Jeff also has a preview of today's game.
FWST's John Miller has a preview of today's game and Pat Knight thinks this is the problem:
Burnt Orange Nation has an interview with the writer of one of my favorite basketball stat websites, Ken Pomeroy. Definitely worth a read.
Texas Tech Baseball:
The Tech baseball team is back on track, winning their last 3. On Sunday, Tech beat Northwestern 4-3. Senior Colt Hynes pitched 6 innings, allowing only 2 runs, while shortstop Kyle Martin had 2 RBI, Matt Smith had a homer and Geoff Byrnes had two hits to lead the Red Raiders.
On the back-end of a double-header, Tech had a strong pitching performance from Aaron Odom and Roger Kieschnick his a grand-slam to lead the Red Raiders to a 12-2 win over Western Illinois. Odom pitched 6 innings, giving up 1 run while striking out 5. Paul Gonzalez pitched 3 innings, allowing only 1 run and striking out 6. Kieschnick his a grand-slam, his second of his career and third baseman Doug Thennis had a 3-run home run as well.
In the final game of the Red Raider Classic, Tech notched their third victory of the series with a 13-11 win over Western Illinois. Shortstop Kyle Martin had 2 home runs and 4 RBI while catcher Matt Smith had a homerun and 2 RBI. It was a rough day for the pitchers, so we'll just focus on the fact that Tech has climbed out of their slump and are now 4-3 for the year.
Corn Nation is doing a weekly review of Big 12 and begins with this week's edition. They'll do a much better job of keeping on top of the Big 12 teams not named Texas Tech.