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Texas Tech Wednesday Morning Notes - I Never Talked to Anybody From LSU Edition

By Seth C

Double-T Nation News:

First and foremost, think a good thought for K-State guard Clent Stewart. Stewart's mom passed away last week after a battle with cancer.

If you've read this far then you've already noticed the preview and open game day thread posted above. Make sure and check out Bring On The Cats for the latest on K-State.

I also noticed that the Red-Black Game is at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 19, 2008 and there's also a baseball game at 3:00 p.m. at Dan Law Field. So, if you're planning on going to the game from out of town then you should definitely go check out the baseball team.

In no particular order, DTN's Top Four:

  1. What? The NCAA is about to announce some major NCAA violations with Kelvin Sampson and Indiana? Inside the Hall reacts.
  2. The Quad runs down your NCAA brackets, none of which include Texas Tech, but remember, you need to study up so you can win some brackets.
  3. Oh my. Uncommon Sports (a SB Nation creation) brings you dwarf weight lifting. This is amazing and worth you clicking over just to see the picture of Romeo. You won't be disappointed.
  4. This is paint, but I think this is just so excellent (Girls in bikinis, thus possibly NSFW).

Texas Tech Football:

The Wiz is reporting that according to the premium Texas Tech Rivals message board (Red Raider Sports) that it was LSU that wanted nothing to do with the potential matchup with Texas Tech:

"It was reported earlier today by the LSU Rivals site in which LSU's Senior Associate Athletic Director Verge Ausberry said, 'The AD at [Texas Tech] wanted to play. The head coach turned it down. People are not going to play home and home with LSU.'

"After speaking with Head Coach Mike Leach just moments ago, we can confirm that there's actually more to the story:

"'I never talked to the guy at LSU,' said Leach. 'We needed a home game and I never heard of anything about LSU planning to come here. I never heard anything about that. I never talked to anybody from LSU. We needed a home game, and all I heard was that they wanted it up there.'

"It seems that the Tigers were a little more one-sided in the short talks with Tech than Ausberry would like to admit. Of course, the LSU and Tech talks did not last long as the Red Raiders filled the August 30th home opener with Eastern Washington."

Who would have thought that a non-game would be so interesting? As expected, I believe Leach on this deal.

ESPN's Mark Schlabach has updated his 2008 top 25 and Texas Tech is #12:

QB Graham Harrell and receiver Michael Crabtree might have Texas Tech poised to become the biggest surprise of 2008. The Red Raiders should be able to score plenty of points again, and with eight starters coming back on defense, they might even be equipped to stop opponents this season. Road games at Texas A&M, Kansas and Oklahoma are big tests.

Schlabach also has OU at #2, Missouri at #5, Texas at #6, and Kansas at #15. The Big 12 looks strong to very strong.

Texas Tech Basketball:

LAJ's Jeff Walker has a few articles this morning, starting with a preview of today's game against the Wildcats. Up next, Walker takes a look at uber-freshman Michael Beasley and PK had this to say about Beasley:

"Beasley is actually just a bigger version of Durant," Knight said. "This kid, a lot of people are talking about him being the first pick in the draft. And then you've got (Bill) Walker so you're talking about two legitimate NBA players."

Snip

"What we have to do is come up with a defensive scheme that will keep those two guys (Beasley and Walker) uncomfortable," Knight said. "... There are things you can do to take things away from them, but you cannot lose sight of those guys at any time. They have got to be your focus. They're in first place (in the Big 12) right now and Frank has done a great job at Kansas State. He kind of got pushed into the fire himself a little bit having to take over for Huggins."

K-State Coach Frank Martin also had some nice things to say about PK:

"Pat and I are in the same boat," Martin said. "We've both come up through people that have been very instrumental in our lives who have been very successful in the coaching business. Every decision that I make and he makes is going to get scrutinized, and I think he understands that with who he's been with his whole life.

"I don't think there can be anybody that's better prepared for what's getting ready to come to him more than him because of who he's worked for. He's worked with the best his whole life. Pat's going to be great."

Walker also writes about the new responsibilities of PK and his expectations of this basketball program:

"I look forward to being the coach at Tech for a long time," Knight said on Tuesday after Mayor David Miller proclaimed Wednesday, Pat Knight Day, in a show of support for the new head coach. "I think the fans are going to see what we're trying to do - just build upon what my father and I already have built. Exciting times are ahead. "The people have been unbelievable, but they've been that way ever since we got down here. ... The one thing that's great about this community, when things are going good they're in your corner and when things are going bad they're still in your corner. I'm not going to name names, but I've been to some places where when things were going bad you didn't even want to go to the grocery store."

DMN's Brandon George writes about Martin Zeno's inconsistent senior year and I think George gets it right here:

Zeno's road woes can, in large part, be attributed to his lack of aggressiveness outside of Lubbock. At home, Zeno has played to his strength as a player who is always active and makes sharp cuts to the basket in the Red Raiders' motion offense. That was never more evident than when he scored a career-high 33 points in a home win over Missouri on Jan. 23. In that game, he forced the issue and drew foul after foul, finishing 19-for-24 from the free throw line.

On the road, Zeno has settled for mid-range jump shots instead of attacking the basket. He's not a great perimeter shooter (he's 3-for-19 from 3-point range this season). He followed his game against Missouri with a thud on the road in a loss at Texas, shooting 3-for-12 from the field and finishing with nine points.

A really nice article from George this morning, make sure and check out the whole thing.

Kansas City Star's Howard Richman notes that K-State is glad they aren't having to face RMK.

Texas Tech student Sports Nation looks at the attendance issues at the United Spirit Arena.

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