Next Week: I really hate looking ahead, but I thought I'd let you guys know that I intend on catching up a bit next week on football and basketball recruiting, basketball in general and a some more general looks at the football program. That all seems a bit ambitious, but the intent is for me to get to as much of this as possible, try to focus on the major sports and then go from there.
Stick Around: It's strange, but at the rate DTN is currently heading, DTN will eclipse the 1,000,000 visitor mark sometime next month and all of that credit goes to you guys. Once football season ends, the traffic on DTN slows down quite a bit and I know that basketball doesn't have the same following as football, but I'd love for you guys to stick around for the basketball season, tell me I'm foolish for liking Pat Knight and having unreasonably high expectations for this basketball team.
Bryce Saldi Benefit: DMN's Brandon George posted a short post about Bryce Saldi (playing for UNLV at the time), who suffered a brain injury while skateboarding this past summer and Bryce's cause has been chosen by the Pro Player Foundation as the feature benefit in their golf tournament. If the name Saldi sounds familiar to some of you, John Saldi started for Texas Tech for 4 years, 2002 through 2005.
Unnamed Source Talks, Declares Doege Starter: FWST's Dwain Price talked with an unnamed source who confirmed that QB Seth Doege is the starter. I'm giving Price the headline here, rather than ESPN or some other outlet, because he actually has a quote from the source:
One source said: "I don't think (Doege starting against Kansas) is a surprise.''
21st Commitment: LAJ's Don Williams (thanks to pcrawttu for the FanShot) details the 21st commitment to the Texas Tech Red Raiders from Olive Branch, Mississippi's Eric Lawson, a 6-6/320 guard/tackle. Here's the obligatory recruit site profiles: Rivals, Scout and ESPN. Unfortunately for all of us cheapskates, ESPN is now a subscription based site, so there's no longer any free information out there, other than the very reliable Mr. Williams. Here's Lawson:
Lawson said he’s not sure if he would visit other schools, but considers his commitment solid.
"I like the vibe I’m getting from the coaches and the staff at Texas Tech,’’ he said.
In the meantime, he’s doing what he can to be a better offensive lineman and a better college prospect. That’s the idea behind his slimming.
"I had been trying to lose the weight,’’ he said, "because my coach told me it’d be better if I lost a little bit so I can get a little faster.’’
I'll update the recruiting sidebar next week.
Kansas Jayhawk Links: LAJ's Adam Zuvanich writes that DB Chris Harris' second chance is paying off for the Jayhawks . . .KUSports.com notes that Kansas QB Todd Reesing has struggled in KU's past 2 losses . . . Kansan.com's Jayson Jenks writes that the young Kansas secondary will be tested this week . . .
Big 12 Links: Absolutely wonderful article from Corn Nation's Corn Blight, don't get a physical after a loss . . . Rock M Nation's Bill C.'s Beyond The Box Score Week 9 picks (Red Raiders beat spread?) . . .
Pat Knight Visits Purdue: IndyStar has a note that Pat Knight and the Texas Tech staff visited Purdue's head coach Matt Painter, more or less an opportunity to exchange ideas as head coaches:
"He is a good friend of mine, and it was good to see him," Painter said.
"I've always admired what his dad (Bob) has done and what Pat has been able to do as an assistant for his dad and then taking over at Texas Tech. They always send me tapes when I ask for stuff.
"It's what coaching is all about, sharing ideas. They just wanted to come up and see some other people do some things . . . maybe just pick up a drill."
Bob Knight's Birthday: LAJ's Courtney Linehan writes that the basketball team and staff celebrated Bob Knight's birthday. Go check out Linehan's post for pictures of the event. I'd also add that BK spoke to the team and referenced two things that I'd love to see happen this year regarding PG John Roberson and PF Darko Cohadarevic:
For his part, Knight issued the team some words of wisdom. He warned that the best players he ever coached got just as excited for throwaway games against low-major teams as they did to play Duke. He ribbed John Roberson, who he recruited to Tech, saying the Red Raiders would be successful if Roberson stopped dribbling. And he asked, in his own special way, that Serbian-born Darko Cohadarevic continue to work on adapting to the American style of basketball.
Kinda cool in that practice ended with the teams playing the staff in what looks like a game of dodge-ball.