ODDS AND ENDS | I wasn't sure where to post this as I had found it over the weekend, but didn't think that it deserved a post of it's own, but it was revealed last week that the Big 12 favored a plus-one playoff, at the very least. LAJ's Don Williams talked with Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt is one of those athletic directors that is in agreement:
"I just think it’s time to rank the top four teams in the country and have one (seed) play four (seed), two play three in a traditional BCS bowl site," Hocutt said, "and the winner of those games advance to a national championship game at a different location a week or two later. I think it’s the next step for college football, and I think obviously there’s growing frustration with the current system."
Hocutt also thinks that post-season in college football, which I also agree needs some overhaul:
"I think there needs to be more conversation as far as the time frame of postseason college football. We need to do our due diligence and explore condensing the postseason from a calendar perspective, and I think we need to continue to examine the ranking system. I don’t necessarily believe coaches should be ranking teams that determine postseason rankings and selections, and I’m not sure the current BCS ranking system as it exists today is on point with what it should be."
LADY RAIDER BASKETBALL | The Lady Raiders have moved up to #15, from #16, in the Associated Press Top 25. Keep it up!
Also, I ran across these videos and a "did you know?". Texas Tech is one of only 15 programs to win 800 games and there was a two part special on Red Raider Weekly about reaching that milestone. Marsha Sharp was responsible for 572 of those wins. The first video is embedded below and here is the link second video:
Lady Raiders 800 Wins: Part 1 (via barryruben)
RED RAIDER BASKETBALL | This was mentioned last week (I do remember that), but thought I'd mention it again as the men's team is going around to local hospitals and food banks for 12 straight days. I'm very happy that head coach Billy Gillispie and the team is making an effort to do more in the community and I do think that for kids in the hospital, seeing an athlete can brighten their day, while the basketball team volunteering at a food bank could maybe change their perspective. You can find the schedule here and the LAJ article.
LAJ's Nick Kosmider profiles SG Toddrick Gotcher and how he's been so versatile this year. Gotcher's high school coach talked about Gotcher:
"As a (high school) freshman, he played every position on a team that was very young, much like what’s going on at Tech," said current Lakeview Centennial coach J.T. Locklear, who was an assistant at the school during Gotcher’s high school career. "We didn’t ask him to play the point — although we probably could have — but he did play the two through the five. He was just so reliable that we knew we could put him wherever we needed to and be successful."
Gillispie also talked about Gotcher:
"He’s been solid," Gillispie said. "He’s done quite a bit for a freshman. He’s started every game for us. He’s rebounded well, he’s taken care of the basketball well, and he’s shot well. He’s not nearly as aggressive as I would like on either end," Gillispie said, "but he’s probably not making mistakes better than anyone we have. So, really, he’s been very solid, I just want him to do more."
Kosmider also has a Big 12 basketball notebook (yea!) after listening to the Big 12 conference call.
TEXAS TECH FOOTBALL | Texas Tech commit WR Reginald Davis, who plays quarterback for his Tenaha team will be playing for a state championship this weekend at Cowboys Stadium. Here's Davis' stats this year:
Davis has already earned one postseason award in 2011, having been named the Class A Offensive MVP during the regular season. He enters the title game with 1,689 rushing yards, 32 rushing touchdowns, 1,773 passing yards and 22 passing TDs.
There's a much bigger recruiting article coming up later this morning, but wanted to note, per SoutherCaliforniaPreps, that L.A. Pierce C.C. CB Kasseim Everett has narrowed his college choices to Oklahoma and Texas Tech. I still think that OU is the more likely destination, but here's what Everett had to say about Texas Tech:
"Texas Tech did it their own way they actually made a statement and they definitely showed that they compared to Oklahoma. They might not be able to compare in tradition but they definitely had a lot of other things that they compared to," said Everett of his Dec. 3 visit to Lubbock.
"Their rule isn't boundary corner thy just have a left and a right corner but they definitely see me as that No. 1 guy and it's basically the same rule but it holds a little more weight because how their secondary is now and how their secondary hurt them this past season so it was a little more weight to them because they really need a guy to basically pick up their secondary and their secondary something to deal with."
"What appeals to me (there) is that I can help and shape up and actually bring in more recruits to the secondary because Texas Tech isn't really known for their defense and kind of quarterback the secondary."
Everett is right, he can almost be guaranteed playing time next year at cornerback.