ODDS AND ENDS | Pretty interesting article from the NY Times about paying college players. It's actually a pretty interesting concept, complete with a salary cap, a minimum salary for players and a quasi-union for the players.
LADY RAIDER BASKETBALL | The Lady Raiders take on Oklahoma St. tomorrow night at 7:00 pm in the United Spirit Arena.
LAJ's David Just writes that head coach Kristy Curry likes that the Lady Raiders found ways to win while being on the road:
"We didn’t play very well but at the same time we were able to find a way to win," Tech coach Kristy Curry said. "It got a little hostile at times, a little crazy, but we were able to find a way and you turn the page and keep getting better. It gives us some confidence in close game situations to pull one out."
And point guard Monique Smalls says that teammates coming off the bench is a good thing:
"It’s good to have people coming for you," junior point guard Monique Smalls said. "That means they’re trying to beat something that we have going. It gives us that challenge. It gives us more to go on to win these games."
RED RAIDER BASKETBALL | Congrats to PF Jordan Tolbert who was finally named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week! I say finally because he's been the best newcomer in the Big 12 for the past month. LAJ's Nick Kosmider talks with Tolbert who is surprised at his success thus far in his career:
"I’m very surprised," Tolbert said. "I didn’t think I’d be doing this well. I think I’ve gotten a lot better, but it’s all because of my teammates and coaching."
Snip.
"They’ve taught me how to use my ability to score before I catch the ball," Tolbert said. "I’ve been improving my position, getting lower and fighting for position. Coach always says that offense wants contact and defense doesn’t want it, so you kind of have to hit the defender before he hits you in order to get better position."
ESPN's Jason King gets everyone ready for the Big 12 conference season (which tipped off last night) and gives the freshman of the year to Tolbert:
Freshman of the year (so far): Texas Tech forward Jordan Tolbert has been huge for the rebuilding Red Raiders, who will take a 7-5 record into Big 12 play. While other highly touted freshmen such as Oklahoma State's Le'Bryan Nash struggle, the lesser-known Tolbert continues to post numbers that would be impressive for any player, much less an 18-year-old playing his first collegiate season. Tolbert is averaging 15.1 points and is shooting 65 percent from the field -- and he's scored more than 20 points in four of his last five games.
TEXAS TECH FOOTBALL | Congrats to Kliff Kingsbury for being named the offensive coordinator at Texas A&M. I'm happy for Kingsbury, despite now coaching at a rival, and you should be happy for him too.
I meant to post this over the weekend, TTURed at Totally Texas Tech has his favorite pictures from the football season and there are some terrific photos, so go check it out.