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UTPB 63, Texas Tech 88 | Boxscore | Quotes
I know that you love game reviews without me having seen the game, but here goes.
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One of the really intesting things, that I tend to think is true right now, is that Walker commented on how he thinks he has playmakers this season and I think that's right. Think back to last year when guys like Jararez Willis was trying to finish at the rim and Luke Adams was getting a ton of playing time and Ty Nurse was being asked to do way too much. I think that now Adams and Nurse take secondary roles, as they should, to some guys who I think are more talented. There should be some real opportunities for some of the guys like Josh Gray and Daylen Robinson and Trency Jackson to be able to finish at the rim or kickout to an open player. Here's Coach Walker:
I'm a firm believer that at the end of the shot clock you have to have playmakers, everyone is going to do a good job scouting, there are five final four coaches in this league they are going to know every single thing we are doing and for me to think that I'm going to go out there and teach them every single thing is crazy but we have guys that can make plays and that's what we didn't have last year and this year we have guys that can make plays that can create havoc and it's unpredictable because it's not in the play and it creates offensive rebounding opportunities and we have a guy like Dusty Hannahs, who you all saw for the first time and Ty Nurse that can make shots. The combination of all those guys I have to make sure I play guys at the right time but I think with the combination of all those things and if we can keep the press, the press is just to wear people down so that last four minutes is all Texas Tech, that's what we are working on right now.
LAJ's Nick Kosmider summarizes the game and notes the improved athleticism:
Tech used its newly installed full-court press from the start, notching three steals before Permian Basin attempted a shot. The Red Raiders converted the turnovers into fastbreak offense, displaying improved speed with the addition of guards Josh Gray, Trency Jackson, Daylen Robinson and Jamal Williams.
DT's Mike DuPont II writes about how F Dejan Kravic notes the defense created some opportunities:
"I thought our guards, especially came out with a lot of energy to start off the half and we got steals out of it," he said. "We got steals, we created turnovers and we just need to keep that up for forty minutes but I think it was good overall."
Tech Cruises in Exhibition (via techathletics)
BACKCOURT |
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B
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The key here is that there is depth, so Texas Tech isn't dependent on just one guy actually making a difference. Last night, Trency Jackson, Dusty Hannahs and Daylen Robinson all scored in double figures, but I'm guessing that this will change from night to night. One of the things that plagued the team last year was turnovers, not always by the guards, but I think this team's best point guards are Gray, who had 3 assist, and Robinson, who had 5 assists. They both had 2 turnovers, but I'm not going to overreact just yet. One of the really nice things was that this team shot 17 three pointers last night and made 8 and that is a huge improvement from last year. In fact, last year this team really couldn't even get off a three point shot. Ty Nurse and Robinson were both 2 for 2 and Hannahs was 2 for 5. |
FRONTCOURT |
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C
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The worst thing about the frontcourt was the 17 offensive rebounds given up to UTPB. UTPB had 37 boards overall and Texas Tech had 39. That's not an acceptable margin, but again, this is something that I don't want to over-react with right now. This team has had a tough time rebounding for a long time and this is a shallow frontcourt group. I will say that C Dejan Kravic had 16 points on 8 of 15 from the floor with 6 boards, 1 block and 3 steals. Not a bad debut. F Jordan Tolbert didn't attempt a shot, but he had 4 rebounds. F Jaye Crockett had 8 points and 4 boards and I wouldn't have a problem with him starting. Also in his debut, C Kader Tapsoba had 4 points, 4 boards and a block. |
COACHING |
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B |
Texas Tech shot 49.3% from the floor, 47.1% from beyond the arc. UTPB only shot 39.0% from the floor and the Red Raiders defended the three point shot well, allowing only 22.2% from the floor. Not only that, the new press created 18 steals and 26 turnovers for UTPB. In the video, Walker looked nervous, almost unsure what he should do with his hands and afraid to smile. I'm sure he is happy to have this one over. |