Beyond the arc: Double Dribble, Big 12 begins, De Sousa is in the building

Double Dribble

Whatever happened to Andre Emmett? Andre Emmett, a 6’5” forward from Dallas (Carter), played for the Red Raiders from 2000-04. Andre is the all-time scoring leader at Texas Tech with 2,256 points. He was named first team Big 12 All-Conference for three consecutive seasons from 2002-04.

He was also named to several All-American teams during his senior season in 2004 and is currently the last Red Raiders player to be named first team AP All-American. He was also a finalist for the Wooden Award, given to the nation’s most outstanding college basketball player, in 2004.

Emmett also holds the distinction of being the last Red Raider to be drafted in the NBA. He was taken with the 36th overall pick by the Seattle Supersonics in 2004 although he ended up playing with the Memphis Grizzlies for the 2004-05 season.

Emmett played professionally with several organizations overseas as well as some NBA D-League teams. His professional highlights include playing in the NBA D-League All-Star games in 2012 and 2015. He was also named the game MVP in 2015 after recording 28 points, 4 rebounds and 4 steals.

Andre currently plays for Jeonju KCC Egis in South Korea. He has a 23 point per game average over 27 games this season. He stays involved in the Dallas area by assisting with youth basketball camps.

Big 12 Weekly Honors

A duo of freshmen OU players swept weekly Big 12 honors for the second week in a row. Trae Young was named player of the week and Brady Manek was named newcomer of the week. Manek set a career high with 22 points against Northwestern State and shot a blistering 75 percent from the field during the week. Young averaged 28 points and tied an NCAA record with 22 assists against Northwestern State.

De Sousa Arrives

Silvio De Sousa finally made his debut on campus at Kansas on Wednesday. Sousa, a five star 6’9” power forward out of IMG Academy in Florida reclassified from the class of 2018 and finished his academic requirements at IMG Academy this past week.

Sousa is cleared to practice immediately but has one final hurdle to clear before he is eligible to compete. Kansas coach Bill Self told ESPN, "We are now working through the NCAA's amateurism process and hope to have him certified as soon as possible for game competition." The hope is that De Sousa can be cleared in time to play in the Big 12 opener Dec. 29.

Big 12 Conference play begins

Big 12 teams will tip-off the conference part of the season when Oklahoma State plays host to No. 7 West Virginia on Friday night at 6:00 p.m. That same evening, No. 22 Texas Tech will host No. 18 Baylor at 7:00 p.m., while Texas hosts No. 11 Kansas and Iowa State hosts Kansas State, both at 8:00 p.m. The opening weekend concludes on Saturday in Fort Worth with a 1:00 p.m. tipoff between No. 12 Oklahoma and No. 10 TCU.

The teams roar into Big 12 play with an overall record of 102-16 and all ten teams have a winning percentage of 75 percent or higher. There are currently eight teams that received votes in the AP poll including six that made the AP Top 25.

Lady Raiders

The Lady Raiders begin Big 12 play on Thursday as they host Oklahoma State in a 6:30 p.m. tipoff at United Supermarkets Arena. They are currently 6-5 on the year and have a three game winning streak after a 26 point victory over Incarnate Word last Thursday.

In other Lady Raider news, freshman Lyndsey Whilby was named Big 12 Freshman of the Week after posting a career high 21 points in her first collegiate start against Incarnate Word. It is the first weekly award for the freshman from Powder Springs, Ga., and the first for the program this season.

Balcomb resignation

Lady Raiders associate head coach Melanie Balcomb resigned for personal reasons this past Tuesday. Balcomb stated, “At this time, I need to focus on dealing with a family medical issue that won’t allow me to commit my full energies to coaching. I’d like to thank Texas Tech for the opportunity to be a Lady Raider and wish them success as they enter league play.”

She was named to the position last July after serving one year as director of offensive coaching analytics for national champion South Carolina. She has a record of 472-245 in 23 years of head coaching experience. She was head coach of Vanderbilt for 14 years and still holds the record for most coaching victories.

“We appreciate all that Melanie has done for our program,” Lady Raiders coach Candi Whitaker said, “and we wish her the best going forward.”