Across the USA with Coach Beard

With about six months until basketball season starts again, teams all across the country are waiting anxiously on high school graduations/college semesters ending for their recruits to finally move to campus. For Coach Beard and company it has been a busy post-season with multiple signees and transfers deciding on Texas Tech basketball. Now, when all is pretty much said and done, you would imagine that Beard would be kicking back and relaxing for a bit. Nope. This past week the passionate Whataburger fan has been tweeting pictures that emphasize his dedication to his players. Embodying the 4 to 1 spirit, Coach Beard has been traveling the country to spend quality time with his new signees; proving that he has a genuine interest in their well-being before they begin this wild new journey in their athletic career.

Khavon Moore is a Georgia native that signed with Texas Tech back in February. Moore is a consensus 4-star recruit, making him is the highest caliber player that Texas Tech has recruited in history. He was a 2000 point scorer at Westside High School, averaging a double-double in his Sophmore and Junior seasons. Moore ended his high school career with an average 19.8 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 rebounds. He is a 6-8 guard/forward that has the ability to play all 5 positions on the floor and will certainly have the potential to make an impact immediately. He chose Texas Tech over Oklahoma, Mercer, Kentucky, and Texas A&M (to name a few). Needless to say, Moore was happy that Coach Beard made the trip to Georgia.

Tariq Owens is a transfer from St. John’s in New York who signed with Texas Tech back in April. Owens is very much a Zach Smith of this 2018-2019 season. Standing at 6’11” and 205 pounds, he has proven to be the man with interior defense and an offensive ability to stretch the floor. Even though Owens only averaged around 8 points at St. Johns, his height and 50% FG percentage show that he can be a safe choice in Beard’s motion offense. The big man chose Texas Tech over Maryland and returning to St. Johns but an important point to remember is that Owens was recruited with help from Al Pinkins. This is the same Coach Pinkins who just left for a position at Florida. Beard’s visit with Owens in New York is incredibly important as it emphasizes the program’s desire to have Owens be a part of their future.

Matt Mooney is a graduate transfer from South Dakota that committed his final season to Texas Tech earlier this month. Mooney rose quickly up the transfer boards due to his incredible offensive production over the past two season at SDAK. He earned the first team all conference player award while averaging almost 19 points per game this past season - something that Texas Tech could definitely use. With the departure of Keenan Evans and Zhaire Smith to the NBA - the Red Raiders have lost substantial (known) fire power from the roster. Mooney’s decision to come to Tech over Creighton and Northwestern has fans fired up for the possibility of the upcoming season. Coach Beard, making rounds, found his way up to Chicago to spend some time with the future Red Raider and Mooney was grateful.

Kyler Edwards, an Arlington native, signed with Texas Tech back in September of last year. Edwards was one of the top five players in Texas (according to 247 Sports) and a consistent three-star recruit across all the other sites. As a shooting guard, Edwards stands at a strong 6’5, 195-pounds with his proficiency on the court garnering scholarship offers from other programs like Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Butler, USC and more. One particular school that was recruiting Edwards was SMU. In fact, he had visited the school shortly before his ultimate decision and it appeared that he would stay near home and commit to a quality program like SMU (this was before Tech’s Elite Eight season, mind you). Yet fate fell on Coach Beard’s end and Edwards announced his intent to sign on with the Red Raiders. This speaks incredibly well about Beard and the Texas Tech basketball program, so naturally the coach wanted to check in. Edwards hasn’t lost an ounce of interest in Lubbock; most noticeably in his recent tweet.

This is going to be one heck of a 2018-2019 season, even if Gary Parrish with CBS doesn’t think so.