Volleyball
Recap | Texas Tech Unable to Quiet Baylor in 3-0 Loss
➡https://t.co/gVS68kPjnR | #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/B570Rzg5XK
— TexasTech Volleyball (@TTUVball) September 29, 2016
Lady Raider Basketball
Basketball
RRS’s Drew Kohnle talked with Trae Young, who is visiting Lubbock this weekend, including Thursday night, and Young says he doesn’t mind being different:
“Something about me, though, I like the fact of being different. I don’t mind being different. As long as I am in the best situation for me and my family, that’s all that matters at the end of the day. I want a good situation where I can win early and make an impact in March. March is where a guy like Steph Curry made his name. It wasn’t the school being a big name, it was in March. Damian Lillard went to a small school (Weber State), and he showed up in the conference championship and made a name for himself.”
There’s a lot of quotes there, so make sure and check it out.
USA Today’s Jason Jordan has a bit about Trae Young and some of the things Trae thought about some of his home visits and Texas Tech came up:
And the award for Best Presentation goes to… “Coach Beard. When they came in they had simple things that they focused on and they just got straight to the point. They were there for about 45 minutes and it was really cool. I just liked their whole approach. It was really direct, but definitely effective.”
In addition to Young, Victor Bailey is also going to visit along with Trae Young this weekend and Chris Beard and Chris Ogden showed up at Bailey’s school before his visit:
Check out these outfits that Texas Tech coach Chris Beard and assistant Chris Ogden are… https://t.co/oqqzCmAENQ pic.twitter.com/4kDVgMqubX
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) September 29, 2016
LAJ’s Carlos Silva, Jr. has a bit more on Bailey, who is from the Austin area and is a top 100 player in the nation:
Bailey, who averaged 20.3 points, five rebounds and 2.3 assists last season, guided the Mavericks to a 25-8 record and District 13-6A title. Thanks to his on-the court efforts, Bailey was named the district MVP.
“Victor has started every game for us since he was a freshman,” Round Rock McNeil head coach Darrell Hagenann said. “He’s been the hardest worker on the team since then. He’s been a professional and it’s important to him to make sure we’ve won.”
Bailey has good pedigree as well.
His father, Victor Bailey, Sr., played wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL. His mother, Tonja Buford-Bailey, is not only the associate head coach for the University of Texas track and field team but also qualified for the U.S. Olympic team and earned a bronze medal back in 1996.
Football
SI’s Lindsay Schnell has a story on Luke Stice and how he’s dedicated this season to his friend Jacob who was killed in a car accident when Jacob was just 18. This is a good story and one that I think we’ve heard bits and pieces about, but Schnell does a nice job of putting it all together here. You should read this.
LAJ’s Nicholas Talbot has a Q&A with Broderick Washington:
How do you feel the defense is progressing?
“We are on a steady pace. We are really taking it one day at a time and trying to get better at the little things first.”
What is the biggest lesson you have learned this season?
“To always stay ready. You never know when your number is going to be called on. If someone goes down you have to be ready. They are going to throw you in the fire.”
CJ Online’s Matthew Galloway talked with Kansas head coach David Beaty, who credits Kliff Kingsbury for helping him get the job at Texas A&M:
“I’m pretty sure when Kevin got that job, I think Kliff went right in and said, ‘Hey, I want this guy,’” Beaty said, “because I got a call pretty quick after that.”
Kingsbury was only at College Station one season before taking the Red Raiders’ lead job, but at Big 12 football media days this summer, Beaty called the lone year the two were on the same staff one of the best educations he’s gotten as a coach. Beaty credits Kingsbury with teaching him the minutiae of the Air Raid offense, which the KU coach is implementing firsthand this season as the Jayhawks’ new play caller.
Beaty said Kingsbury’s willingness to teach him the ropes, even before the two were on the same staff, is a reflection of Kingsbury’s kindness.
“I mean, I take my hat off to him because you don’t tell anybody anything, and he helped me a lot with progression and that,” Beaty said. “But it wasn’t until I got with him at A&M that I really got to learn the nuances of what we’re doing.”
KC Star’s Jesse Newell writes about Kansas’ defensive line, which is really pretty good, and how they hope to pressure Texas Tech:
“There’s a lot of progress that’s been made since last year,” KU defensive lineman Daniel Wise said. “I give credit to coach (Clint) Bowen and the defensive coaches. After going 0-12, there’s a big learning experience. We learned from last year, fixed up and corrected it this year.”
Many of KU’s defensive improvements have been harder to appreciate because of the offense’s struggles. For example, the Jayhawks defense played better than the score indicated in a 43-7 road loss to Memphis on Sept. 17 after KU’s offense turned it over six times, which included a pick-six.
I don’t normally embed the LAJ posts, but I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to include this cartoon:
An oral history the Big 12’s early years: With Texas Tech’s Dykes, Montford, Myers, Bockrath https://t.co/nP7elCN8Am pic.twitter.com/rDWmYC5jyZ
— A-J Sports (@RaiderSports) September 29, 2016
Miscellaneous . . . this is definitely worth your time if you’re into history, but here is LAJ’s Don Williams sat down and talked with John Montford, Gerald Myers and Spike Dykes to get their recollections, their oral history, of the Big 12’s early years . . . via the Demoines Register Texas Tech is now the team with the lowest assistant coaching salaries . . . Land Grant Gauntlet’s Patrick Mayhorn has 10 burning questions for the Big 12 in week 5 . . . LAJ’s Nicholas Talbot has look at both teams on both sides of the ball . . .