The Morning Stake | 2018.10.15

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Hey now! Marlene Stollings received the first commitment of the 2019 class in Alexis Tucker, who is rated by ESPN as a 4-star wing (5’11”) (rated 95) from Hawthorne, California and this is some of the evaluation of Tucker:

Boo Williams Invitational-April 2018: Athletic perimeter threat with back court versatility; manufactures, delivers to the arc; acrobatic in transition, finishes plays vs. contact; mid-range game delivery with college-ready frame. (Olson)

Nike Nationals-July 2017: Athletic, physical perimeter performer handles, attacks rim in transition; drives and draws contact, earns results at the stripe; quick leaper, active on glass; versatile defender. (Olson)

USA Trials-May 2017: Explosively athletic perimeter prospect elevates in key, delivers in key with soft touch on jumper; quick-leaper, attacks glass, finishes plays in traffic; a stock-riser in the class of 2019. (Olson)

Texas Tech Basketball

Texas Tech Football

I was going to non-transcribe this, but RedRaiderSports’ Jack Denismore did that and I was still somewhat taking it easy yesterday. You can of course also watch the video and made available yesterday was head coach Kliff Kingsbury, running back Tre King and safety DeVaughnte Dorsey. There are a few thins that I wanted to point out, namely that Kingsbury thought that McLane Carter would be able to go at quarterback and after a few plays it was obvious that he couldn’t play. Kingbsbury said that he and Carter need to have better communication. Also mentioned was T.J. Vasher who is dealing with a lower back or hip issue and that the tests have come back negative that it may just be a pain tolerance sort of thing. Kingsbury specifically talks about how teams will start doubling Antoine Wesley without Vahser on the other side and that’s true. Texas Tech will need someone to step up there sooner than later. Paul Stawarz is going through the concussion protocol.

A-J Media’s Carlos Silva, Jr. has a notebook from yesterday’s media availability for you to check out as well.

A-J Media’s Don Williams op-eds about how in both Kliff Kingsbury’s and Mark Stoops 6th years as head coaches, Kingsbury obviously at Texas Tech and Stoops at Kentucky, that they have justified their respective AD’s patience:

But by winning two conference games on the road against teams who have been ranked this season, the Red Raiders have given Hocutt some of that progress he’s talked about needing to see.

ADs regularly toss coaches overboard if the results aren’t there through year five, when virtually all their players are the ones they recruited and signed. The signs Stoops’ and Kingsbury’s teams have shown in year six might be making the case to give it a little longer.

USA Today’s Dan Wolken has 11 observations from week 7 including this bit about Texas Tech from Thursday night’s win over TCU:

Texas Tech: This one goes back go Thursday night, but we can go ahead and take Kliff Kingsbury off the hot seat after winning at TCU, 17-14. The Red Raiders (4-2) looked like they had a ton of problems after a 20-point loss to Ole Miss in Week 1, but Kingsbury has been able to put together some pretty good wins since then against Houston, at Oklahoma State and now TCU. Even more impressive is that Texas Tech is doing it while freshman quarterback Alan Bowman remains sidelined due to a collapsed lung. Backup Jett Duffey is limited, but he’s made timely plays and David Gibbs’ defense has been solid enough to get the Red Raiders through this stretch.

Rivals’ Woody Wommack predicts that 2019 Coppell cornerback Jonathan McGill will eventually end up committing to Texas Tech:

The three-star prospect spent the summer checking out several campuses, including Cal, Oklahoma State, SMU and a few more. But the one school that got an official over the summer was Texas Tech, and the Red Raiders set the bar high for McGill. Since then, the conventional wisdom has been it will be when, not if, he joins the fold. The team’s hot start to the year has only helped, so the safe pick is that McGill ends up in Lubbock.

Wommack also predicts that Permian’s athlete Peyton Powell will eventually choose Ohio State and Taurean Carter will choose Arkansas.

Via Toledo Blade’s David Briggs, Bowling Green has fired former Texas Tech assistant and current Falcons head coach Mike Jinks and how about this, Jinks was hired at BGSU because he AD googled the top offense and hired the best assistant he could afford:

With Bowling Green fresh off a Mid-American Conference title powered by one of the country’s highest-flying offenses, then-AD Chris Kingston wanted to keep a good thing going. So he Googled which team had the best offense that year, noted it was Texas Tech, and essentially targeted the top Red Raiders assistant he could afford.

Conservatively speaking, it was the dumbest coaching search in college football history.

Never mind that Jinks — then the 43-year-old running backs aide at Tech — was a career Texas high school coach with three years of college experience, none as a coordinator. Or that Texas Tech didn’t even run the same scheme as Bowling Green — no small thing if continuity was the main selling point. Or that Jinks had never so much as set foot in Ohio. Or that one BG insider told me Jinks had given so little thought to becoming a head coach that he did not have the standard, ready-to-go list of assistants he planned to hire.

Some athletic directors are terrible at their jobs, just like everyone else.

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