Texas Tech Baseball

Well, last night’s game was postponed and will be played today at 11:00 a.m., which is great because I’ll be completely tied up and unable to pay attention to or watch the game. Today’s game will be on ESPN2. Please use yesterday’s Open Thread.

Texas Tech Basketball

Z-SMITH WELCOME #pumafam @zhaire_smith pic.twitter.com/JJc7t490GR

— PUMA Basketball (@PUMAHoops) June 20, 2018

SB Nation’s Ricky O’Donnell delves into how Zhaire Smith became a first round draft pick, talking to his teammates, his high school coach and his dad about how this all happened so quickly for Zhaire. This is the last quote from his high school head coach:

“There is nobody that had been around Zhaire for the last four years that could say, ‘Man, I knew he was gonna go to the NBA,’” Pope said. “Not me, not his dad, not anybody could honestly and truly say that. I felt like he had some ability. I felt like he was a hard worker. I felt like he had the mindset that could get there one day. But nobody would ever think that it would happen as it did.”

Just think, it was all of those people (plus Zhaire), but it was also Chris Beard that literally highlighted what Zhaire could do on the court.

And if you don’t follow strength coach John Reilly on Twitter, you’re missing out because this is his time to shine, much like Rusty Whitt (see below).

Being the best isn’t for everybody. #WreckEm #4To1 pic.twitter.com/46ayqHX0UU

— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) June 20, 2018

Texas Tech Football

The Ringer’s Danny Kelly is all in for the Patrick Mahomes hype train:

But the Mahomes hype seems to stem from a few factors. First, we saw last year what he was able to do against most of Denver’s defensive starters. And second, all the pieces are there for the second-year pro to hit the ground running as the Chiefs’ new starter. He’s set to take the helm of an offense that seems almost tailor-made for his skill set, one that mixes college-style RPO plays with read-option runs, lots of play-action deep shots, and plenty of older-school West Coast principles. Last year’s rushing champ, Kareem Hunt, should help provide a solid foundation on the ground. Tyreek Hill is one of the league’s premier field stretchers. Travis Kelce is as dangerous down the seam as any player in the league. Throwing Sammy Watkins, who the team signed in free agency, into the offense is just the cherry on top. Oh, and by the way, according to early reports out of Chiefs offseason practice, the connection between Mahomes and Watkins “is real.”

SB Nation’s Bill Connelly has his projected standings after finishing the Big 12 previews and he is predicting that Texas Tech will finish with 5.9 wins, which is good for 8th overall (it is also predicting Kansas State with only 5.4 wins for what it is worth). Teams 5 through 9 are all pretty much predicting around 6 wins for these teams, so it’s a complete toss-up.

Remember how last week when the Division I Council passed legislation that permitted students to transfer wherever they want and receive immediate financial aid at their new school? Well, the Power 5 conferences just passed a rule that states that once a player notifies of his intent to transfer, then schools can cancel the scholarship at the end of the academic term (FootballScoop).

Coach Rusty Whitt and Co. at work.

Big gains day 💪#WreckEm pic.twitter.com/25WWwdTUkV

— Texas Tech Football (@TexasTechFB) June 19, 2018

Week 2 of Summer Workouts ✅#WreckEm pic.twitter.com/74Ch85rIfe

— Texas Tech Football (@TexasTechFB) June 16, 2018