Basketball

Pre game talk. Enjoy cause I can never do this during the season. FIBA rules will make it interesting. #BAM pic.twitter.com/BMJ5yalADD

— Coach Joe Esposito (@coach_esposito) August 16, 2015

Texas Tech Defeats McGill. Yesterday afternoon, Texas Tech defeated McGill University 54-46 (recap and box score). There were parts of the game, especially early in the second half (which is where I was able to start watching) where things got a bit sloppy, but Texas Tech as significantly more athletic than McGill. It was the first game for a lot of these players, so I didn’t think that Texas Tech would be a well-oiled machine coming out of the gates. A couple of notes:

• Jordan Jackson will take it to the rim and try to dunk on your pumpkin-head.
• Devon Thomas is fast and can score. He’s got to work a bit more on creating his own shot, but he’s going to be a terrific addition.
• C.J. Williamson also needs to figure out how to get his shot off a bit and I am sure he will. He’s also very athletic and has really nice handles.
• Really happy to see Aaron Ross back healthy. If he’s healthy and ready to go, he solves a lot of problems for the depth for the frontcourt, which is already thin.
• Same thing with Justin Gray, really great to see him out there hitting mid-range jump shots, something this team very much lacked last year when he was injured.

Football

It's team photo day for #TexasTech Football! Final adjustments are being made. #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/Kb1ckZKr4h

— Texas Tech Red Raiders (@TechAthletics) August 16, 2015

Brown Ready to Start. LAJ’s Don Williams writes about junior guard Baylen Brown, who wants to improve his run blocking and said that the offensive line as a group has worked to be the hardest-playing group in the country:

Brown said they geared up for it by having a solid summer, doing 2 p.m. workouts in the heat of the day.

“For us, it’s the hardest-playing offensive line in the country every day,” Brown said of the group’s mentality. “Every practice. Every game. We want to make it where we go out there and they (opponents) are like, ‘Dang, I don’t want to go again.’ Make them want to quit.”

Williams Out for Hogs. Via College Football Talk, Arkansas senior running back Jonathan Williams suffered an ankle injury yesterday, which will require surgery and will be out an extended period of time. I’m sure that Arkansas has a stable of running backs, including Alex Collins who is also terrific, but Williams is very talented and that’s one less running back Texas Tech will have to prepare for.

Miscellaneous. Land Grant Gauntlet plays out week 4 of the season and while you’re at if, if you have a hankering to write about Big 12 things, they’re looking for contributors . . . The Student Section picks the most overrated teams in the Big 12 . . . LAJ’s Don Williams is picking his all-time Texas Tech team and he’s down to the kicker and picked Ryan Bustin, then Alex Trlica and then Bill Adams . . . Wreck’Em 24/7’s Michael LaBarre has his weekly Red Raider with all of the recruiting information you need . . .