Leading Off
Great evening with Red Raider fans in the Permian Basin #WreckEm @TechAthletics @RedRaiderClub pic.twitter.com/3pQW11puPb
— Kirby Hocutt (@kirbyhocutt) August 21, 2018
Texas Tech Soccer
“Zu was called on to make a variety of saves over the weekend, and she was more than up for the task.”
⬆️ Keepers coach @gibbers7 on the poise Zucchetto showed in net on opening weekend.#WreckEm pic.twitter.com/hKt1Y4RSxY
— Texas Tech Soccer (@TexasTechSoccer) August 21, 2018
Texas Tech Volleyball
Parents for the ladies on the volleyball team get letters from their parents.
Texas Tech Basketball
ESPN’s Myron Medcalf checks in on the Big 12 with early power rankings (Texas Tech is at #7) and asks 5 questions, one of which deals with your Red Raiders:
5. Was last season a fluke for Texas Tech?
Not with Chris Beard on the sideline. First-round pick Zhaire Smith and top scorer Keenan Evans are gone, but Beard is quietly putting together a respectable crew that should stabilize the program a year after its Elite Eight run.
Khavon Moore (No. 43 in the 2018 class) is a promising four-star wing. Matt Mooney, a grad transfer from South Dakota, averaged 18.7 points for the Coyotes last season. Tariq Owens arrives from St. John’s, where he averaged 8.4 points and 2.8 blocks last season. Plus, Jarrett Culver (11.2 PPG, 38 percent from the 3-point line) is back.
Beard has never finished outside the top 60 of KenPom.com’s defensive efficiency rankings, either. Texas Tech might be a sleeper in the Big 12 race.
Texas Tech Football
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I’m putting this here and in the No Huddle (to be published by the time you read this), A-J Media’s Don Williams updates the Da’Leon Ward arrest, which stemed from a Texas Tech Police Department investigation after three cell phones were stolen in a 20 minute time frame on November 14th. Ward was indicted in June, but the indictment was sealed. I’m not a criminal attorney, so I have no idea why the indictment was sealed and why this investigation took so long to culminate in Ward’s arrest today.
Rivals’ Nick Krueger grades the Texas Tech recruiting class thus far:
Maybe it’s a bit surprising how strong of a job the Red Raiders have done recruiting the state of Texas this year, but it’s refreshing to see Tech mixing things up and competitively recruiting against the other programs in the state. Last year appeared to be a bit of an outlier as a ‘down’ class for Tech, which wrapped up at 73rd overall, but with a long way still to go in 2019, and sitting 40th overall right now, the Red Raiders seem likely to finish above their average over the last five classes – and essentially doing so solely with in-state talent.
There’s more there, so make sure and check it out.
Seattle Times’ Mike Vorel check in on former Red Raider footballer Branden Jackson, who is making waves with the Seahawks:
“Branden’s been really consistent,” Carroll said last week. “He’s been tough. He’s been versatile, and he can play some different spots. He’s got a really good motor, plays really hard. He’s a lot stronger than he was a year ago, more fit and all.
“He’s right in the rotation. He’s playing for us. I like the fact that we have flexibility with him too.”
USA Today’s Dan Wolken tells the story of Santino Marchiol, a linebacker who was playing for Texas A&M and Marchiol has alleged that an assistant coach giving him cash to host a recruit, June practice sessions that were not permissible as part of the NCAA rulebook, and mishandling an ankle injury. This is a lengthy read and if you ever thought that the world was turning in favor of the players, this would be it. Marchiol is attempting to be eligible immediately in playing for Kevin Sumlin, so there’s motivation there for him to come out, but he’s obviously putting a target on himself. As Marchiol’s attorney said, what choice do players have when they want to transfer and want to be eligible immediately:
Though Marchiol said he understands that speaking out about his last few months at Texas A&M will make him a target for criticism from those who believe he simply couldn’t cut it under Fisher, his attorney was adamant that laying all his cards on the table was the best path to overcoming the obstacles built into the system.
“When the stakes are this high, nobody should expect the student-athlete’s advocate to be pulling punches,” Mars said. “After all, what choice do you have when the transfer rules invite the disclosure of misconduct at the student-athlete’s former school as grounds for a waiver?”
Miscellaneous . . . Hook’Em’s Mike Craven (Hook’Em is the Statesman’s vertical of UT coverage) takes a look at the recruiting classes across the Big 12 if that suits you . . . Heartland College Sports’ Pete Mundo has their Big 12 linebacker rankings and has Texas Tech at #3, behind Oklahoma and Iowa State and I personally think that Texas Tech should be first, maybe second to the Sooners, but not behind Iowa State . . . Shreveport Times’ Scott Ferrell writes that former Texas Tech receiver Quan Shorts has moved on to Northwestern State . . .