Leading Off

I haven’t watched one bit of football over the holiday and probably won’t get to do that today either, which is fine. I don’t know if you are are tuning in, but I will have CFOT’s for the rest of the year when games are being played.

Texas Tech Basketball

Lawrence Journal-World’s Matt Tait writes about the Big 12 race with the non-conference portion of the schedules all but nearly over:

Texas Tech, which lost so much from last season’s spectacular run, is showing that the Chris Beard experience is no joke. All-Big 12 stud Jarrett Culver is averaging 20 points, six rebounds and five assists per game and Beard is continuing to coach the kind of tenacious defense and opportunistic offense that make the Red Raiders a team that nobody wants to see, at home or away. Tech’s only loss of the season so far came last week to No. 1 Duke at Madison Square Garden.

ESPN has their power rankings and they rank the Red Raiders 8th overall:

Texas Tech did just about everything right against Duke: slow the game down, take away middle drives for Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett, draw charges and keep the game close until the final minutes. But the Red Raiders failed to do one thing: take care of the ball. They coughed it up 24 times. Overall, though, Chris Beard’s team should have plenty of optimism heading into Big 12 play. Texas Tech might be Kansas’ biggest threat this season.

Bleacher/Report has an updated mock draft and has Jarrett Culver going 8th overall to the New Orleans Pelicans:

Jarrett Culver moved the needle Thursday night when he scored 25 points against Duke in front of dozens of NBA evaluators. It validated the breakout season he was already having.

A more complete offensive player from a year ago, Culver showcased his entire repertoire at Madison Square Garden, including hard drives, counter footwork off the dribble, finishing adjustments at the rim, pull-up jumpers and spot-up three-point shooting. He compensates for his limited explosiveness by taking long strides, timing his moves and demonstrating improved perimeter shot-making.

Plainview Herald’s Alexis Cubit has a nice story on the three Culver brothers.

Texas Tech Football

Statesman’s Kirk Bohls had not weighed in on the hiring of Matt Wells:

I was less than overwhelmed immediately by the hire of Matt Wells at Texas Tech. But the Utah State coach, who left his alma mater after an 11-win season, could be a much better hire than was Kliff Kingsbury (who isn’t made for recruiting or the media and made questionable decisions) or Tommy Tuberville (who never wanted to be there). Wells brings energy, passion and a firm commitment. He may fit in very well and convinced quarterback Alan Bowman not to transfer. … If Wells scores big, Texas Tech, as a group, would have the best three coaches and best bread-and-butter programs overall in football, basketball (Chris Beard) and baseball (Tim Tadlock). Tried to get in to see Texas Tech take on Duke at the Madison Square Garden. Alas, the game was sold out, but maybe 1,000 of our closest new friends had to wait on security checkpoints to open even as the game began. Instead, son Zach and I watched the Zion Williamson Show from a nearby bar rather than go back out, find a scalper and go back through security, only to miss most of the first half. Fans, I salute you for your resolve.

I know that a lot of you get rankled by posting thoughts from someone who writes in Austin, but I like to remind you that the “Zach” mentioned is his son who was Raider Red back in 2013, which is why they were trying to catch the Duke vs. Texas Tech game while they were in New York. In any event, I think the “energy, passion, and a firm commitment,” is eerily similar to what Beard and Tadlock both bring.