Things

Good morning! I figured that there wasn’t just one thing that I wanted to catch-up on, but multiple things and figured I’d dust off The Morning Stake for today and see where we go from there. I’ve always figured that it is not always the content, but a place to sit and talk, so that’s what I’m doing here.

Football

Spring practice starts today (the next one is on Thursday and then Saturday, but you can click here for a full schedule) and I’m sure we’ll get lots of updates and things of that nature once the first practice is over and I’ll do my best (betwixt basketball games) to update as needed.

A day in the life of Tony Bradford.

Rivals’ Nick Harris writes about Texas Tech quarterback commit Jake Strong, who was not a highly rated quarterback, but in the spring quarterback camps, he’s getting noticed and he absolutely loves what is happening in Lubbock and with Joey McGuire & Zach Kittley:

“I would say it’s because they’re putting their players first,” he said. “In today’s coaching world, you get a lot of ‘ifs’ I would call it, there’s a lot of things that are unknown. But with Coach McGuire and Coach Kittley at Texas Tech, there are no ‘ifs.’ It’s black-and-white, it’s honesty, it’s truthful. It’s a really good environment for a player to be in.”

With multiple spots still open in the class, Strong and the rest of the Texas Tech class are shooting for big-name targets, especially on the offensive side of the ball, to truly make the 2023 class a resounding success. In Strong’s eyes, the foundation has already been laid, and it’s something that recruits will wish that they were a part of in the future.

“I encourage everyone else to check out what we have building, because there’s not a lot of words I can think of other than ‘special,'” he said. “The brotherhood, the family, the blue-collar work ethic that we’re building; those are the kinds of guys and the kind of culture that encompasses everything that we’re building up there.”

Basketball

ESPN’s Myron Medcalf and NCAA’s Andy Katz re-rank the final 16 teams. Katz had Texas Tech at #6 and Medcalf has Texas Tech at #7, one spot behind Duke:

This is Mark Adams’ team now. Sure, it was Adams’ team as soon as he agreed to take over for Chris Beard after he left for Texas last year. But the Beard storyline had lingered, and the Red Raiders and the Longhorns, 382 miles apart, were compared to one another all season.

This Sweet 16 run belongs to Adams, whose team outscored Notre Dame 10-1 in the final 2:09 on Sunday. It was in that stretch that Texas Tech showed the same resilience that has carried it throughout this season. In those challenging moments, the Red Raiders will always be dangerous.

Texas Tech head coach Mark Adams was named a Naismith Men’s Coach of the Year finalist along with Providence’s Ed Cooley, Wisconsin’s Greg Gard, and Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd, all worthy candidates.

Dallas Morning News’ Chuck Carlton writes about Texas Tech’s match-up with Duke and Adams facing Mike Krzyzewski:

“He’s always been a mentor of mine, someone I looked up to,” Adams said. “Not only is he a great coach, but a great person. Just done so much for basketball. And he’s built a program which we all admire and respect.

“It’s just one team to the next, he’s got a dynasty he’s built. So our hat’s off to him.”

Baseball

Before hosting Texas starting on Friday, Texas Tech will host California Baptist tonight with first-pitch at 6:30 with RHP Chase Hampton (2-0, 4.50) getting the starting nod.