Well, what better way to fill the time on a bye week in November than to contemplate this year’s Red Raider basketball squad?  Ah yes, no more Alan Voskuil, Michael Prince, Damir Suljagic (was he here like six years, or what?), Esmir Rizvic, or Rodrick Craig.  God love ‘em.  They were all one-trick ponies, see, and some of them were no-trick ponies.  They had a lot of heart and I cheered for them, but in all honesty they should have been Mid-Majoring somewhere and not getting beat up and embarrassed in the Big XII.  Such is life.  We got new dudes here now, and some of them have more than one trick, specifically, that they can dunk a basketball in transition.  Whether they can play together and not get beat by 45 at Stanford remains to be seen, but I’m going to put my faith in Pat and see what happens 

Incoming Recruits

It’s not worth the mental anguish to page through Tech’s recruiting classes from 2003-2006 (Seriously, don’t do it.)  Suffice it to say, we sucked at recruiting (Jeremy Buttell, Dazz Thornton, Jay Mitchell), and then for various reasons we kept losing some of the best players we actually got on campus (Dior Lowhorn, Decensae White.)  We were thusly rewarded with the mediocrity that you’ve witnessed on the court the last few years.  Only Bob Knight could take a Jackson, a Zeno, and a bunch of other guys who couldn’t rebound and get to the NCAA tournament in 2007.  The old man was too tired to recruit, but he could still coach.

And so to Pat Knight, who’s brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm to recruiting.  He also wants to play an up-tempo, athlete-driven style.  This year’s class seems to be a step forward in building a roster he can work with.

The Swing Men – Reese and Jenkins are going to change the way we play defense.  You should see more switches, and if Pat learned anything from his father, we should be able to disrupt some good offensive sets.  Judging from interviews with Coach, I think everyone will have the green light to turn and run with a rebound, and they might even make you excited when we get a fast break.  Raise your hand if you used to see Tech on the fast break and just hope they didn’t turn it over or blow a layup.  I like Crockett’s video, but the competition is suspect.  With two JUCO players in front of him, plus Singletary and Roberts I can see him redshirting this year 

Guards – Tairu’s leadership qualities have been compared to those of Ronald Ross, and this team really needs a presence like that.  Roberson does some good things, but I’ve never considered him a floor leader.  I’m not sure if Davis contributes that much this year.  We’ll see.

Defense?  Maybe?

One thing that was embarrassing after the Tech-UT game in Austin was my boss (UT fan) making the simple remark, ‘Y’all foul a lot.’  Yes, we did.  I think as the year progressed, Pat realized that he just couldn’t get stops and so he encouraged his team to foul if they got beat, specifically under the basket.  In the UT game, fouls were 33-18.  We still don’t have a lot of shot-blocking on this team, but according to Knight, the whole off-season focus has been on improving defense.  I’m interested to see the results.  Being able to string together some stops would bump us into that middle part of the conference, the 9-7 guys, and that would a good step forward for the program.

The Returnees

Well, it’s not a Big XII challenger nucleus, but it’s a decent Big XII competitor.  No, we can’t hang with UT or KU, but depending on how this team gels in December, I think there’s enough talent on the roster to feel like you have a chance against the rest.  Play well at home, steal a game or two on the road, and you might reach 9-7 in conference.  But hey, Baylor had a lot of talent last year and they went 5-11.  Go figure.  Oh, wait. Scott Drew.

Roberson – He’s still the engine of the team, to my dismay.  He’s the best ball-handler we got and one of the better shooters.  On his good nights, he even makes some nice post-entry passes to Big Lew.  I hope he’s improved his on-ball defense and I hope (with Reese and Jenkins running the lanes) that he commits fewer turnovers in transition.  I hope, I hope.

Singletary – Dude’s got some passion, but he’s still limited on defense.  We’ll see what this off-season did for him.  He had some excellent moments last year, but superior athletes will still shut him down.  If he can recognize when he can be effective and not force it when he’s out-classed, we’ll be okay.

Roberts – Not sure about this kid.  Like the hops, but he’s such a liability on offense.  Maybe that changes with some of the new players, and all he’ll have to do is set screens and occasionally catch the ball and dunk it.  Definitely the best shot-blocker on the team, but last year he never seemed to find his groove.

Okorie – I expect good things here.  He just needs to play good defense and hit open shots.  I don’t like him penetrating because I don’t trust his ball-strength or his vision.  I’m thinking Reese/Jenkins can handle that duty against the zone.

Big Lew – Two things I like about Lewandowski are his surprising agility rolling to the basket and the fact that he almost never tries to do too much.  He knows his limitations, which is a rare quality.  Lew’s not going to carry this team, but he’s something solid you can count on.

Darko – To hear Pat tell it, this kid is going to be SENSATIONAL, BABY!  Um, take that to Missouri, Pat.  I’ll buy the part about him getting focused and committed to the program, but I just didn’t see an exceptional athlete on the floor last year.  But hey, if can go out and contribute, and not foul everything that moves while jacking up three ugly shots, I’ll be happy.

Ray and Dunn – They’re on the roster.

Predictions

With all the influx of JUCO players, I don’t really have a good gauge of this team’s potential.  It would be a thrill if we developed into a bulldog defensive team that gets turnovers for dunks, like Iowa State a few years ago.  That would be fun.  But until I actually see all these guys on the floor, it’s hard to say.

Right now I would put us around 9-5 in non-conference, then maybe 8-8 in conference.  That’s 17-13, plus I’ll say one win at the Big XII tournament, so 18-14 and an NIT bid.  A good showing in the NIT and you might finish 20-15.  You’re only losing Darko and Okorie, so next year could be really interesting.

All thoughts and predictions subject to change as we move forward.  I’m with you, Pat.  Make it happen.

Thoughts?