Devan Cambridge helping Texas Tech basketball from a different vantage point after injury

Darrion Williams has a favorite go-to shirt after Texas Tech basketball games when he ventures into a press conference in United Supermarkets Arena.

Several times this season, Williams has taken a seat on the risers in front of the microphone sporting the Devan Cambridge collage shirt, one of the items available on DevanCambridge.com, the super senior's NIL shop. Williams had the garment on after his historic 12-for-12, 30-point showing against Kansas.

Having teammates continue to support him as he sits out the season — with the knee injury suffered in the Dec. 6 game against Omaha — means a lot to the Nashville native. That it's Williams makes it even more special.

"I love that dude," Cambridge said of Williams. "He's genuine. I hang out with him all the time. He actually cares. He's a winner. And he reminds me a lot about myself, other than not being athletic."

Williams is one of the players who has stepped up into a bigger role since Cambridge's injury three months ago. This time last year, Williams was readying his Nevada team to take on Cambridge and Warren Washington's Arizona State squad in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament.

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On a recent flight home from Orlando, Williams showed a photo to Cambridge of the two playing each other in Dayton last March. The three players who competed in that game joke about it consistently, a subtle reminder of where they were to where they are now.

As the Red Raiders head into what is sure to be an NCAA Tournament appearance in Grant McCasland's first year as head coach, Cambridge will have to make new memories with Williams and Washington in a different way.

Suffering the first real injury of his athletic career has taken a toll on Cambridge, mentally as much as physically. Watching from the sidelines — the man who goes by Bounceman not being cleared for liftoff — has provided Cambridge a new perspective on his teammates and the game of basketball itself.

He knows now more than ever that to not take anything for granted.

"It's pain that I've never felt," Cambridge said of his first rounds of rehab after having surgery a few weeks after the injury. "It brought real tears to my eyes. But now I'm past all that. Everything's just repetition, getting stronger, but I'm still here being happy Devan, just trying to be good for my teammates."

Cambridge admitted he's learned to talk things out more, whether it's with friends or family. It's become a form of therapy as he deals with the highs and lows. He's also expanding his mind through reading.

Jordyn Cambridge, Devan's younger sister, has been a key source for this. A graduate senior guard for the Vanderbilt women's basketball team, Jordyn has dealt with her own knee injuries throughout her career. She's been a source of inspiration and motivation for Cambridge as he looks to his future while staying present for this year's team.

Cambridge said he hasn't completed the NCAA's medical hardship waiver process yet, but he and the Texas Tech coaches aren't worried about that right now. He also won't be going through the team's senior day ceremonies during Saturday's regular-season finale against Baylor, because fully intends to be in a Red Raider uniform next year.

"For sure," Cambridge said. "No doubt in my mind."

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Should the hardship waiver be granted, Cambridge would be in a similar situation he was last spring: a graduate student who could go anywhere he wanted to finish his collegiate career. Genuine people like Williams, and his trust and relationship with team trainer Mike Neal, has played a big role in that decision.

"The people here are genuine," Cambridge said. "Coach Mac, anybody just walking around, the janitors, I just love it. Just Lubbock, Texas,. ... there's great people here. Good basketball, great fans."

Until he can return to the court, Cambridge is focused on being the motivator from the bench. That's proven tough at times, as he sees where exactly his presence on the floor could take the Red Raiders to another level. Still, Cambridge sees the team being able to beat anybody in the country as long as they play they way they're capable of, something he helps remind them from time to time.

"I feel like to win the games we need to win," Cambridge said, "we have to not just talk about it, but be about it. That's what I tell the guys all the time. We got to figure it out ourselves. There's nothing a coach can do. Toughness, rebounding and just simple things like that, we can fix ourselves."

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Cambridge helping Texas Tech basketball from a different vantage point