Texas Tech basketball mailbag: Is Grant McCasland coach of the year?
The Texas Tech basketball team gets a bit of a break, so it's time to open the Red Raider talk up to the masses.
The Red Raiders are 15-3 overall, 4-1 in Big 12 play, tied for first in the conference standings and have moved up to No. 20 in the AP Top 25 after splitting last week's games against ranked foes. They'll have another one on Saturday when they head to Norman to take on No. 11 Oklahoma at 1 p.m.
Before that, there's some interesting topics to discuss. Some of these are direct questions while others address what I've seen from the social media sphere.
More: Pop Isaacs, Texas Tech basketball finding catharsis in the chaos
Given Texas Tech's start, should Grant McCasland be in coach of the year conversations?
Watching, listening and digesting as much college basketball content as I do, I had this thought the other day while certain national media folks continue to push the agenda for Rick Pitino at St. John's. Their argument is Pitino has done a great job rejuvenating the program in a short time (which he has) while saying St. John's is still a really good team.
I get that Pitino is a media darling, but the same arguments should apply to McCasland, and there's actual results to show for it. Through 18 games last year, Texas Tech was 10-8 overall and 0-6 in Big 12 play. This year's team is 15-3, 4-1 and tied for first in the Big 12 after tying for ninth a season ago.
At this point last season, St. John's was 13-6 and 3-5 in Big East play. Pitino's team this year is 12-7 and 4-4 and currently seventh in the Big East after finishing eighth last year.
If we were handing out trophies right now, McCasland should be in this conversation, far more than someone like Pitino. But we've also got six weeks left in the regular season. Should Texas Tech continue to win at this frequency, his name will be mentioned more, especially for Big 12 coach of the year.
(McCasland) plays about eight guys with six getting the majority of the minutes. Curious if that is his desired rotation pattern or out of necessity this year?
It's a mixture of both. McCasland said before the season he'd like to settle into a nine- or 10-man rotation if possible. I expected him to use more guys in non-conference play, but the team was still figuring out its consistency and McCasland opted to go with his main guys so they could develop some chemistry.
And, as the question asker pointed out, it worked. Those eight guys have the best synchronicity with each other. Robert Jennings has provided the necessary boost to spell Warren Washington off the bench. Lamar Washington would probably get more playing time if he was an outside shooting threat, but he's given Tech some good moments in limited action (like the hesitation dribble-drive for the wacky finish against BYU on Saturday).
The rotation would be at nine players with a healthy Devan Cambridge, but since he's out for the year with a knee injury, it's trimmed a bit.
What should I make of getting blown out by Houston then the comeback against BYU in a short turnaround?
Before the season I knew Texas Tech would match up far better against certain Big 12 teams than others. Houston was in the awful matchup category because of the Cougars' physicality, depth and length. The Red Raiders match up far better against teams such as Kansas than they do Baylor — I also didn't love the matchup against Texas and we saw how that went, so what do I know?
In a nutshell, this was the perfect example of Tech's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde tendencies. I told some BYU radio guys before Saturday's game that the Red Raiders have the ceiling of being second or third in the Big 12 (Houston's the best team by a lot) and the floor of finishing ninth or 10th as many projected before the year. That opinion only strengthened after Saturday.
When they're clicking, Tech is a legitimate threat to a lot of teams, like they showed in the second half against BYU. When things aren't going well, it can get ugly, like they did against Houston. You're gonna have to take the good and the bad and there you have the facts of Texas Tech.
I should also mention Houston just beat BYU in Provo, so take that for what you will.
What does the next recruiting class look like?
There really isn't one, and I think that's by design. Over the next two or three years, I'd expect McCasland to focus on rounding out his team through the transfer portal. He took that approach this year — because new coaches want to win now and build momentum, and because by April the top recruits are mostly accounted for — and will probably do so this summer too.
Many of the high school prospects Tech has shown interest in the last few months are 2025 or 2026 recruits, current juniors and sophomores. By the time those classes are ready to sign, players and their camps will understand the Red Raiders under McCasland more than they did this past summer.
We also have to consider the only players who are guaranteed not be back next year are Warren Washington and Joe Toussaint. Assuming nobody else transfers — very unlikely, but possible — the Red Raiders could still have Pop Isaacs, Chance McMillian, Darrion Williams, Kerwin Walton, Lamar Washington, KyeRon Lindsay, and Eemeli Yalaho on the roster. Not to mention there's a possibility Cambridge could be back, if he applies for and is granted a medical hardship waiver and decides to stick around Lubbock. D'Maurian Williams also has a year of eligibility left.
If that is the roster in 2024-25, adding a couple veteran pieces would be the best move to maximize the potential anyway.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech basketball mailbag: Is Grant McCasland coach of the year?
