They started the season as one of the sport's most intriguing stories. And it had nothing to do with actual basketball.
Had there ever been as much interest in a team that went 9-19 a year ago as there was in the Texas Tech Red Raiders?
|  | | Bob Knight is happy with the way things are going at Texas Tech. |
Midnight Madness drew media from across the country. The opener of the Red Raider Classic was a national event. Were Andy Ellis and the rest of the Texas Tech players this big of a story?
Uh, no.
The story was first-year Texas Tech coach Bob Knight. A year removed from being fired at Indiana, needing fewer than 120 victories to pass Dean Smith's record for all-time wins and with a background that's certainly been filled with news, Texas Tech was news because of the guy on the bench. Before the season, there were few who really thought the guys on the floor would make news.
Now -- nearly a month into conference play -- Texas Tech is certainly news. The news is this: The Red Raiders can flat-out play.
The Red Raiders are no longer this circus show in West Texas; they're 14-3, 3-2 in the Big 12 and a legitimate NCAA Tournament team. Instead of being one of the Big 12 teams that the elite schools don't worry about, Texas Tech has become quite dangerous.
Just ask Oklahoma State. Last Saturday, the Cowboys -- 13-0 in the non-conference season -- went into the United Spirit Arena and left with a 94-70 whipping. It was a performance from the Red Raiders that prompted OSU coach Eddie Sutton to proclaim it was the best he'd ever seen a Knight team run the motion offense.
This Saturday, Texas Tech gets an opportunity for a rematch with an Oklahoma team that romped the Red Raiders two weeks ago in Norman, 98-72. With a week to prepare for the game in Lubbock, Knight will almost surely make this game much more competitive.
After all, Texas Tech played much better a week ago in an overtime loss to Texas and was very efficient against Oklahoma State.
"I think we ran things well and got a lot of good shots," Knight said of the victory over the Cowboys. "As I sat there and watched the kind of execution we had, I was really pleased."
Texas Tech already had non-conference victories over Texas Christian, Southern Methodist, Minnesota and Wyoming. The Red Raiders opened Big 12 play with wins over Kansas State and at Texas A&M. But the victory over the Cowboys was something completely different -- it was a win over a top-level conference team. It was also a victory that made the Red Raiders a candidate for the title of best unranked team in the country.
While there was little question that Knight was a good coach or that his system worked -- his win-loss record and NCAA titles confirm that -- few would've predicted that a Red Raiders team featuring a mix of five returners and seven new players would've picked up the motion offense this quickly.
In late December, Knight said one of the things he was happiest about was the way the players had tried to get to know each other and learn their strengths and weaknesses. That's something that's started to pay off.
"(Former Tech coach) James Dickey had some good players," said Baylor coach Dave Bliss, a former Knight assistant. "But they've gotten a fresh start."
Two players who have benefited most from the coaching change are Ellis, a 6-11 center, and 6-5 guard Andre Emmett.
While Knight would like to see Emmett concentrate more, the sophomore has quickly become very dangerous. He's quick enough to penetrate into the lane. Once there, he simply reads what the defense does and drives to the basket, pitches to the open man or pulls up for the jumper.
The result for Emmett is a 17.9 points per game average -- more than 20 in Big 12 play.
"Andre's a really good athlete," Ellis said. "The motion offense really helps him out. If we're setting screens and he's moving, he's going to get opportunities to score."
Ellis, who has been bothered by injuries the last two seasons, has been called the perfect center for the offense by a number of Big 12 coaches.
"I'm not sure that I'm perfect for anything," said Ellis, who is averaging 18.1 points and 7.6 rebounds. "But I fit it well. I'm able to play inside and out.
"It's not really an offense. It's a set of guidelines and we can do what we want as long as it's within those guidelines."
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He really hollers less at the officials and less at players than every coach we've played. We've played a lot of younger coaches who feel like they need to stand the entire game and pace up and down the sidelines. Bob sits there, but if he jumps up one time and hollers at a player, that's the picture they'll put in the paper. ” |
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— Texas Tech AD Gerald Myers,
on coach Bob Knight |
Ellis said the NCAA Tournament is the goal, but that's still more than a month away. Until then, the Red Raiders have to adjust to a different response from opponents. Texas Tech can no longer sneak up on anybody, and opponents certainly aren't going to overlook the Red Raiders. It's a change, but one Ellis likes.
"It's a lot more fun if you beat somebody and we know we got their best shots," Ellis said.
The idea of the NCAA Tournament certainly isn't unrealistic. The Red Raiders still have winnable home games with Iowa State, Baylor and Texas A&M. Road games at Nebraska, Colorado and Baylor are possible wins as well. Throw in the Big 12 Tournament and having 20 wins by Selection Sunday certainly isn't unrealistic.
Knight, however, isn't content. He'd like to see improved concentration, especially on the defensive end and more consistency on the offensive end.
Speaking of the 61-year-old Knight, he's been more relaxed with this group. He sits through nearly every game while teaching. He's been more cooperative and cordial with reporters than in his final years at Indiana and he seems happy. There has yet to be an event where his critics can say, "There he goes again."
Texas Tech athletic director Gerald Myers, a long-time friend of Knight's, has been nothing but thrilled with the hire and the behavior of the coach.
"He's a marked man," Myers said recently. "He really hollers less at the officials and less at players than every coach we've played. We've played a lot of younger coaches who feel like they need to stand the entire game and pace up and down the sidelines. Bob
sits there, but if he jumps up one time and hollers at a player, that's the picture they'll put in the paper.
"Nobody looks at what he does for 35, 38 minutes. He takes more abuse from fans than any coach I've ever seen."
But of late, that hasn't been the story. The story has been the basketball.
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Games of the Week
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Southern Illinois
at Northern Iowa
Saturday
The Salukis won the first matchup between these schools in Carbondale, Ill. While Northern Iowa has faded a bit after a hot start, a win in this game would put the Panthers right back in Missouri Valley race.
Missouri at Kansas
Monday
What makes this rivalry different than the North Carolina-Duke rivalry, according to Mizzou coach Quin Snyder, is that it involves two entire states. These schools simply don't like each other and the games are always spirited.
Illinois at Ohio State
Tuesday
This game has the potential to be huge in the Big Ten race. While the Buckeyes already have victories over Iowa and Indiana, the Illini were the preseason favorites and appear to be playing better of late.
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Iowa tries to recover
Simply put, Iowa's 75-71 victory over Michigan State on Tuesday was crucial. Things have gotten a bit ugly of late in Iowa City.
That's what happens when one of the Big Ten favorites loses four of five games including a 15-point loss at Northwestern. After the Hawkeyes bussed home, Iowa coach Steve Alford was far from done with his team.
Since class didn't start at Iowa until Tuesday, Alford didn't have to worry about the NCAA's 20-hour limit. The players rolled off the bus, into practice gear and into Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Never mind that it was 2:30 a.m. The Hawkeyes ran stairs and shot free throws. They practiced again Sunday afternoon and worked out twice on Monday as well.
Before the game with the Spartans, Alford said his team had gotten spoiled.
"We had one guy Saturday who was mad because he didn't like the pregame meal," Alford said. "It was a $15-to-$18 meal that a lot of people would die for, but we've got people complaining, people who are too picky.
"You have to hit rock bottom to build and hopefully we've hit rock bottom."
Alford, who took away access to the players' lounge and stripped down the amenities of the Iowa locker room, wasn't done ripping his team.
"We're not a very good basketball team right now," Alford said Monday. "We can still turn this and get it going in the right direction, but we have to do it in a hurry.
"The coaching staff is frustrated. One thing you would like to see in (the Northwestern) game is a bunch of warriors. We didn't see that."
Because of that, Alford said only Ryan Hogan played hard enough to be guaranteed to start against Michigan State and the coach certainly made changes. Guards Luke Recker and Pierre Pierce were both benched by Alford.
But both players made key plays in the final minutes to give Iowa a crucial victory. The Hawkeyes appeared to play with more fire and more emotion, doing much more than simply going through the motions.
Yet as Iowa travels to Purdue this weekend, is it too late? At 14-7 overall and 3-4 in the Big Ten, winning the regular season might be difficult without running the table, but the Hawkeyes certainly still have a chance to finish near the top of the league.
Around the Midwest
Tennessee Tech gained control of the regular season race in the Ohio Valley on Monday night with an 83-75 victory over Tennessee-Martin. Coached by former North Carolina guard Jeff Lebo, Tennessee Tech is 11-4 overall, 5-0 in the OVC and has won seven in a row. The record would be a bit more gaudy if not for a three-game losing streak last month at Louisville, New Mexico and North Texas.
The Golden Eagles also have a good 20-point victory at Air Force and an 11-point victory over Horizon-leading Loyola of Chicago.
Five players average double figures for Tennessee Tech, led by Damien Kinloch, who averages 17.1 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. The 6-8 Kinloch, who was a part-time starter at South Carolina two years ago, is averaging 20.6 points per game in OVC play.
Texas A&M coach Melvin Watkins realizes he doesn't have a lot of choice in who starts for the Aggies these days.
"I'm never sure who's going to start, who's going to play," Watkins said. "I just wait for the medical report."
Guard Bernard King (groin); wing Jesse King (knee); guard Andy Leatherman (knee) and center Andy Slocum (broken hand) have all been injured of late for Texas A&M.
Illinois will replace Iowa in the 2002 Top of the World Classic from Nov. 21-24 in Fairbanks, Alaska. The Hawkeyes had to drop out of the event because of the NCAA rule that limits schools to two trips to exempt tournaments in a four-year period. Other teams in the tournament include host Alaska-Fairbanks, Nebraska, New Mexico State, Bradley, Wisconsin-Green Bay, Portland and UC-Santa Barbara.
Jeff Shelman of the Minneapolis Star Tribune is a regular contributor to ESPN.com
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