What Might The Loss Of Chris Ogden Mean For Texas Tech Basketball?

Texas Tech basketball assistant coach Chris Ogden has been named as the head coach at the University of Texas-Arlington. So what will be the impact on Chris Beard’s program?

One of the most under appreciated elements of Texas Tech’s 2018 Elite 8 run was the quality of the coaching staff assembled by Chris Beard. But the staff has suffered a defection as Beard will be losing his right-hand man Chris Ogden.

LubbockOnline.com is reporting that Ogden has landed the head coaching job at UT-Arlington.

Ogden has ties with UTA athletic director Jim Baker who was at Texas when Ogden was a key assistant on the staff of Rick Barnes so there is a natural connection between the two. So the question facing the Red Raiders is; how does the loss of Ogden impact the program moving forward?

Where Ogden has had the biggest impact is on the recruiting trail. As a tireless worker, the likable Ogden has been instrumental in helping the Red Raiders land perhaps the best signing class in program history in the 2018 recruiting class. Should Ogden depart, the impact on the recruiting trail will be the most difficult to fill.

"According to Texas Tech Athletics website, “Ogden was instrumental in signing six McDonald’s All-Americans over a seven-year span at Texas (Avery Bradley in 2009, Cory Joseph in 2010, Tristan Thompson in 2010, Myck Kabongo in 2011, Cameron Ridley in 2012 and Myles Turner in 2014)."

Fortunately, recruiting to a program coming off an Elite 8 appearance is far easier than recruiting to a program that had been to the NCAA Tournament just once in the past decade as was the case for Texas Tech last offseason.

As far as in-game strategy and coaching X’s and O’s, Tech is in a great spot. Beard, an ardent admirer of Alabama head football coach Nick Saban, has followed the Saban model and assembled a support staff that is massive and full of quality coaches.

While only three men on the staff last season, Ogden, Al Pinkins and Mark Adams were designated as assistant coaches, Texas Tech had nine other staff members dedicated to helping coach the team.

More from Wreck'Em Red

With a key vacancy on the coaching staff, the most likely candidate to fill the position might be former Oklahoma State head coach Sean Sutton. As the “advisor to Chris Beard” last season, Sutton became an integral part of the Texas Tech staff. He was a tremendous asset during games from a strategic stand point. In fact, he was the one who drew up the Keenan Evans to Zhaire Smith alley-oop play in the closing seconds of Texas Tech’s second round NCAA Tournament win over Florida.

"While he is not considered an ace recruiter like Ogden, Sutton “has coached or played with 24 NBA players over his career” according to the Texas Tech Athletics website."

One factor to keep in mind is that Beard was able to negotiate a pay raise for his assistants as part of the contract extension he received in March. Therefore, Texas Tech is in a better position to lure a top-notch coach away from another program if that is the direction Beard should chose to go.

Ultimately, Ogden’s departure is a bittersweet development for Texas Tech basketball. Of all the members of his staff, Beard appeared to be closest with Ogden (the two have often spoke of floating the Frio River together after the season) and Ogden is a terrific fit at Texas Tech.

Next: Top 5 Basketball Games of 2017-18

But, it is always great to see a member of your coaching staff be given a head coaching job. That is a sign of a program that is healthy and successful. Ogden is deserving of an opportunity and his success reflects positively on Texas Tech basketball and Chris Beard.

Home/Texas Tech Basketball