Basketball Departures Are Positive Signs Despite Leaving Void

After a breakthrough season that saw the Texas Tech basketball team reach the Elite 8 for the first time in program history, the Red Raiders have been hit with some significant and unexpected departures. But while those losses leave a significant void in the program, they are actually an indication of the health of the program.

Though stability is essential in the world of college sports, change is inevitable. The goal of most successful programs is to have consistency and stability at the head coach position while seeing players and assistant coaches move on to greater opportunities.

Such has been the case with the Texas Tech basketball program in the two months since the end of the 2017-18 season. Tech has been hit with significant departures from both the roster and the coaching staff leaving a sizable void in both areas of the program.

The first loss came when forward Zhaire Smith decided to leave for the NBA Draft following his freshman season. When Smith signed with Texas Tech last year, no one imagined that the 3-star signee, ranked as the No. 194 prospect in the nation, would be the program’s first one-and-done player.

As the season progressed and Zhaire Smith proved to be one of the most exciting players in college basketball, fans grew excited about the prospect of seeing he and fellow freshman forward Jarrett Culver lead the program for the foreseeable future.

However, Smith continued to amaze and the NBA took notice. Now he is gone taking his 11.7 points per game (second on the team) with him and leaving an undeniable void on both ends of the court. Therefore, the Red Raider coaching staff has spent all of its efforts on trying to bring in new pieces that will help make up for the loss of one of the game’s best two-way players.

Tech has looked to the graduate transfer ranks to do so. Center Tariq Owens was added from Syracuse to be a defensive presence capable of blocking shots and rebounding, something that Zhaire Smith did as well as any player on the roster despite being only 6-foot-5. Also, Tech is hoping to land South Dakota grad transfer Matt Mooney whose 18.7 points per game last season would indicate that he could help supplement an offense losing six of its top seven scorers.

Wile Zhaire Smith’s departure is certainly the most prominent, the loss of two assistant coaches is also expected to have an impact on the Red Raiders. In April, Chris Ogden was hired as the head coach at UT Arlington and this weekend, Al Pinkins joined the Florida Gators’ coaching staff.

More from Wreck'Em Red

In seeing Ogden and Pinkins head to greener pastures (Pinkins will remain an assistant coach but will receive a significant pay raise while moving closer to family in Florida and the southeast), Chris Beard has lost his two most effective recruiters.

Ogden was instrumental in landing a number of top high school players, especially Zhaire Smith and Pinkins was the catalyst behind bringing Owens to campus relying on the relationship the two built when they crossed paths at Tennessee.

So while there is an undeniable void in the program because of these departures, these moves are actually a positive sign for the program. The Red Raiders have spent the past decade as an afterthought in the college basketball world. Losing seasons piled up as one head coaching mistake followed another until the only time anyone mentioned the Texas Tech basketball program was to use it as a punchline.

But now, everyone knows what Beard is doing in Lubbock and they are eager to get in on the action. Texas Tech basketball is a hot commodity.

With Smith’s jump to the NBA, Beard can now tell every high school recruit that he knows how to get players to the next level. What’s more, he can sell the fact that he took a relatively anonymous high school prospect to the NBA lottery discussion in only a season.

Likewise, Texas Tech is being legitimized by the poaching of its assistant coaches. Similar to the situation facing Mike Leach’s football staff in the 2000’s, other programs are seeing Texas Tech basketball as an up-and-coming program doing something exciting and short of hiring Beard away, the best way to get one’s hands on part of the magic is to bring in his top confidants.

Change in inevitable, especially in sports. The key is to understand what is driving the change.

If a program is failing and languishing at the bottom of the standings, change will be necessary as an attempt to turn the momentum. However, if a team is reaching new heights, change will also be a natural consequence as others try to replicate that success by luring away key pieces of the puzzle.

Next: Texas Tech Misses Out On 3-Star PG

Fortunately for Texas Tech, the latter is the reality for the program. So long as Chris Beard continues to have the Red Raiders in the national spotlight, these types of changes are likely to be commonplace and that is exactly what fans should hope to see.

Home/Texas Tech Basketball

Half-Full/Half-Empty: Basketball Departures Are Positive Signs Despite Leaving Void

By Matthew Conner | May 13, 2018

More from Wreck'Em Red