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Texas Tech basketball: Why Chris Beard was no-brainer Coach of the Year

By Matthew Conner

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 04: Head coach Chris Beard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders poses with Barry Bedlan, Deputy Director of AP Sports Products at The Associated Press, after Beard was named the AP Men's Basketball Coach of the Year ahead of the Men's Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 04, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Maxx Wolfson/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 04: Head coach Chris Beard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders poses with Barry Bedlan, Deputy Director of AP Sports Products at The Associated Press, after Beard was named the AP Men's Basketball Coach of the Year ahead of the Men's Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 04, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Maxx Wolfson/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
(Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

Thursday, what Texas Tech basketball fans have known all year was confirmed; Chris Beard was the no-brainer choice for national coach of the year.

Lubbock, Texas is now home to two regaining national coaches of the year.  Thursday, Texas Tech basketball head coach Chris Beard was named Associated Press men’s Coach of the Year joining Red Raider baseball coach Tim Tadlock as the reigning coaches of the year in their respective sports.

And while the announcement came as no surprise to Red Raider fans or most informed observers, it was still cause for celebration.  After all, there’s no way we can take for granted the job Beard has done in three seasons in Lubbock.

Of the 17 men to have held the title of head basketball coach at Texas Tech, Beard’s .714 winning percentage is by far the best.  Second on that list is Beard’s mentor, Bob Knight, who compiled a .627 winning percentage in eight seasons in Lubbock, with Chris Beard on the bench as an assistant.

What’s more, with 75 wins, Beard already ranks 7th in program history.  And with an average of 25 wins per year, Beard dwarfs the average season win totals of the six men ahead of him.  Again Knight is in second place with 17.2 wins per season.

Beard was the runaway winner for coach of the year receiving 20 of 64 votes.  Houston’s Kelvin Sampson was second with 13 votes and Wofford’s Mike Young finished third with six.

The number of votes cast for Beard is considerable given that the balloting was completed prior to the NCAA Tournament where the Red Raiders have separated themselves from the Houston Cougars.  Both teams earned No. 3 seeds this year and given that Houston was able to win a school record 31 games prior to the Big Dance, there were many trumpeting Sampson’s candidacy.

But the voting numbers show what Texas Tech fans have been saying for two years, Chris Beard is the best coach in the nation.  And this year, he was the only logical choice for coach of the year and there are plenty of reasons why.

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