Texas Tech basketball: Top assistant Mark Adams not headed to NBA

Thursday, it was reported that the Texas Tech basketball program’s top assistant coach, Mark Adams, will remain with the Red Raiders after being courted by the Chicago Bulls.

It seems like life is certainly treating Chris Beard well these days. After picking up two key grad transfers in the past week in Chris Clarke and T.J. Holyfield, it now appears that the head coach of the Texas Tech basketball team will not have to replace his top assistant coach, Mark Adams.

Last week, it was reported that Adams was being pursued by the Chicago Bulls of the NBA who are coached by Jim Boylen, a long-time associate of Adams. But on Thursday, Jeff Goodman of Stadium tweeted that the pseudo Texas Tech defensive coordinator will remain in Lubbock.

Texas Tech assistant Mark Adams had discussions with the Chicago Bulls, but will return to Lubbock, source told @Stadium. Adams and Bulls coach Jim Boylen have known each other for years.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) May 16, 2019

During the Red Raiders’ run to the national title game last last month, Adams gained national recognition for the work he did in designing and implementing the defensive scheme that helped carry Texas Tech basketball to never before seen heights. And that notoriety helped bring new opportunities his way.

In mid April, Adams was a serious candidate for the vacant head coach position at Southern Mississippi. But after interviewing for the job, he was passed over in favor of Jay Ladner, a Southern Miss alum.

Now, it appears that Adams has turned down an opportunity to join the Bulls. And for Chris Beard and the Red Raiders, this could be the biggest victory in an offseason that has already been wildly successful.

Last year, Adams’ defensive system helped Tech lead the nation in defensive efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions) while raking second in field goal percentage (37%) and third in points allowed per game (59.5). That came on the heels of a stellar 2017-18 season in which Tech held opponents to 64.8 points per game and 40.1% shooting on their way to the Elite 8.

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According to Adams’ bio on the Texas Tech basketball page, the Red Raiders have held their opponent below 60 points on 40 occasions during the three years Adams has been with the program. That included four of Tech’s six NCAA Tournament opponents this year.

An assistant for Beard at Arkansas-Little Rock in 2015-16, Adams followed his head coach to Lubbock but he has extensive roots in West Texas dating back to the 1980’s. A 1979 graduate of Texas Tech, whose son Luke played basketball for the Red Raiders from 2012-15, Adams has had stops at Clarendon College, Wayland Baptist, West Texas A&M and Howard College.

In fact, his only coaching stint outside of the Lone Star State was his season at Arkansas-Little Rock with Beard where the duo helped lead the Trojans to a conference title and an upset of No. 5 seeded Purdue in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

While the top priority for the Texas Tech basketball program this summer was to secure a long-term contract extension with its head coach, once that deal was finalized, Red Raider fans began to focus on recruiting and the building of next year’s roster. However, ensuring that the current coaching staff remained in tact might be the biggest victory of the summer as it pertains to the long-term stability of Tech hoops.

Next. Texas Tech basketball lands top grad transfer Chris Clarke. dark

Recently, the university approved a pay raise for Adams and two other top basketball assistants but Adam’s new salary likely would not have been in the neighborhood of what he could have made in the NBA. But Mark Adams is West Texas and he has found a home on top of the Caprock where he is a key cog in the fastest-rising program in the nation. Apparently, that’s something worth far more than even the allure of the NBA.

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