Texas Tech basketball: Norense Odiase’s five best games as a Red Raider
Though there were bigger stars and move noteworthy players on this year’s Texas Tech basketball team, senior forward Norense Odiase was this team’s heart and soul. Let’s take a look at the five best games of his Red Raider career.
When building a player that would personify what Texas Tech basketball has become under Chris Beard, it would be tough to find a better example than Norense Odiase. Tough, competitive, dedicated to defense and willing to sacrifice personal glory for the sake of his team, Odiase became one of the most important members of this year’s historic team despite being just 8th on the team in scoring.
And looking back at his career, it is easy to see that the fifth-year senior had one of the more transformative journeys of any player in recent Red Raider basketball history. After arriving on campus as an out-of-shape 265-pound prospect who was ranked the No. 358 player in the nation in the class of 2014 by 247Sports.com, he spent the next five years working to become indispensable for the Red Raiders.
And though he was extremely raw when he arrived, he was thrust into action right away because of the state of the program. As a freshman, he started 30 of 31 games averaging 7 points and 4.7 rebounds for a team that went just 13-19 in year-two of the Tubby Smith era.
As a sophomore, he appeared in only 21 games after a foot injury cost him 12 games. Still, he averaged 8.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.7 blocks per game helping the Red Raiders reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in nine seasons.
Unfortunately, he missed all but two games in 2016-17 as his foot injury persisted leading to a medical redshirt in Chris Beard’s first season. But despite the fact that many speculated that he might transfer because he was not a natural fit in Beard’s system, he returned for the 2017-18 season to post 3.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game while making 29 starts for Tech’s first ever Elite 8 team.
And that all led to this year when starting 37 of 38 games he put up 5.4 points and 4.2 rebounds. But that does not tell the complete story of what the Ft. Worth native meant to Texas Tech basketball. Having been part of 108 career victories and the two best NCAA Tournament runs in program history, he helped change the culture of Red Raider basketball.
No player has won more in the scarlet and black and no player has embodied more perfectly the attitude and sacrifice that has defined Texas Tech athletics throughout the nearly century-long history of the university. Though hard work, in spite of heartache, and because of a dedication to himself and his teammates , Norense Odiase became one of the most beloved and important members of the Texas Tech basketball program’s rise to national prominence. So let’s take a look back at his five best games as a Red Raider.