Texas Tech basketball all-decade team: The small forwards

3rd team: Jaye Crockett

It’s a shame that Clovis, New Mexico product Jaye Crockett played during one of the worst stretches in program history because his career is often overlooked since he never played on a team that got any attention or made any significant noise.

But from 2011-14, he was one of the most underrated players in the Big 12.  He averaged 9.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 0.9 assists per game in Scarlet and Black.

An explosive leaper, he came to Lubbock rather raw, especially on offense.  But by the time he was a senior, he shot 51.7% from the field and 82.7% from the line, both career highs.

2013-14 was his best season as he had 13.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game on his way to honorable-mention all-conference honors.  Interestingly, that was the only year he was a starter but that doesn’t mean he was not arguably his team’s best player in his first three years.  Rather, he was an instant-impact player that came off the bench but usually finished games like a starter would.

In his final year, he had six 20-point games with four coming in conference play.  He also registered five double-doubles for a team that went just 14-18 in the first year of the Tubby Smith era.

That was why his career coincided with the dark ages of Red Raider hoops, chaos at head coach.  Never having the same head coach for two-straight years, Crockett played under Pat Knight, Billie Gillespie, Chris Walker, and Smith, something that no player expects when he signs with a school.  But Crockett stuck it out as a Red Raider and became one of the most underrated players of the last decade.