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Texas Tech basketball: Chris Beard’s best press conferences

By Matthew Conner

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 04: Head coach Chris Beard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders speaks to the media 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 speaks to the media 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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A sign for a 24 hour Whataburger (Photo by Epics/Getty Images)
A sign for a 24 hour Whataburger (Photo by Epics/Getty Images) /

Sit back and watch America

Everyone who has ever been in college has had those moments when you and your friends make a late-night run to a 24-hour eatery and you are amazed by the collection of characters that seem to file in when the rest of the world is asleep.  The day after taking down SFA, Beard gave advice to those who haven’t had that experience.

After providing a detailed rundown of his Whataburger ordering habits, including insights about what he orders when with his daughters or girlfriend and what he learned from Bob Knight about rootbeer shakes, he then talked about the beauty of going to Whataburger in the early-morning hours to just people watch.

"“You ever been to a Whataburger at like two or three o’clock in the morning,” he asked.  “Don’t go through the drive-through.  Go in next time and just get a corner booth and just watch America.  Just watch it.  You see so many cool things.”"

Moments like this are why Beard is the everyman’s coach.  Can you imagine Coach K, Jay Wright, or John Calipari encouraging anyone to go to a restaurant at 3 am to people watch?  Even if any of them were to actually do that, they wouldn’t admit to it, especially the day prior to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Did it seem that Beard was at all concerned about the biggest game of the season against a tough Florida team?  Nope.

Rather, he seemed so happy to have a captive audience willing to not only listen to his thoughts on late-night Whataburger runs but one that was also more than happy to egg him on.  That press conference certainly gained Beard plenty of attention around the nation and rightfully so because it is refreshing to see a head coach show some personality and talk about something other than the upcoming game and the nuances of the opponent’s half-court trap.

So next time you are in Lubbock and you leave the bar at 2 am, head to the closest Whataburger because you might find Chris Beard sitting in a corner booth just watching America.

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