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Texas Tech basketball: Underrated players from the dark ages of the program

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TX - FEBRUARY 08: Jaye Crockett #30 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders is interviewed after the game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys on February 08, 2014 at United Spirit Arena in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech won the game 60-54 (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TX - FEBRUARY 08: Jaye Crockett #30 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders is interviewed after the game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys on February 08, 2014 at United Spirit Arena in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech won the game 60-54 (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /
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Jordan Tolbert #32 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
Jordan Tolbert #32 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /

Jordan Tolbert

Maybe it’s because of the fact that he left the program for SMU but for some reason, we don’t seem to discuss Jordan Tolbert as much as we should when talking about the best post players of the modern era of the program.  Or maybe it was because all of his work came during a time when Tech basketball was less than an afterthought in West Texas than the mating habits of Antarctic penguins were.

A Red Raider from 2011-2014 before going home to Dallas/Fort Worth because of personal reasons that had to do with the aftermath of his father’s passing, which occurred during his time in Lubbock, Tolbert averaged 10.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in the Scarlet and Black.

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His best season was actually his freshman campaign.  That year, he put up 11.5 points and 5.7 rebounds, both numbers that led his team.  But because that team struggled to just an 8-23 record under Gillespie, not many people look back on that season as fondly as we do the freshman years of Jarrett Culver or Zhaire Smith, despite the fact that all three seasons were essentially the same statistically.

In fact, his 357 points ranked fifth all-time at Texas Tech for freshmen, while his 177 rebounds ranked fourth at the time.  That season deserves to be mentioned as one of the best of any freshman in Tech history but it is largely overlooked.

But shortly before the next season was set to begin, Tolbert’s father, James, passed away suddenly of a heart attack at age 40.  As expected, that loss took its toll on the 6-foot-7 forward as he numbers dipped significantly across the board as a sophomore, a year that is supposed to represent the biggest one-season jump for college players

He rebounded to have a solid junior year when he averaged 10.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.  That offseason, he went back to his family and finished out his career at SMU after sitting out a season.

We won’t ever talk about Tolbert the way we do other Texas Tech forwards such as Norsnse Odiase or Zach Smith despite the fact that his career numbers are better than both.  That’s because he had the misfortune of coming to Tech during the height of the program’s dysfunction.

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What’s more, we will always have to wonder what he could have become had he not suffered one of life’s greatest losses after a stellar debut season.  But regardless, he was a good player for the Red Raiders, one who deserves more recognition than he will likely ever receive.

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