Texas Tech basketball: Mark Adams reportedly tabbed as head coach
It is being reported that Texas Tech associate head coach Mark Adams has been elevated to head coach. The news, broken by Jon Rothstein and Jeff Goodman, two of the game’s most credible college basketball insiders, ends the most closely followed coaching searches in Texas Tech history.
It will be fascinating to see how this hire pans out. Adams is going to get his first shot at leading a Division I program after years as an assistant under Chris Beard and he’s going to have to cut his 60-plus-year-old teeth in the rugged Big 12. That’s not going to be an easy task.
The architect of Tech’s trademark no-middle defensive scheme, the 1979 graduate of Texas Tech is widely considered one of the brightest minds in the game on that side of the basketball. But legitimate concerns persist about his ability to recruit as well as design an effective offense that will produce points against elite competition.
But Adams does have previous success as a head coach. In fact, he’s got 23 years of experience as a head coach amassing a mark of 554-244.
Sources: Texas Tech will hire Mark Adams as its next head basketball coach. Assistant under Chris Beard.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 6, 2021
In 2010, he led Howard College to the NJCAA National Championship. That is an indication that he can take a program to some rather noteworthy heights. But doing so at the JUCO level is a far cry from repeating that task at the Division I level.
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Still, should Adams have tremendous success at Texas Tech, he’s not likely to jump ship like his predecessor. That’s because the West Texas native has spent the vast majority of his career on or near the Caprock.
In addition to his time at Howard College in Big Spring, he’s coached at Clarendon College, Wayland Baptist, and West Texas A&M. Now, he gets his shot at leading the region’s top university and its most beloved program.
It will be key for Adams to amass a tremendous staff to help shore up areas of the program such as recruiting and designing an offense. Many Red Raider fans are hoping that former Texas Tech assistant Brian Burg returns to Lubbock after two years as head coach at Georgia Southern.
Additionally, no one would be surprised to see Adams’ son Luke join his staff. The former Red Raider point guard has been a head coach at the JUCO level.
Also, keep the name of Steve Green in mind. A long-time associate of Adams’, the current head coach at South Plains JC is an offensive innovator who has won multiple national titles at the JUCO level.
In the end, Adams seemed to be the favorite to land this job from the moment he declined to follow his predecessor south. Now, he’s got his dream job and he will finally get to prove to everyone what he can do at the highest level of college hoops.