Grant McCasland has the unenviable job of trying to figure out how to replace one of the best players in college basketball this season. With JT Toppin getting injured and being sidelined for the remainder of the season following Texas Tech’s road loss against the Arizona State Sun Devils, McCasland now is tasked with figuring out the Red Raiders’ path forward.
And that’s not going to be easy. Texas Tech relied heavily on Toppin because of how dynamic and remarkably talented he is.
The head coach of the Red Raiders men’s basketball team is more than aware of that and he’s acknowledged as much. He also seems to believe that Texas Tech’s ceiling might be higher than what many expect following Toppin’s injury.
Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland believes the Red Raiders might have a ‘higher ceiling now as a group’ after JT Toppin’s injury
“Let’s be honest, we’ve had the best tandem in college basketball, maybe in a long time,” McCasland said during a recent press conference. “But now it’s just going to involve more people and I think that’s a good thing if you’re going to play together and if you’re going to win games where you can keep improving.”
That seems to make sense. And it’s a good admission about how much Texas Tech will now need to get a number of other contributors involved. Guys like Jaylen Petter, Donovan Atwell, and Lejuan Watts will need to step up a bit to help fill the void that Texas Tech now has.
But McCasland doesn’t seem to think that’s impossible. It won’t be easy, but it’s not impossible.
“This team has, I think, a higher ceiling now as a group,” McCasland continued. “When you have the two best players in college basketball, it makes it simple. Well, it’s not going to be as simple.”
That might seem counterintuitive, but it might also be true. If the Red Raiders are able to focus their efforts around complimenting Christian Anderson as the focal point of this offense moving forward, it might work out.
“I do think that’s where Christain is going to have to have great command because he’ll still be able to do what he does best, it’s just going to take a little longer,” McCasland explained.
As for what else this group needs to do?
“I think our competitiveness is going to be important and how we improve in that area and those are things I think we’ll see growth in,” Texas Tech’s head coach explained.