During Texas Tech’s 12-point win over the Cincinnati Bearcats, the Red Raiders managed to get a pretty solid and underrated sort of performance from LeJuan Watts. He scored 13 points, grabbed just shy of a half dozen rebounds, and continued to show that he can have an impact on just about any Texas Tech men’s basketball game.
And while that’s great, arguably a bigger story is the way that McCasland is working to get Watts to continue to develop and improve as a player and a leader. With JT Toppin out for the rest of the year, Watts is now playing a more central role in the way Texas Tech basketball goes about its business.
He’s gone from being a third option to a top two option for Texas Tech. And that’s huge. He’s going to be more of a focal point for the Red Raiders as they go up against the likes of the Iowa State Cyclones and then into the Big 12 tournament and the NCAA tournament.
And McCasland is trying to continue working with him to refine things moving forward.
Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland notes areas for growth for LeJuan Watts following the Red Raiders win over the Cincinnati Bearcats
“It’s been gradual up to this point, but you know, now I think he’s an anchor on us where before he was kind of the third option,” McCasland said during Texas Tech’s postgame press conference. “Now I feel like he’s in one-two and I’ve really squeezed him to be honest.”
Along with that, part of his development is the way he serves those around him. It’s also the way he listens to feedback and changes his approach moving forward.
“I’ve challenged him, not from a scheme standpoint but from an individual development standpoint to really fight to get on balance, to shoot on balance shots,” McCasland explained.
And if he can do that, McCasland seems to believe that Texas Tech (and Watts) will benefit greatly.
“If you know LeJuan, he’s artistic, he’s fun, he’s talkative, he’s joyous and he plays kind of like he wants to play” McCasland continued. “And I’m just like, ‘dude, do not play that way when you have the ball anymore, play that way in the way you communicate but be more simple and solid and tight and physical.”