Grant McCasland has become the toast of West Texas. Even before the current run to the Elite Eight, he was beloved across Raiderland, but after what his team pulled off on Thursday night, he is now etched in Texas Tech basketball history.
In fact, it could be argued that what the second-year Red Raider head coach has done this season is as good as any coaching job that Texas Tech basketball has ever seen. Sure, everyone points to the 2019 run to the National Championship Game as the best coaching job in Tech history (though it is now difficult to give Chris Beard his due, given how his time in Lubbock ended).
However, that year, Beard didn't have to overcome the type of injuries that McCasland has this season. While the 2019 team was fully healthy until the title game in Minneapolis, this year, Tech has clawed its way to the Elite Eight without the help of the team's top guard, Chance McMillian.
Certainly, McCasland has been able to squeeze every ounce of fight and determination out of this season's team, and that's the best compliment any coach could receive. Now, McCasland owns a Sweet 16 win over legendary head coach John Calipari, and he still has a chance to accomplish even more. After the win, McCasland talked about the belief that his team maintained when the cards were down.
"And I told them we're going to make it when it matters," he said. "I believe it with all my heart. That's Red Raider basketball. It doesn't matter what the score is, what's stacked against us -- I think we got down to 16 at one point in the first half -- and telling JT we've got to get stops and rebounds.
"I thought one possession was huge it was Federiko in there getting I don't know how many offensive rebounds they got on that one possession. And I thought it showed the grit of Red Raider basketball.
"And Chris making a 3 at the end of it. That started I thought the real belief that we would win the game.
"What a tremendous atmosphere it's an awesome opportunity to be on this team with these guys because nobody believes more in each other than this group. It's really a blessing to be part of."
Texas Tech pulled down 22 offensive rebounds in the game, leading to 16 second-chance points. That was another sign of the grit that the Red Raiders possess. McCasland said he wasn't surprised by that because he's seen his team battle on the boards in the Big 12.
"If you look at our league, and I think we play in the best league in the last 10 years, it's the best league," he said. "And this year obviously the SEC had a lot of talent. But you don't play against Houston unless you know how to rebound. Go back watch that film, we beat them because we offensive rebounded. That's against one of the best rebounding teams in the country.
"We feel our only opportunity, when you shoot it this good and you spread people out you've got to go get it.
"I remember, how about the rebound Darrion Williams missed and then he got the jump ball underneath. His urgency to win this game.
"I'll tell you what it boils down to. These guys just want to win. If we tell them we're not making and we've got to go get offensive rebounds and we have to do it, I thought that Kevin Overton's offensive rebound was huge. That was the one that got pitched out, that got Christian going.
"But, man, it's just the way, I'll tell you, it's the belief that we've got to find a way. That's the biggest part of this team. They'll do whatever it takes -- shoot a bunch of 3s, go into the post, offensive rebounds. Whatever it takes, this team does it."
One interesting insight McCasland provided was the knowledge that Arkansas was prone to giving up leads and having bad stretches during games. He said that helped fuel his team's belief that it could come back.
"I believe in our team and I believe -- I've seen it enough and we've practiced hard enough and these guys do love each other enough. It's just trying to keep them in the fight together. And every timeout, I'd seen Arkansas play enough to know that they were pretty volatile in the way the game goes. Get up big in the Kansas game, for example.
"They got up big and Kansas came back and got the lead. They went up big again. So it's like I've seen this team let people in and I'm telling them this is what we want, we want them to get out to a big lead. We'll find a way.
"Give them credit, though. They're a resilient group, too, they're in the Sweet 16 for a reason. They had such a great finish to the season. But I had a great amount of belief we would win this game no matter what the score was as the game went on."
The term "belief" was constant throughout McCasland's post-game remarks, which was understandable after such a dramatic comeback. McCasland perfectly summed up the importance of "belief" toward the end of the press conference.
"I just think belief is really way more important than what people think," he said. "And your belief in your team and your team's belief in each other, no matter what is stacked against you, that you can find a way to win and you can look at these guys in the eye and know, like, Christian just wants to hoop, and D-5 wants to win. And these guys really do look at each other with a lot of confidence that we can do it."