Texas Tech basketball adds two Red Raider legends to Ring of Honor

Two of the most iconic and popular players in the history of Texas Tech basketball will be immortalized in the program's Ring of Honor at United Supermarkets Arena. Bubba Jennings and Jason Sasser were announced on Wednesday as the most recent former players to receive the highest honor the program can bestow.

Jennings, who grew up close to Lubbock in Clovis, New Mexico, played for Texas Tech from 1980-85, averaging 15 points per game for his career. His best season was in 1984-85 when, as a senior, he put up 19.5 points and 3.1 assists per game.

He is ninth in school history with 1,760 points scored. However, keep in mind that he accomplished all of that without the benefit of the 3-point line.

An undersized guard, Jennings was arguably the most deadly outside shooter to ever play for the Red Raiders. Had he played in the era of the 3-point shot in college basketball, many think he would be the program's all-time leading scorer, considering how many of his baskets came from deep in the backcourt.

According to TexasTech.com, Jennings ranks fifth in the program's history with 714 made baskets, fourth in free-throw percentage at 85.1 percent (332-for-390), sixth with 378 total assists, and seventh with 156 total steals. He was named the 1985 Southwest Conference Player of the Year and he was a three-time All-SWC honoree. What's more, in 1985, he won the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Hall of Fame's National Player of the Year award, given to the top player in American under six feet tall.

Jennings was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in the 1985 draft. After that, he went on to a successful high school coaching career where he won two state championships in his home state of New Mexico with the Artesia Bulldogs (1995 and 1997).

That also happened to be where he coached this writer, who was never able to come close to being the type of player that Jennings was, but who loved growing up playing pickup games against Jennings, who loved to scrimmage against his high school players as much as he loved to coach them. Of course, Jennings was also the head coach at Coronado High School in Lubbock before being a member of the coaching staff under Bob and Pat Knight at Texas Tech.

As for Sasser, he is remembered as being the heart and soul of one of the best Texas Tech teams in program history, the 1996 team that captured the final SWC Championship and reached the Sweet 16. For his career, he posted a scoring average of 17.7 points per game.

Playing at Tech from 1992-96, the Dallas native ranks fourth in Tech's program history by scoring 2,102 points. He was a three-time first-team All-SWC selection and the 1996 SWC Player of the Year.

Three times in his career, he led the team in scoring. That included an average of 19.5 points per game as a senior.

That year is remembered most for the dramatic second-round NCAA Tournament win over North Carolina. While the enduring image from that game is the backboard that Darvin Ham shattered on a put-back dunk, that day, Sasser was the real star as he posted a team-high 27 points in the win. In the next round, he scored 25 points as Tech fell to Georgetown and future NBA superstar Allen Iverson.

The Sacramento Kings drafted Sasser in the second round of the 1996 NBA Draft. He spent parts of two seasons in the NBA before playing professionally overseas.

Both Jennings and Sasser were stars for the Red Raiders in eras of the program that helped build the foundation of what Texas Tech basketball has become today. Thus, it is wonderful to see each legend get his due by being included in the Ring of Honor.

Currently, there are four members of the Ring of Honor: Rick Bullock, Andre Emmett, Dub Malaise and Jim Reed, all of whom were part of the inagural class in 2019. Now, that elite group will grow by two members as Jennings and Sasser will take their place among the greats in program history.