Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raider Basketball Announces New Signings
April 18, 2006 | Men's Basketball
April 18, 2006
Lubbock, Texas - The Red Raider basketball program will welcome an incoming freshman, two sophomores, and a junior for the 2006 academic year as a result of completed National Letters of Intent from the spring signing period.
Decensae White, a 6-foot-6, 195-pound, player from Juniper Serra High School in San Mateo, California, will join the Red Raiders as a freshman. Decensae, the WCAL Player of Year, averaged 20.9 points per game and 10.9 rebounds per game while scoring a Serra single season high of 691 points this season. He was named San Mateo County Player of the Year and was the leading scorer in the county.
The second California signee is Rogdrick Craig. The 6-foot-6, 230-pound forward averaged 21.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game for San Jose City College and was selected as the Coast Conference player of the year. Craig, the son of former San Francisco 49ers great running back Roger Craig, had redshirted the previous season at Pepperdine. Rogdrick will have three years of eligibility remaining with the Red Raiders.
Jay Mitchell, a 6-foot-8, 235 pound forward from Gulf Coast Community College will also have three seasons with the Red Raiders. Jay was highly recruited out of high school in LaGrange, Georgia and spent three years pitching in the Colorado Rockies minor-league organization before a shoulder injury derailed his baseball career. He made an immediate impact this season with the Commodores, shooting 58 percent from the floor and averaging 10 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.
Esmir Rizvic, a 7-foot, 265-pound teammate with Jay Mitchell at Gulf Coast Community College will join the Red Raiders as a junior. Esmir averaged 16 points and nearly 11 rebounds a game before injuring a knee three weeks before the end of the season. The Bosnian native was a second-team all-conference player as a freshman.
"We think these players will be a great addition to Texas Tech basketball," noted Bob Knight whose 869 career victories make him the winningest active Division One coach and third all-time behind Adolph Rupp (876) and Dean Smith (879).
