Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Opens Season At Big 12 Media Days
October 15, 2014 | Men's Basketball
October 15, 2014
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Texas Tech officially tipped of the beginning of the 2014-15 basketball season, as Red Raider head coach and student-athletes Toddrick Gotcher and Robert Turner represented the university at Big 12 Media Day at the Sprint Center.
Smith kicked off the event as the first head coach on the podium sitting in front of the media.
"Consistency and continuity is the key to any program that has had long tradition and built tradition and success over a long period of time," said Smith to the media. "You'll find that a coach has been in place for a long period of time, and they've been able to grow their program. So, those things are going to be critical. I guess this is the first time in five years the coaches will have been there for two years in a row. So we'll see how it goes."
The Red Raiders return eight letterwinners from last season, but just 36 percent of its offense from last season. Leading the way are returning starters Gotcher and Turner.
"With another year under our belt, hopefully, our guys - and I - can see it already," added Smith. "We have a lot of new faces. The returning players and the veteran players understand the drills and what we want done, and they're able to communicate that to the other players."
Texas Tech is adding seven new faces to the roster this season in what has been deemed the best recruiting class in a decade. The class features five freshman - Keenan Evans, Justin Gray, Isaiah Manderson, Norense Odiase and Zach Smith - and two junior college transfer - Justin Jamison and Devaugntah Williams.
Evans, a native of Richardson, Texas, is a guard, who will back up Turner at the point. Evans was a first team All-State honoree at Berkner High School last season. He averaged 21.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game en route to District 9-5A most valuable player honors.
Gray, a four-star signee from Tampa, Fla., is expected to contribute right away. The 6-5 wing has the ability to play multiple positions. Gray was the Tampa Player of the Year last season and earned first team All-State honors. Gray averaged 17.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.9 blocks per game as a senior at Berkeley Prepatory.
Manderson, a 6-10 center from the Bronx, N.Y., played his senior season at Oldsmar (Fla.) Christian School, where he led the Eagles to the SIAA Florida state tournament semifinals. Manderson was Smith's final signee of the recruiting class after he was released from his NLI at Oregon State.
Odiase, a 6-9 big man from Fort Worth, Texas, can play both center and power forward for the Red Raiders. Odiase comes to Tech after spending last season at Elev8 Sports Institute in Delray Beach, Fla. Prior to Elev8, Odiase was a two-time All-District selection at Crowley High School.
Zach Smith, a forward from Plano, Texas, was second in the state of Texas in rebound last season at Plano East High School. Another first team All-State signee, Smith is an athletic forward, who averaged 15.6 points and 12.1 rebounds last season.
Jamison, a 6-9 forward, is a former minor league baseball player in the Texas Rangers organization, who transferred from Missouri State-West Plains. A junior college All-Region 16 honoree, Jamison averaged 14.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game for West Plains.
Williams, a 6-3 shooting guard, is also from Missouri State-West Plains, where he averaged 17.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and was a two-time All-Region 16 honoree. Williams is expected to fill the two spot in the rotation.
The public will get their first view of the Red Raiders on Friday at "Showtime," a preview of the Red Raider and Lady Raider basketball squads. As a part of the homecoming festivities, Showtime will begin at 7:30 p.m. and is a free event. Doors open Friday at 6:45 and both teams will sign autographs from 6:45 p.m. to 7:15 p.m.
