Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders Bond in the Bahamas
August 23, 2019 | Men's Basketball
LUBBOCK, Texas – There was basketball, of course, but also swimming with dolphins, dancing in the rain, riding water slides, beach excursions and countless other experiences that the Texas Tech men's basketball team shared together on its eight-day Bahamas Tour.
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The Red Raiders returned to Lubbock late on Monday night more connected as a team and with a greater understanding of where they are on the court after a summer of workouts. The team played three games, practiced, conducted film sessions and game preparation a lot like the regular season, but also took advantage of the team bonding experiences that the Bahamas provided. The Red Raiders, three returners and 10 newcomers, went on a catamaran and snorkeled off a small island. There were two days where the team rode water slides, with teammates cheering each time a player or coached came shooting out.
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They conducted a clinic in a Bahamian neighborhood, teaching the kids who came out of their houses around the court about playing Tech defense and one-on-one games. A strong downpour of rain about 30 minutes into the clinic did nothing to stop it, instead sparking an unscripted part of the trip where the players danced at center court in the storm. It was reminiscent of the locker room celebrations after wins in the season. Three days later, the players and coaches put on wetsuits and played with dolphins at the team's resort and then went on a rapid river as a connected group. These were experiences few on the team had ever had before and were shared together to cap the summer.
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On the basketball side, the Red Raiders showed depth and talent with multiple players leading the way. In the first game against the Bahamas National Team, Chris Clarke recorded a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds while Davide Moretti had 10 points and five assists. A day later, it was Jahmi'us Ramsey in the starring role with 44 points and 12 rebounds in a win over Mega Bemax – a professional team from Serbia. Ramsey was 17-for-28 from the field with five 3-pointers. The game saw four Red Raiders in double-figures with Kyler Edwards scoring 17 and Terrence Shannon, Jr. and Clarence Nadolny each going for 13. The final game of the tour came on Sunday afternoon with Shannon leading the team with 20 points and Edwards going for 16 points and six rebounds. TJ Holyfield grabbed 11 rebounds and also scored eight points, while Kevin McCullar and Russel Tchewa also scored eight points in the finale against Mega Bemax.
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RED RAIDER QUOTES
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Chris Beard: "I'm pleased with this trip. We are relatively healthy coming back. We learned a lot about our team, had a great time and the guys became closer as a unit. I'm appreciative of the Serbia team playing us. They were great competition just like the Bahamas team. I think we are a work in progress, but I like our depth. I think that is going to be a strength. Our athleticism and length will help us be a strong defensive team again, but we'll need to work on our shooting. Above all, we leave here with a positive feeling about what we did here this week. Some of our weaknesses were exposed and strengths were shown. I'm proud of the guys for the way they played."
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TJ Holyfield: "Getting to experience the Bahamian culture and giving a bit back in the community was not only an amazing experience for us as individuals, but also brought us closer together as a team. We were very privileged to play against high-level competition this early on in the year because it helped us identified the areas of improvement that needs work before the season. We got to see how we play together as a team against someone other than ourselves."
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Jahmi'us Ramsey: "It's hard to just say one part about the trip was my favorite considering how much fun I had with everything we did. The one thing I think of first is when we were all in the ocean and dumping each other under water; the team versus all the coaches and graduate assistants. This trip made our team bond quicker and that is major for us because we are so young and it gives us an upside coming into this season."
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Avery Benson: "The team got a lot closer partly because we were stuck on an island together, but being able to hang out with each other in a different environment and it will help us later on because we were able to start earlier."
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Terrence Shannon, Jr.: "My favorite part was when we were with the kids at the court and it started raining and we all jumped and were pumped in the rain. I feel like it brought us together a lot, we bonded together, learned more about each other and just had a great time. We needed this trip because we are a young team and it was a good thing to see what we all needed to work on and it went out well now we go on from here."
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The Red Raiders returned to Lubbock late on Monday night more connected as a team and with a greater understanding of where they are on the court after a summer of workouts. The team played three games, practiced, conducted film sessions and game preparation a lot like the regular season, but also took advantage of the team bonding experiences that the Bahamas provided. The Red Raiders, three returners and 10 newcomers, went on a catamaran and snorkeled off a small island. There were two days where the team rode water slides, with teammates cheering each time a player or coached came shooting out.
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They conducted a clinic in a Bahamian neighborhood, teaching the kids who came out of their houses around the court about playing Tech defense and one-on-one games. A strong downpour of rain about 30 minutes into the clinic did nothing to stop it, instead sparking an unscripted part of the trip where the players danced at center court in the storm. It was reminiscent of the locker room celebrations after wins in the season. Three days later, the players and coaches put on wetsuits and played with dolphins at the team's resort and then went on a rapid river as a connected group. These were experiences few on the team had ever had before and were shared together to cap the summer.
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On the basketball side, the Red Raiders showed depth and talent with multiple players leading the way. In the first game against the Bahamas National Team, Chris Clarke recorded a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds while Davide Moretti had 10 points and five assists. A day later, it was Jahmi'us Ramsey in the starring role with 44 points and 12 rebounds in a win over Mega Bemax – a professional team from Serbia. Ramsey was 17-for-28 from the field with five 3-pointers. The game saw four Red Raiders in double-figures with Kyler Edwards scoring 17 and Terrence Shannon, Jr. and Clarence Nadolny each going for 13. The final game of the tour came on Sunday afternoon with Shannon leading the team with 20 points and Edwards going for 16 points and six rebounds. TJ Holyfield grabbed 11 rebounds and also scored eight points, while Kevin McCullar and Russel Tchewa also scored eight points in the finale against Mega Bemax.
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RED RAIDER QUOTES
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Chris Beard: "I'm pleased with this trip. We are relatively healthy coming back. We learned a lot about our team, had a great time and the guys became closer as a unit. I'm appreciative of the Serbia team playing us. They were great competition just like the Bahamas team. I think we are a work in progress, but I like our depth. I think that is going to be a strength. Our athleticism and length will help us be a strong defensive team again, but we'll need to work on our shooting. Above all, we leave here with a positive feeling about what we did here this week. Some of our weaknesses were exposed and strengths were shown. I'm proud of the guys for the way they played."
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TJ Holyfield: "Getting to experience the Bahamian culture and giving a bit back in the community was not only an amazing experience for us as individuals, but also brought us closer together as a team. We were very privileged to play against high-level competition this early on in the year because it helped us identified the areas of improvement that needs work before the season. We got to see how we play together as a team against someone other than ourselves."
Â
Jahmi'us Ramsey: "It's hard to just say one part about the trip was my favorite considering how much fun I had with everything we did. The one thing I think of first is when we were all in the ocean and dumping each other under water; the team versus all the coaches and graduate assistants. This trip made our team bond quicker and that is major for us because we are so young and it gives us an upside coming into this season."
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Avery Benson: "The team got a lot closer partly because we were stuck on an island together, but being able to hang out with each other in a different environment and it will help us later on because we were able to start earlier."
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Terrence Shannon, Jr.: "My favorite part was when we were with the kids at the court and it started raining and we all jumped and were pumped in the rain. I feel like it brought us together a lot, we bonded together, learned more about each other and just had a great time. We needed this trip because we are a young team and it was a good thing to see what we all needed to work on and it went out well now we go on from here."
Become Us?
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) August 23, 2019
Smell the Ocean?
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ÂTech does summer better.
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) August 16, 2019
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What a week????????????
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) August 20, 2019
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Dive-Pass-Dunk-Repeat
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) August 18, 2019
TJ Holyfield with two big-time hustle plays to set up Terrence Shannon for #SCtop10 worthy dunks for the Red Raiders here in the Bahamas!
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— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) August 18, 2019
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Every interview should end with a backflip into the ocean.
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) August 16, 2019
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— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) August 16, 2019
We've got waves and flames in this catamaran @CoachBeardTTU #FiresideChat from our Bahamas tour!
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Players Mentioned
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Guard
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Forward
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Guard
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Guard
/ Men's Basketball
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