LUBBOCK, Texas—Pat Knight is keeping his expectations for his Texas Tech team to himself, though he knows the Red Raiders can’t fall much farther.
“We want to be better than we were last year, show improvement,” said Knight, who’s heading into his second full season coaching the Red Raiders.
Texas Tech finished 11th in the Big 12 (14-19) last year, the school’s worst season since 2000. That was the year before Bob Knight took over the program and led the Red Raiders to four consecutive seasons of at least 20 wins.
Pat Knight’s team won just three Big 12 games last season—one was against No. 9 Kansas—and he openly criticized officiating twice in a three-week span. The Big 12 slapped him with a public reprimand and a one-game suspension.
The younger Knight blamed himself for last year’s abysmal record, saying he focused on the wrong aspect.
“I got so enamored with the offense, I let the defense slip,” he said.
The Red Raiders will rely on man-to-man defense—the mainstay of Bob Knight’s teams.
Pat Knight said he has enough depth—two freshman and three junior college transfers—and athleticism now that if players don’t defend he’ll pull them.
“It’s a totally different team,” he said. “We’re more athletic. We got more talent.”
Returning forward Mike Singletary, who’s dropped 20 pounds since last season, said players have a goal.
“We want to be one of the best defensive teams in our league,” he said. “That’s going to make us win games even if when our offense isn’t going.”
Gone offensively is Alan Voskuil, the go-to scorer who shot 43 percent from 3-point range. Knight said he has more options this season to where “every kid we have now is a threat with the basketball.”
Singletary is one of those options. Late last season, his offense improved and he fueled a come-from-behind win over Texas A&M in the Big 12 tournament by scoring 29 consecutive points for his team, the second-longest run of its kind in NCAA history.
The Red Raiders return only player—junior guard John Roberson (14 points per game) -- who started every game last season.
Knight is counting on junior college transfer David Tairu, a teammate to Nick Okorie when South Plains College won the JC national title in 2008. The 6-foot-3 Tairu reminds his coach of the last real leader the Red Raiders had.
“It’s like having Ronald Ross again,” he said, referring to a one-time walk-on who helped the 2004-05 team advance to the NCAA regional semifinals. “I think the future looks really good for us.”
And those offensive options are important for other reasons, too.
“Because maybe I’m going to win a few more games and then maybe get my contract extended,” Knight said, chuckling.
