No. 10 Texas Tech has the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year in JT Toppin and the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year in LeJuan Watts.
Whether the talent and early accolades translate into a conference title is up to coach Grant McCasland and his staff.
Texas Tech earned a No. 3 NCAA Tournament seed and made a run to the Elite Eight last spring. With a similarly formidable team in tow, the Red Raiders will open the new season Tuesday against visiting Lindenwood in Lubbock, Texas.
Toppin, a multitalented forward, was a second-team All-American and earned preseason All-American recognition this fall after averaging 18.2 points and 9.4 rebounds in his first season at Texas Tech. The Red Raiders also brought back fourth-leading scorer Christian Anderson, who had 10.6 points per game and shot 38% from 3-point distance as a freshman.
Darrion Williams, Chance McMillian and Elijah Hawkins were among those who left either due to graduation or a transfer, but McCasland used the portal to his benefit as well. Watts, in particular, stands out on the wing. After his freshman year at Eastern Washington, he performed even better at Washington State (13.7 ppg, 6.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 42.2% from deep).
According to his new coach, Watts’ impact is seen not just on paper, but on the practice floor.
“Being around LeJuan Watts, his passion for this, his feel for the game … being around him and (seeing) how much he really wants to be great every day,” McCasland said this offseason. “You know in recruiting him that they have an impact possibility because of our position. He’s such a versatile player that we felt like he needed to be involved.
“He doesn’t just love it; he lives it every day.”
Other transfer names to know in Lubbock include Donovan Atwell (13.3 ppg at UNC Greensboro last season) and Tyeree Bryan (10.4 ppg, 42.9% 3-point shooting at Santa Clara).
Texas Tech was picked third in the Big 12 preseason coaches’ poll and second by the media. The Red Raiders still must overcome defending champion and title favorite Houston.
They won 23 and 28 games in McCasland’s first two seasons, but there’s no resting on their laurels in Lubbock.
“I think we’ve just put together the right mix of offensive players, where our biggest areas (to improve), and we’ve made this very clear from the beginning, is just how much better can we get defensively,” McCasland said this week. “… I just know we’ve got to improve on the defensive side of the ball significantly if we’re going to get where we want to get.”
Lindenwood has spent three seasons in Division I thus far and posted its best record as a program in that time last year, going 16-17 and 10-10 in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Lions were tied with Morehead State for fifth in the 11-team league’s preseason poll voted on by head coaches and sports information directors.
The Lions are hoping for continued progress this season. They hosted Southern Illinois for an exhibition game this week and pushed the bigger school before falling 86-76. Center Milos Nenadic, a transfer from Maine, led all scorers with 21 points on 10-of-14 shooting along with five assists.
“I thought our guys really battled and did a good job,” coach Kyle Gerdeman told Lindenwood’s athletics website. “I think we made progress from the last time out and I think we got better from where we were a week ago.”
Lindenwood will be aided by the return of last year’s top two scorers, Anias Futrell (12.8 ppg) and Jadis Jones (12.5).
