All eyes on Tech

By this time of year, Texas sports fans are usually squarely focused on the Astros and Rangers, on the Rockets and Spurs, even the Mavericks when they're playoff worthy, on the Stars, on the NFL Draft and speculation about who Jerry Jones plucks from the college ranks to help his team chase another Super Bowl title.

College basketball? That's something other states worry about in early spring. The only 'Madness' Texas college hoop fans usually experience right about now is frustration. The Houston Cougars were once Final Four-worthy when Hakeem Olujawon and Clyde Drexler were frat brothers in Phi Slamma Jamma. But that was during Ronald Reagan's first term, a metaphoric galaxy far, far away.

Different story this year. Last Saturday in Anaheim, as the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament entered its regional final stage, the West's No. 3 seed Texas Tech knocked off top-seeded Gonzaga 75-69 to earn the Red Raiders' first Final Four invite.

Good times for Lubbock, site of Texas Tech University and one-time home of rockers Buddy Holly and the Crickets, singer Mac Davis, model Jill Goodacre and quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Among those thrilled with Texas Tech's rise to national semifinal status is Clovis High's all-time leading basketball scorer, Brooks "Bubba" Jennings, who went on to play for and later help coach the Red Raiders.

There's plenty for Jennings to be excited about this upcoming weekend, at the end of which he'll be inducted into the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame in Albuquerque. But Saturday night, despite whatever Hall of Fame festivities might be ongoing, Jennings will be checking out his alma mater, seeing how the red and black is doing against East Region champ Michigan State.

"Oh, I'm very excited," Jennings said by telephone Monday afternoon. "It's awesome for the coaches and awesome for the players, who are first and foremost. Other than that it's awesome for the alumni and awesome for the town of Lubbock. Good for everyone associated with Texas Tech."

Of all the weekends for Tech to make history it's this one, when Jennings has an important prior commitment. So his plans will take him to Albuquerque instead of Minneapolis.

"Well, I'd really like to go (to the Final Four)," Jennings said with a chuckle. "Bad timing, but I'm not worried about that. I'm happy to be going into the Hall of Fame. ... I don't know what the plans are for watching the game; it's kind of up in the air. It wouldn't be too bad to get with some alums up in Albuquerque and watch the game with them."

Jennings played point guard for Clovis High, helping the Wildcats to a 4A state title as a junior in 1979, and graduated the following year with the school's all-time scoring mark. Thirty-nine years later, Jennings still owns the distinction, though Jaye Crockett fell just a point shy in 2009. Attempts to reach Crockett, also a Texas Tech alumnus, were unsuccessful as of Tuesday afternoon.

Jennings red-shirted at Tech and was a senior for the 1984-85 season, in which he helped guide the Red Raiders to their first NCAA Tournament berth in nine years. He was also named Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year for the now-defunct Southwest Conference.

Jennings was a fourth-round draft choice of the Dallas Mavericks in 1985, and though he did spend some time in camp with Mark Aguirre, Derek Harper and Rolando Blackman, Jennings didn't make the team.

His post-collegiate career, though, was far from boring. It included playing in London and working as an assistant coach at Texas Tech under the legendary and controversial Bobby Knight.

These days Jennings is boys head basketball coach at Texas' Peaster High School, a team he led to a 27-9 record this past winter. Peaster's season is more than a month over, having ended with a 77-71 loss to Childress in the Texas 3A state tournament on Feb. 19. So as basketball goes, Jennings' thoughts are on Texas Tech this week.

He is not surprised the Red Raiders were able to gain a Final Four spot. Their success, to Jennings, seems almost inevitable.

"There are a lot of factors that are involved," he said. "No. 1, they're really, really well-coached. The coaching staff has done a great job of putting together a good team. They've got three fifth-year seniors that are starting for them. That's a pretty experienced group right there.

"They've got a four-guard lineup; they're pretty tough to guard, and they've got a rim protector (6'10" senior Tariq Owens). All these things, I think, have allowed them to get to the Final Four. And I think Coach (Chris) Beard has them hungry to win and believing they can win.

"And then they've got a player in (6'5" sophomore guard) Jarrett Culver. He can score any time he wants and he can defend just about anybody on the court. He'll definitely be a lottery pick in the NBA (Draft) coming up here soon."

Someone with Jennings' playing and coaching experience at Texas Tech not surprisingly has opinions on how the Red Raiders should approach Michigan State.

"I think the same way they've been approaching all this (tournament) stuff," Jennings said. "They've been very aggressive with their defense, they try to disrupt everything the other team is doing. And also, it's going to be a different environment for them, but all that experience should help."

Texas Tech, as Jennings notes, has already been in pressure cookers this season.

"Playing Kansas in Kansas is a pretty tough atmosphere right there. Playing Duke at Madison Square Garden," Jennings said. "All those experiences they can draw from."

Jennings himself is pretty experienced when it comes to coaching; he did, after all, work for one of the best ever. He is impressed with Beard, Texas Tech's current coach.

"He's just done an unbelievable job," Jennings said. "He's developed an unbelievable relationship with the players, coaches them hard. But they know that he really cares about them. And he has a great staff."

A staff trying to outcoach a legend in the Bobby Knight realm - Michigan State's Tom Izzo - who just nudged out another legend - Duke's Mike Krzyzewski - in Sunday's East final.

"Oh gosh, he's great," Jennings said of Izzo. "I think he's been to the Final Four 10 times. He's just got consistent winners at Michigan State. They've always been a really, really physical team to play against. They've always been physical on the boards. I think Tech can match that because I think Tech's got a real physical team as well."

Until the closing seconds last Sunday, it seemed the Red Raiders might next be colliding with Duke and its heralded freshman forward Zion Williamson. Momentum looked to be going Duke's way, then Michigan State's, then Duke's, then MSU's, then Duke's again. Ultimately, the Spartans prevailed 68-67.

Though Michigan State will provide a challenging and intriguing opponent for Texas Tech, it may have been a bit more of the latter if Duke had survived, especially with Williamson, projected as the No. 1 overall pick in June's NBA Draft.

"Unbelievable athlete," Jennings said of Williamson. "Unbelievable that he's that big and can jump like that and handle his body that well. He's basically just a dominant player. The only thing I would tell him to do a little bit different is to work on his free throws. That's about all he needs to do in my opinion."

Jennings also has an opinion about how Texas Tech will do against Michigan State on Saturday. His pick is hardly surprising, and it goes beyond the semifinals.

"I predict that Tech's going to get in the championship game and then win it," Jennings said. "They've got the type of team to do it and the confidence level is real high right now. They're really hungry to win. I think they have it all together to win it all. But you can probably say that about any team right now."