The Texas Tech University Red Raiders basketball team competes in the highly competitive Big 12 Conference along with perennial programs like the University of Kansas and the University of Texas. While the Big 12 is predominantly known throughout the country as a football conference, the grouping of 12 teams from seven states (Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas) consistently sends 5 or 6 teams to the NCAA Tournament every March. . In many ways, the Big 12’s success in football (having appeared in 7 of the last 10 national championship games) dwarfs the accomplishments on the field where each season teams like the Texas Tech Red Raiders step up and have a significant impact on the university. basketball landscape.
Located in the West Texas city of Lubbock, the Texas Tech Red Raiders and their 30,000 students (24,000 undergraduate and 6,000 graduate) are often associated with their football program even though basketball has had a level of like success. Over the years, the Red Raiders have won 5 conference tournaments and 6 regular season championships during their time in the now-defunct Southwest Conference (disbanded May 1996). The Texas Tech program has an impressive 14 NCAA tournament appearances to its credit and has had the distinction of sending a dozen players to play professional basketball in the NBA.
Pat Knight coaches the current (February 2010) Red Raiders out of Texas Tech University. Pat is the son of former Red Raiders coach and Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Knight. To the surprise of college basketball fans, Pat Knight assumed head coaching responsibilities at Texas Tech for his father midway through the 2008 season. Coach Pat Knight first joined the Red Raiders in 2000 as an assistant . In March 2001, Pat’s father, legendary coach Bob Knight, was hired to replace James Dickey as head coach at Texas Tech. Despite the fact that Pat was selected in 2005 to be the heir apparent when his father resigned, the timing of Bobby Knight’s mid-season retirement on February 4, 2008 still took much of the nation by surprise.
Prior to his retirement, Bob Knight had a successful coaching stint at Texas Tech University that concluded with a 138-82 record in 7 seasons. Although Bobby Knight did not experience the same level of success that he had earlier in his coaching career while at Indiana, where he won several national championships, his impact on the Texas Tech Red Raiders program was undoubtedly positive. During his time in Lubbock, Coach Knight reached record milestones that brought an unprecedented amount of attention to the Texas Tech basketball program during a time when the school likely would have been off the radar of most major basketball stories. academic. On New Year’s Day 2007, Bob Knight surpassed Dean Smith for sole possession of the most wins as a trainer of all time with 880 to his name. A little over a year later, on January 16, 2008, Knight became the first men’s college basketball coach to reach the 900-win mark.
The Texas Tech University Red Raiders basketball program has had its fair share of ups and downs during its long existence dating back to 1925. Fans close to the program are optimistic that Pat Knight will return the national prominence to the beloved show over the years. come.