A Completed Texas Tech Basketball Staff Could Be the Start to a Huge Week
Mark Adams has completed his coaching staff by hiring longtime friend, opponent and advisor Steve Green to an assistant coach role. Green joins Al Pinkins and Luke Adams as new additions to the staff to replace Talvin Hester and Barret Peery.
"I have a ton of trust and respect for Coach Green," Adams said on TexasTech.com. "He has a great basketball mind and is as genuine of a person as there is. He's a proven winner who understands the process it takes to win. He is a great offensive coach who will help us a lot on that side of the court along with being a great recruiter. He's built relationships with coaches throughout the country and internationally for years. This is a great hire for our program."
Green had a 706-192 record as a head coach, including going 552-152 at South Plains in 22 seasons. He's a multiple-time coach of the year at multiple levels and a Hall of Famer. Green led South Plains to the NJCAA Men's Basketball National Tournament 12 times, winning three of those, the latest being in 2018. Green is one of four coaches to have ever won three JUCO National Titles.
"Mark and I have a great relationship that developed through us competing against each other for so long," Green told TexasTech.com. "We've learned a lot about the game through each other. He's helped develop Texas Tech into one of the best programs in the nation and I'm excited to be here to help. Texas Tech is full of great people that I've been following for 20 years. It was a difficult decision to leave South Plains, but this is a great challenge in a big-time atmosphere that I'm really looking forward to."
The addition should be seamless and give Adams a sounding board that won't take any time to break in; the pair have been talking basketball for decades. The completion of the Texas Tech men's basketball staff could also foretell the completion of the roster, with a couple of dominoes likely to fall this week.
First, several outlets have been speculating heavily that 5-star class of 2023 guard Elijah Fisher is expected to commit to Texas Tech this week. The latest crystal ball coming from Travis Branham, national college basketball writer for 247sports.com.
If Fisher commits to Texas Tech, he's also expected to reclassify to the 2022 class and be eligible to play for the Red Raiders this upcoming season. If Fardaws makes it to Texas Tech and Elijah Fisher commits, that'd be 12 scholarship players. The limit is 13.
The final piece of the Mark Adams puzzle could be Baylor transfer Matthew Mayer, who withdrew his name from the transfer portal last weekend. North Carolina has reported interest in Mayer, but it could be intriguing for him to come into Steve Green's offense which has been likened to the Golden State Warrior's offense. Mayer, a stretch four, could be a natural fit and shot nearly 40 percent from three as a role player on the Baylor National Championship team in 2021.
If it's not Mayer, expect to see some clarity soon and a completed roster before we get too far into June.