Seth from Double T Nation was kind enough to answer some questions for all you Jayhawks fans. The questions I answered for him can be found here.
Here are the questions and responses (responses are in the grey boxes):
1) Is this Bobby Knight's last season in Lubbock?
Absolutely not, Coach Bobby Knight will probably coach until the day he dies. Some folks think that there is an expectation that he'll retire because he's achieved the record, but in all honesty, I don't think that Knight is driven by the record or piling on the wins. His real motivation is taking a bunch of players and making a team.
2) Jackson and Zeno are clearly the leaders of this team, is there anyone you see emerging in conference play to match what these two guys have done?
Because Zeno and Jackson get so many touches it's hard for other players to make a difference. Charlie Burgess is a nice point guard, but if he doesn't get some early fast break buckets he tends to disappear throughout the game. Decensae White is an athletic small forward who should probably get more time than he does. Right now he's the type of player that's just figuring out the game, but offensively and defensively, he has real potential. I'd love to see Jake Voskuil get more playing time, but I think that's a lost cause. Voskuil a 3-point specialist who's shot is as pure as the driven snow, but just hasn't gotten an extended look.
3) Tech is 10th in the country in offensive TO percentage, are there any key factors leading to this extremely low turnover rate?
I didn't realize it was that low, but if I had to attribute the low turnover percentage to anything it would be two items. First, in the motion offense, there isn't much opportunity for the frontcourt players to handle the ball much, which, in theory, would reduce the number of times a team turns the ball over. The second reason would be Coach Knight. He doesn't tolerate mental mistakes and the Tech players understand that if they make the mental mistakes then they won't play.
4) Has the aftermath of Bobby Knight getting his 880 wins affected the team's play at all?
At first, I didn't think that Knight would allow his team to let their guard down, but there comes a point where you have to question why Tech didn't appear to play well against Baylor. Nevertheless, I can't accept that an event that happened at the first of the year would still affect the team 3 weeks later.
5) The Red Raiders are probably going to be a bubble team come Tournament time, do you think that Tech will get in the Tournament or will it have to go to the NIT?
Whether or not Tech gets into the tournament depends on these next 5 games. Tech plays Kansas, Texas A&M, @ Mizzou, Texas and @ OU. That's a really tough stretch. If Tech can get 3 out of 5 wins within that group then Tech is NCAA bound. If not, then it will be a judgment call and although I tend not to believe that the committee would "give" Knight an invite, but it would be great story for the tournament. My gut tells me that if Tech does get in to the NCAA tournament it will be by the skin of their teeth.
6) Is the football team's bowl comeback affecting the basketball team in any way?
If anything I'm sure that Coach Knight pointed to that game that you can never give up or let your guard down. I don't know if this team has the firepower to come back like the football team did, but I do think the idea of never giving up has certainly pervaded Texas Tech.
Make sure you go and check out Double T Nation before during and after the game, it should be a great one.
