Unlike the Kansas’, Kentuckys,
North Carolinas and Dukes of the college basketball solar system, Texas Tech is
rarely replete with stars. As one index of Tech’s historical talent deficiency,
the program has sent only nine players to the NBA. The schools mentioned above
sometimes accomplish that in two seasons.
There was, however, one inundation of basketball skill that
drenched Tech’s desiccated roundball landscape. In
the early to mid nineties, James Dickey managed to amass a collection of talent
that, at least in one magical season, was comparable to what coaches such as
Bill Self, John Calipari, Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski are used to having on hand. This influx, which
featured four players who would see time in the NBA, produced the magical 95-96
season that saw the Red Raiders go undefeated in
conference play, demolish North Carolina in the NCAA tournament, and advance to
the Sweet 16.
Gerald Myers, James Dickey’s predecessor at the helm of the
Tech basketball program, never enjoyed such an embarrassment of riches in his
20 years coaching the Red Raiders. Like the university itself, he usually had
to make do with less. That Myers did, winning conference titles, SWC postseason
tournaments, and guiding one squad to the Sweet 16.
As an illustration of Myers’ comparative lack of personnel
talent, it might be interesting to examine what a game between Myers’ best
players and Dickey’s 95-96 team might have looked
like.
Center: Rick Bullock
versus Tony Battie—Until Andre Emmett came along, Bullock was the leading scorer in Tech basketball
history. He was also the Southwest Conference’s number four scorer and number two rebounder. Bullock, however, never stuck in the
NBA.
Statistically, Battie’s Tech
career was less impressive than Bullock’s, but Battie
enjoyed a 16-season NBA career after being selected in the first round of the
draft.
Battie was a better defender than
Bullock, but Bullock, the more rounded player, would do more damage in this
matchup.
Edge: Myers All Stars
Power Forward: Will Flemons versus Darvin Ham—Flemons was a Myers recruit who played most of his Tech
career under Dickey. We here count him as a Myers All Star.
Flemons, a gentle giant, was a
very workmanlike player. He was a master at establishing post
position, and was a very good rebounder, but did not have much
consistent range on his shot.
Ham, despite putting up modest stats at Tech, was a force of
nature. He may have been the strongest player in Tech history, and was
definitely the most explosive. Ham brought tremendous energy to the court, and
his defense erased many a big man in his day. I suspect Ham would have negated Flemons.
Edge: Dickey’s Sweet
16ers
Small Forward: Mike Russell versus Jason Sasser—Russell,
six-foot-seven and 205 pounds, played one year at New Mexico Military Institute
(averaging 27 points and 19 rebounds per game) before joining Myers’ Red
Raiders. As a junior and senior he had monster seasons and, along with Bullock,
was the leader of Tech’s 1976 Sweet 16 team. The Kansas City Kings selected
Russell in the third round of the draft, but he never suited up in an NBA game.
Sasser, nicknamed “The Ultimate
Warrior” by Dickey, was a relentless if unorthodox player. There was nothing
pretty about Sasser’s game, but he could score from
anywhere on the court, rebounded better than his size, and was a very good
defender. The battle between he and Russell would be something to see.
Edge: Dickey’s Sweet
16ers
Off Guard: Jeff Taylor versus Koy Smith—Taylor learned to
press, defend and run from legendary coach Ralph Tasker
of Hobbs, New Mexico, and he transposed those skills to Southwestern Conference
ball under Gerald Myers. Taylor was a leaper who could score in myriad ways,
but sticky defense was his claim to fame. Taylor played two seasons in the NBA.
Smith, the pride of Hale Center, Texas, was a stone shooter.
And although mild-mannered, Smith was a tough-minded player who rarely made
mistakes.
Edge: Myers All Stars
Point Guard: Geoff
Huston versus Jason Martin—By general consensus, Huston is the best
point guard ever to don the scarlet and black, and he continued, even expanded
his success at the NBA level. Huston was slick, smooth and dished the rock
precisely and wisely. He was also, like all great point guards, a judicious
player who didn’t shoot a great deal, but connected frequently when he did.
Jason Martin is the forgotten element on Dickey’s great
team, and as such, is its most underrated player. After the Red Raiders
destroyed North Carolina in the NCAA tourney, Tar Heel forward Dante Calabria
termed Martin “one of the best distributors of the ball I’ve seen.” That
describes Martin in a nutshell. He simply ran the offense perfectly and made
sure his teammates got the ball in position to do damage.
Edge: Myers All Stars
Bench: Bubba
Jennings, Clarence Swannegan and Sean Gay versus Cory
Carr, Gionet Cooper and Stan Bonewitz
Both Myers and Dickey could go to the bench for a couple of
the better pure shooters in recent college basketball history in Bubba Jennings
and Stan Bonewitz, and both could grab frontline
bruisers in Swannegan and Cooper. Gay was a
tremendous lead guard who would have been capable of spelling Huston and Taylor
equally well, while Carr was a huge scoring threat at all times. And of all the
bench players, Carr is the only one who saw any time in the NBA.
Edge: Myers All Stars
Dickey’s Sweet 16 team had four NBA players while the Myers
All Stars had only two players reach the game’s highest level. Nevertheless,
Myers’ overall depth advantage would see him to a narrow victory over Dickey.
Myers’ outstanding bench coaching would also help the cause.