Mark Adams’ tenure as Texas Tech’s men’s basketball coach has come to an end.
Tech is now investigating the allegations against the suspended coach, and sources said it doesn’t look likely to retain Adams.
Adams was suspended from school Administrators learned that he was “encouraging student-athletes to be more receptive to coaching” and referencing Bible verses about employees, teachers, parents and slaves serving their masters. “
This is according to a press release written by Texas Tech.
There are allegations that Adams even spit on a player, although that reads more like exaggeration.
That Texas Tech would release details like this is a big sign that it intends to dismiss Adams with cause. This relationship is now possible for lawyers.
Adams will likely be the second Big 12 men’s basketball the coach is to be sacked Off-the-court incidents this year; The first take features Adams’ former boss, Chris Beard. Beard was fired by Texas late last year after allegedly assaulting his fiancée.
Tech has not named an interim coach for its next game against West Virginia on March 8 in Kansas City in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament.
Despite his fascinating backstory, Adams always felt like the reach of a mercenary, and whatever momentum he generated from his first season evaporated months ago. The Red Raiders are 16–15 and 5–13 in conference.
Whatever the reason, Texas Tech has had a terrible run of coaching departures that range from bad hires to just bad breaks. Adams was both.
The person in charge of all this remains the athletic director. kirby hocuttWho is in his post since 2011.
How he remains in his position despite high profile coaching departures is…surprising? Astonishing? It is not easy? complicated?
Every word fits.
With the 2009 dismissal of football coach Mike Leach, few Power Five schools have affected the coaching route, such as Tech.
Leach’s successor, Tommy Tuberville, famously quit after the 2012 season. He did not like Lubbock or Tech, and only used Tech so he could coach football at a higher level again.
His replacement was Kliff Kingsbury. He was a Red Raider who loved Tech, Lubbock and would never leave.
Despite having the likes of Baker Mayfield, Davis Webb, and Patrick Mahomes, Kingsbury could never assemble a winner. He was dumped after the 2018 season.
His replacement was Matt Wells. Despite being a decent boy, he never fit in for Lubbock and he left after three years.
His replacement, Joey McGuire, was 8-5 in his first year in 2022, and he looks like a solution and a fit.
Since the retirement of Marsha Sharp in 2006, the women’s basketball program, once the pride of the entire school, has hired four different head coaches.
In August of 2020, Tech fired for the third year Women’s Basketball Coach Marlene Stollings The allegations came after a lengthy report was published in USA Today detailing the toxic, and outrageous, culture on his program.
on men’s basketball.
Midway through the 2007–’08 season, Bob Knight stepped down and hired his son Pat as head coach.
Besides being the son of Bob Knight, Pat didn’t have the resume to suggest he was qualified, or ready, to land a powerful men’s coaching job. He lasted three seasons before leaving.
In 2011, Tech landed right back coach Billy Gillespie. That perfection lasted one season after the secondary—he resigned amid allegations of NCAA violations, misconduct with players and exceeding NCAA practice time limits.
Gillispie resigned, citing health concerns.
He was replaced by interim Chris Walker, who coached the team to an 11–20 record in 2012–’13.
was replaced by walker veteran tubby smithJoe remained in Lubbock until the spring of 2016. Shortly after leading the Red Raiders to their only NCAA Tournament appearance in his three-year tenure, he resigned to accept the head coaching position at Memphis.
Smith was replaced by former Knight assistant, Chris Beard.
Beard was the ideal coach for Lubbock and this era of college basketball.
In his third season in Lubbock, he had the Red Raiders within seconds of winning the national title in 2019. The Red Raiders lost in overtime to Virginia in the title game.
Beard lasted two more seasons before breaking the heart of every single Red Raider fan when he left to become the head coach at the University of Texas.
Adams is a Tech guy, and a Tech grad. The problem was that he had never been a Division I head coach, and he was in his mid-60s.
Tech people want people who want to be in Lubbock, and who will stay. Adams was not going to leave Lubbock for any other reason than retirement.
In his first season, the Red Raiders reached the Sweet 16 and Adams was the national coach of the year.
After that, however, there were signs that it was not going to last long. It was a bad sign when guard Kevin McCullers transferred to Kansas.
In November the team was having a bad run after dropping two of their three games at the Maui Invitational. The Red Raiders have played 12 close games, but are tied for ninth in the league.
Now Adams has been fired outright amid the embarrassing allegations, which will again put Texas Tech in a position to search for yet another new head coach.
Some of it is the result of bad luck.
Some of it is the result of bad hires.
Either way, Kirby Hokut would survive.