Grant McCasland sees evolving Texas Tech team amid JT Toppin absence

In a month filled with urgency, Grant McCasland is focused on something else: growth.

“To be playing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and feel like you can still grow so much more,” said the Texas Tech head coach. “That’s the exciting part of this group.”

During this time of year, most teams are tightening rotations and refining execution, but things haven’t gone as planned in Lubbock. McCasland sees a team that still has room for improvement.

“Even at our practice yesterday, and we’ll practice today, we’ve got to keep getting better,” he said. “People ask me what’s your dream for this team? I want to get better today in practice and see how much better we can get.”

Texas Tech is still adjusting, and this growth has come under tough circumstances.

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The Red Raiders have spent the end of the season learning how to play without one of the most dominant players in the country. JT Toppin, a junior forward who averaged 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds, suffered a torn ACL late in the year. This injury forced a change on both ends of the floor.

“If you look at our team in the games we played without JT, offensively we played differently,” McCasland said. “You’re losing one of the best frontcourt players in all of basketball.”

Toppin’s absence has affected more than just scoring. It has shifted rebounding responsibilities and defensive assignments.

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The safety net that Toppin provided around the rim is gone, replaced by a group still learning how to support each other in real time.

“Our biggest area of improvement has to be defensive rebounding,” McCasland said.

This is a small detail, but it reflects something bigger: physicality, discipline, and trust. All areas McCasland believes are essential.

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