Isaiah Manderson Leaves the Texas Tech Men’s Basketball Team

Texas Tech basketball coach Tubby Smith announced Tuesday, December 1 that 6'10" center Isaiah Manderson has indeed left the team.

"Isaiah has a lot of potential that we were hoping to help him reach," Smith said. "Unfortunately, he has decided to leave Texas Tech. We wish him well in his future endeavors."

Manderson, a New York native, contributed 4.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and .3 blocks per game during his freshman campaign, appearing in all 31 regular season games for the Red Raiders.

He was a late signee in 2014 and provided great minutes and depth behind fellow freshman Norense Odiase.

In four appearances this season, Manderson averaged 3 points and 1.8 rebounds off the bench.

No specific reasons have come out about this sudden departure, but it is never good to have players leave mid-season. You can see the first version of the Manderson-less Red Raiders tonight against Sam Houston State at 8 p.m. at the United Supermarkets Arena.

“When you have balance in your lineup, and you have a lot of people who can score from different places on the court, that can create problems for the opponent," said Smith. "I think the big key on defense is playing aggressive without fouling, and I think that’s something we’ve been able to do a better job of this year. We've also been able to get to the free throw line more than our opponents and make shots."

[Source: TexasTech.com]