Jaylon Tyson, De’Vion Harmon expand rebounding roles as Texas Tech takes on Creighton
Jaylon Tyson has filled in plenty of roles for the Texas Tech men’s basketball.
The 6-foot-5 guard has been an offensive spark and defensive ace, but his most important duty — so far, at least — has been his willingness to help rebound the basketball.
Without the service of Fardaws Aimaq, who’s expected to be out until the beginning of Big 12 play, several players were asked to shoulder a little more on offense, defense and, especially, near the basket.
Tyson, along with Oregon transfer guard De’Vion Harmon, added the tasks without question.
“I’m going to come out aggressive every game — I’m a scorer,” said Tyson, the third-leading scorer at 9.3 points — tied with Daniel Batcho. ”But I came here to learn how to play defense and to help put the ball in the basket and whatever else the teams needs.”
Kevin Obanor and Batcho have done their jobs, which was expected out of the frontcourt pair slated to pair with Aimaq and form a formidable trio. The injury put a pause to those plans, but also allowed the coaching staff to see how their depth would sustain an on-court loss.
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“KO and Batcho, they’re rebounding machines,” Tyson said of his teammates, who have combined to nab 40 rebounds this season. ”And that adversity (of losing Fardaws Aimaq) is always going to hit a team, you just never know when. It’s really about adjusting when it hits, and I feel like we’ve done a pretty good job of adjusting at that spot (rebounding).”
So far, so good, as No. 23 Texas Tech has won its first three straight games while holding a 5.6 rebounding advantage.
But, the biggest test comes as the Red Raiders take on No. 10 Creighton at 1:30 p.m Monday to being competition in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational held at the Lahaina Civic Center in Maui, Hawaii. The contest is slated to be televised on ESPN2.
“They get out in transition and do a good job of getting the ball in the paint and passing out to their shooters,” Tyson said of the Bluejays (4-0). “We’re just going to have to be solid in our defensive rotations. And,. they have a seven-foot kid in the paint, so we have to be solid attacking him in certain ways.”
Harmon, who is second on the team in scoring at 11.3 points per contest, is taking a more pragmatic approach. The senior feels the contest does not need to carry any more weight than previous or future games. Instead, he’s looking at it as an opportunity for his squad to show that its brand of basketball is something to be wary of for the rest of the competition.
“I’m just looking at it, it’s another game,” he said. ”Another game to go out there with my teammates and to go out there and compete. We all know how big the Maui Invitational is. We know how good Creighton is, but they’ve got to go out there and compete just like we do.”
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Texas Tech is joined by Louisville, No.9 Arkansas, Ohio State, No. 17 San Diego State, Cincinnati and No. 14 Arizona. The winner between the Bluejays and Red Raiders advances to the winner’s side of the bracket to play the victor between Louisville and Arkansas at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Closing his eyes, Harmon cracked a smile as he imagined walking on the beach and staring out into the ocean. It’s a great visual, but as the even-keeled veteran opened his eyes — he provided some perspective when discussing the ultimate goal for the Red Raiders.
“Obviously, it’s nice and beautiful — it’s Hawaii,” he said. ”But, it’s a business trip. … We’re going down there to win three games. We need to win three games and come back to Lubbock for Thanksgiving feeling good.”
Second-year coach Mark Adams was pleased to know one of his leaders was locked in, but admitted there are other factors to worry about while leading his alma mater to a prestigious tournament.
“There’s some stress that comes with it,” he said. ”We want to make our school proud. We’re taking an inexperienced team to a very difficult tournament with a lot of great teams.”
One of those squads is Creighton, which touts a familiar name in Ryan Nembhard — the younger brother of Andrew, who scored 16 points against the Red Raiders last season in a Gonzaga uniform.
The Bluejays also returned 7-foot-1 center Ryan Kalkbrenner, who was named the Big East Defensive Player of the Year. He’s averaging 16.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest.
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With that in mind, Tyson knows his team will need to play stellar defense when attempting to slow down the up-tempo Creighton transition offense, while also ensuring Kalkbrenner does not gain position in the post to score or set up his three-point shooters.
Long story short, the defense will need to lead while rebounding — taking away second-chance opportunities — will be keys for the Red Raiders.
“We have super-good potential, we have potential to do great things,” Tyson said. ”But, we have a lot to work on like our turnovers and rebounding the ball better. … Defense is always gonna be there, but we need to work on those two things, for sure.”
“I feel like that’s going to carry everywhere (Texas Tech’s defense). Whether we got to Hawaii, whether we go to Kansas — wherever we go — it’s always there with us. That’s our bread and butter: our defense.”
NO. 23 TEXAS TECH VS. NO. 10 CREIGHTON
What: Maui Jim Maui Invitational
When: 1:30 p.m. Monday
Where: Lahaina Civic Center in Maui, Hawaii
Records: Texas Tech 3-0. Creighton 4-0
TV: ESPN2
Radio: FM 97.3
Fast fact(s): Creighton coach Greg McDermott owns a 2-3 all-time record against Texas Tech, including a 1-0 mark as the Bluejays coach. He’s never faced Mark Adams. ... The Red Raiders have shot 35 more free-throw attempts than its opponents this season.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Tyson, Harmon expand rebounding roles as Texas Tech takes on Creighton
