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Texas Tech basketball: Red Raiders replacing Chris Beard with top assistant

BySteven Kubitza|
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 27: Head coach Chris Beard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders gestures to the crowd after the college basketball game against the Texas Longhorns at United Supermarkets Arena on February 27, 2021 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 27: Head coach Chris Beard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders gestures to the crowd after the college basketball game against the Texas Longhorns at United Supermarkets Arena on February 27, 2021 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)

Texas Tech basketball found an in-house replacement for the departing Chris Beard.

Chris Beard took Texas Tech to the Final Four in 2019 and turned the Red Raiders into a legitimate powerhouse program. That meant he was due for a promotion and he recently took one with the Texas Longhorns.

The program needed a new leader and Jeff Goodman is reporting they have found their man. They did not need to look far either. According to Stadium’s Jeff Goodman, Mark Adams will succeed Beard on the Texas Tech bench.

Texas Tech replaces Chris Beard with one of his top assistants

Adams came over from Little Rock with Beard and now gets to be the top guy at his alma mater.

Goodman notes Adams’ ability to coach up a top defense. But the most important thing is keeping up the recruiting pipeline that Beard established. That is going to determine the success the Red Raiders will be able to have after setting a new standard under Beard.

This is not Adams’ first head coaching job. It is just his first at the highest level of the game. But the fact he is being hired by the program should prove he was also a top option in waiting.

Texas Tech is an interesting program. Big names have passed through, like Bob Knight and Tubby Smith, but Beard was the one who nearly won a national championship. Expectations are high and Adams will be under a ton of pressure right away. Keeping up the work Beard did should mean there is not a major dip in results.

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