The following is a press release from Texas Tech Athletics:
Keenan Evans and Zhaire Smith became the first players in Texas Tech basketball history to be selected to attend the 2018 NBA Draft Combine which will take place May 16-20 at Quest Multisport in Chicago.
Texas Tech is one of 14 schools to have multiple players chosen for this year’s event. The Red Raiders join fellow Big 12 members Kansas and West Virginia along with Arizona, Duke, Kentucky, Maryland, Miami, Michigan State, Missouri, Nevada, UCLA, USC and defending national champion Villanova.
The NBA Draft Combine is a multi-day showcase where some of the world’s best draft-eligible players will participate in physical measurements, interviews, drills, medical and athletic testing. Players also will have the opportunity to scrimmage in front of NBA personnel. NBA coaches, general managers and scouts also will be on hand to assess individual players in preparation for the annual NBA Draft which will be hosted by the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center on Thursday, June 21.
ESPN2 will televise parts of the NBA Draft Combine on May 17 and May 18 from 2-6 p.m. CT.
Evans was the program’s third consensus NCAA All-American in addition to being a finalist for the prestigious Bob Cousy and Wooden Awards. He finished his Texas Tech career as one of four players to amass at least 1,500 points, 350 rebounds, 325 assists and 125 steals during his career. Evans capped his senior season with 17.6 points per game which was second in the Big 12 and the highest scoring average for a Red Raider since Jarrius Jackson averaged 19.9 PPG in 2006-07.
Smith turned in an impressive freshman campaign which saw him earn spots on the All-Big 12 Newcomer, All-Big 12 Defensive and All-Big 12 Honorable Mention. He piled up a program single season mark of 417 points for a freshmen and reached double figures on 27 occasions. Smith also came away with team-highs of 42 blocks and 42 steals. The 42 rejections are second for a freshmen only behind Zach Smith’s mark of 45 in 2014-15.
The Texas Tech Athletics Ticket Office is selling season tickets for as low as $135 and taking season ticket renewals for the upcoming 2018-19 season online at www.TexasTech.com. Fans also can renew their season tickets or purchase season tickets in person at the Texas Tech Athletics Ticket Office located on the East Side of Jones AT&T Stadium or over the phone at (806) 742-8324 (TECH). Information on single-game tickets and mini-plans will be announced at a later date by the Texas Tech Athletics Ticket Office.
Texas Tech earned the program’s first NCAA Elite Eight trip and a program-best second-place Big 12 finish en route to a 27-10 record in 2017-18. The 27 wins were the second-highest total in program history for a season only behind the 30-2 mark put together by the 1995-96 squad under James Dickey. The Red Raiders also set a program single season record with eight victories over Associated Press Top 25 opponents and captured a program-best No. 6 final ranking in the USA Today/Coaches Top 25 poll.
(Press release from Texas Tech Athletics)
