Texas Tech’s Chris Beard fined for bolting Big 12 meeting. Why he’d do it again
Texas Tech coach Chris Beard has no regrets about leaving a mandatory Big 12 basketball meeting in the spring of 2018.
Hosting one of the country’s most coveted graduate transfers, Matt Mooney, on an official visit took precedence over whatever fine the conference handed down.
“Matt Mooney was a heavily-recruited grad transfer,” Beard said, recalling the recruitment process during Big 12 basketball media day on Wednesday.
“He was in complete control of his recruitment. He had a calendar and he was sticking by it. It gets down to official visits and we were fortunate to get one of those dates and it happened to be on a Big 12 coaches meeting in the spring.
“There was no way I was going to miss, no disrespect to the Big 12, but Matt Mooney was more important than anything I could hear in a meeting.”
It paid off when Mooney, who started his college career at Air Force and then went to South Dakota, committed to Texas Tech.
With Mooney playing a significant role, the Red Raiders reached the Final Four and were runner ups in the national championship game.
Mooney finished last season averaging 11.3 points, 3.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game. He earned Final Four all-tournament team and second-team All-Big 12 honors.
Beard didn’t recall the exact amount of the fine, but those are typically in the $5,000 range.
“I got fined,” Beard said, smiling. “I remember showing Matt that. I paid a fine.”
It’s a memorable recruiting story, although Beard believes it pales in comparison to the old days. Former Kentucky and Louisville coach Rick Pitino stopped by Lubbock a couple weeks ago and Beard loved hearing stories from back in the day.
“The old recruiting stories are so much better than the ones we have,” Beard said. “You used to have no recruiting calendar. They’d be out all the time. The real recruiting stories are back in the day.”
For Beard, though, recruiting is something that drives him. It’s one of the best parts of the job.
Beard has some of his fondest memories driving the backroads of Texas and across the country looking for talent, particularly when he coached at schools such as McMurry in Abilene and Angelo State in San Angelo.
“We’d load up in the school car and take off with the gas card,” Beard said. “I love that. I love the travel and the backroads. I’m not a chain guy … I prefer to go to the local spots. The best barbecue I’ve had is in gas stations, the best fried chicken is on the side of road. I miss that.”
This story was originally published October 23, 2019 at 4:35 PM.
