Chris Beard has nothing but good things to say about Micah Peavy and his future at TCU
Micah Peavy didn’t light up the stat sheet during his lone season playing under Chris Beard at Texas Tech. He averaged 5.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists, starting 25 of 29 games as a true freshman.
But Beard, who has moved on to become the coach at Texas, disputed the notion that Peavy didn’t reach his full potential with the Red Raiders last season.
“I totally disagree with that. I thought he was one of the best freshmen in college basketball,” Beard said at the Big 12 men’s basketball media day Wednesday.
“He didn’t reach his full potential? I don’t know. We were a 6-seed in the NCAA Tournament. He started in the Big 12 as a freshman. He had a great year.”
Beard went on to say that outside expectations sometimes aren’t realistic for highly-rated prospects such as Peavy.
Peavy was regarded as one of the top players in Texas, winning a state championship at Duncanville as a junior and then being named the TABC Class 6A player of the year in the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season.
Peavy averaged 19 points and 7.5 rebounds as a senior for Duncanville, and 16 points and 6.6 rebounds as a junior.
Beard acknowledged that some may have viewed Peavy as a potential one-and-done player in the college ranks but few actually reach that level.
“Micah — could he be a one-and-done? That’s the journey that Micah had coming in and then you have to run your own race,” Beard said. “I thought Micah did a great job for us last year. We were one of the best teams in college basketball. We were a basket away from the Sweet 16. Micah was starting on that team. Will there be some improvements? Oh, yeah. I anticipate he’ll improve from Year 1 to 2 like all players do.
“I love Micah. My relationship with the Peavy family goes way back. The first thing I asked (TCU coach Jamie Dixon) today was, ‘How’s Micah doing?’”
Peavy is expected to make an immediate impact for the Frogs. TCU ranked eighth in scoring offense (66.9) among Big 12 teams last season, and Peavy should help improve that.
Beard has no doubt that Peavy will make a positive impact.
“He had a great freshman year. Not good, great,” Beard said. “At TCU, what you’re getting is one of the best sophomores in college basketball. Micah doesn’t take possessions off. He’s going to do exactly what you tell him to do.
“I think his role will expand just like it would’ve if he stayed with (coach Mark Adams at Texas Tech), or come with me, or gone to TCU. His offense is going to expand when you go from being a freshman to sophomore. It’s not just a change of schools but the next step of his maturity as a player. Also, I’d tell TCU fans that he’s one of the best people I’ve met. When you’re a fan and you go to the game and you pay for a ticket and sit down and enjoy basketball, it gets special when you really like the players you’re watching or you really respect them. Micah Peavy is about all the right things, man.
“He’s going to represent TCU well, Fort Worth well, Horned Frogs well. He’s the real deal. I miss him every day, I’ll tell you that.”
This story was originally published October 21, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
