The 2018-19 RTC National Coach of the Year Chris Beard took a circuitous path to becoming the head coach at Texas Tech — and when considering that route, the fact that he guided his Red Raiders to a regular season Big 12 championship and to the Final Four seems too far-fetched to believe.
Beard began his high-major coaching career working as an assistant under the legendary Bob Knight at Texas Tech while the Red Raiders were experiencing a period of prolonged success. After subsequent head coach Pat Knight was relieved of his duties at the end of 2011, Beard began a stretch of employment that took him to the ABA, McMurry University, Angelo State and Arkansas-Little Rock. It was while in the state capital of Arkansas during the 2015-16 season that Beard became a rising star in the coaching world. In his lone season at the school, the Trojans stunned #5-seed Purdue in a double-overtime thriller. Following that season, Beard took the UNLV head coaching job in late March, holding it for about three weeks before Memphis hired Tubby Smith from Texas Tech, leaving the Red Raiders job vacant. Beard then spurned his new position with the Runnin’ Rebels and returned to Lubbock to try to finish what he had started a decade prior.
After a transition year when the Red Raiders finished a solid 18-14, Beard really got things moving forward during the 2017-18 season. Led by senior guard Keenan Evans and dynamic freshman Zhaire Smith, Texas Tech advanced all the way to the Elite Eight — pushing eventual national champion Villanova for 35 minutes — before the Wildcats ultimately pulled away with the victory.
It would have made sense for the Red Raiders to take a step back this season given that Evans had exhausted his eligibility and Smith had left early for the NBA. That was not the case, though, as Beard landed South Dakota transfer Matt Mooney and St. John’s transfer Tariq Owens, while developing sophomores Jarrett Culver and Davide Moretti to take on bigger roles. Those offseason maneuvers paid immediate dividends, as Texas Tech began this season 10-0 and never looked back. Ultimately, Beard’s club ended Kansas’ streak of 14 consecutive regular season Big 12 championships before entering the NCAA Tournament as a #3 seed and steamrolling Northern Kentucky, Buffalo and defending national runner-up Michigan. In Saturday’s Elite Eight, the Red Raiders used their suffocating defense and timely shooting to get past top-seeded Gonzaga and advance to the first Final Four in program history.
Texas Tech has a legitimate chance to take home the national title on Monday night in Minneapolis. It might not be the favorite, but Chris Beard has never been the favorite at any point in his career — and that has turned out just fine.