The Wolf Diamonds 3-2-1: A big day for hoops, Brooks is back, and more!

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Polite-Bray no longer a member of the Tech football team

On Tuesday, Texas Tech football coach Kliff Kingsbury announced that cornerback D.J. Polite-Bray was no longer with the football team.

Kingsbury said Polite-Bray’s decision was based in making school his focal point.

“He’s no longer with us,” Kingsbury said. “(He) just needed to focus on his academics and try to graduate. That was kind of his decision.”

Without Polite-Bray, the Red Raiders will certainly lose some depth at corner, though his snaps had become limited for much of this fall.

Big day for Beard and the basketball program

Wednesday was an historic day for Texas Tech basketball. A 10 million dollar donation by Dusty Womble enabled athletic Director Kirby Hocutt to announce plans for a new standalone basketball practice facility for both the men's and women's programs, a facility the teams have needed for quite some time.

The project is estimated to cost 23 million dollars, and Womble’s donation is a big step in reaching that mark, as there are now a total of 12 million dollars put away for the facility.

The Dustin R. Womble Basketball Practice Facility will enable both the men's and women's teams to be housed in a one-stop-shop facility they'll have access to around the clock. It also means that Tech volleyball will have United Supermarkets Arena to themselves throughout the week, removing previous conflicts that forced the three teams to coordinate and divvy up practice and weight room time.

Coach Beard’s great day didn't stop there, however, as Red Raider basketball signed two major prospects in the early signing period as well.

Deshawn Corprew committed to Texas Tech five months ago and officially became a Red Raider on Wednesday. Corprew is currently a redshirt freshman at South Plains College, a former four-star A&M signee who also held offers from the likes of Kansas, Wichita State, Texas, and other blue chip programs.

Joining Corprew is Findlay Prep shooting guard Kyler Edwards. Edwards picked the Red Raiders over favorites like Mizzou and SMU in addition to Oklahoma State, USC, Virginia Tech, and Butler.

Tech basketball's future is undoubtedly very bright with Chris Beard at the helm.

Brooks to return against Baylor.

Kingsbury was hit with a curveball before Saturday’s overtime loss to Kansas State, as linebacker Jordyn Brooks was ruled out as he was dealing with an illness.

Brooks, however, is expected to return on Saturday against Baylor in Arlington.

“He’ll be back, and that will be good for us, obviously,” Kingsbury said. “One of our better players. Starting the game with our entire defense healthy and ready to go, it’s definitely going to give us a boost.”

Freshman linebacker Riko Jeffers took his spot against the Wildcats in his first start of his career and recorded six tackles.

How confident is Kingsbury in the kicking game?

Junior kicker Clayton Hatfield returned against Kansas State last weekend, his first action since the Arizona State game and first time this season as the full-time kicker.

Hatfield nailed all his PATs, but he did shank a 37 yard field goal that likely would've sealed the game, his first miss under 40 yards in his career.

Kingsbury was asked if he thought there was a possibility that they brought Hatfield back to early, a notion he dismissed.

“I don’t think it was premature,” Kingsbury said. “We had a good sample size throughout the week, throughout the previous three or four weeks where he kicked on a limited basis and worked his way up. I felt like our training staff did a good job bringing him along. Looked good pregame. Made some good extra points and had a tough kick there at the end. We’re confident in Clayton. He’s a confident player. He’s made some kicks for us, and he’ll be the guy moving forward.”

Still, with Hatfield missing his first field goal attempt of the season, it's worth wondering if the entire kicking room has caught a case of the yips. We'll find out on Saturday, as Hatfield will likely be called on again to nail some three pointers.

Any chance of seeing a different QB?

The answer to that is probably not. Kingsbury said he hasn’t thought about replacing senior signal caller Nic Shimonek, noting that he isn't quite sure what he'd get out of backup McLane Carter.

“It’s hard to say because until you see (McLane Carter) out there with all the live bullets and all the things we put on Nic, you won’t really know,” Kingsbury said. “But (Carter’s) talented and he’s come a long way from this spring. This spring, I didn’t know exactly what we had. I think his head was spinning a little bit and just watching him handle the installs week in and week out, he’s really come a long way and excited about his future.”

While many have wondered what the offense would look like with Carter or Duffey under center, it's become clear that Kingsbury has no interest in changing quarterbacks, believing that Shimonek gives his team the best chance to win on Saturdays.

It is worth wondering, though, if you might make a QB change to spark the offense should it be sluggish on Saturday or at any point remaining in the season.

Tre King will rush for over 125 yards against Baylor

Since senior running back Justin Stockton went out with a head injury against Iowa State, junior tailback Tre King has emerged as a reliable, consistent weapon in the running game. He had a 113 yard day on the ground in Norman two weeks back, adding a 71 yard day against Kansas State last Saturday to make for two great starts this season.

I think King is due for a big day in Arlington just like junior slot receiver Keke Coutee had last season. Baylor’s rush defense sits at 114th in the country, which favors the Red Raiders in what's undoubtedly now their most important game of the season. The offensive line seems to continue to improve as the year rolls along, and guys on the unit like Travis Bruffy have noted just how much they love blocking for the downhill-running, forward-falling King.

I predict a big day at Jerry's World for the tailback.