Odiase finishes journey at Tech in title game
MINNEAPOLIS – This is a historic moment for the Texas Tech men’s basketball team, and Norense Odiase has more invested than anyone.
More time. More toil. More reason to celebrate.
The Red Raiders’ starting center is the only player, or coach, who’s been with the program for five years.
Odiase saw the end of the Tubby Smith era, when the offense often flowed through him.
He’s seen what Chris Beard has built in its place. A year ago, though, Odiase wasn’t sure he wanted to stick around and be a part of it.
But there he was Sunday, previewing the one final game in this college basketball season and his college career. Odiase, who lost nearly a full season to a broken foot and spent the past seven weeks grieving the deaths of cousins Esosa Oyemwense and Osaretin Igbinedion in a car accident, will be playing for a national championship Monday against Virginia.
The Red Raiders are in this game for the first time in school history. They wouldn’t be without Odiase.
“This moment, definitely it’s paid off,” Odiase said of his decision not to transfer last spring to a team that might provide him with gaudier statistics. “I knew the team that we had coming back and the coaching staff.”
Odiase arrived in Lubbock from Fort Worth as a 270-pound load in the low post. In his first two seasons under Smith, he took 255 shots, making 51% of them.
Beard replaced Smith and Odiase broke a bone in his foot three games into his junior year. He sat out the rest of that season, reading books about leadership that Beard recommended.
Odiase dropped 20 pounds to sculpt his body. And last year, in Beard’s motion offense, his primary roles became setting screens and rebounding.
Texas Tech got to the Elite Eight, but Odiase’s scoring averaged dropped in half, to 3.8 points per game. He wondered if he might be a more attractive pro prospect if he went to a college that would feature him in its offense. He spoke to Beard. He spoke to his teammate and friend Andrew Sorrells. He spoke to his family.
He prayed. He stayed.
And now this.
In Saturday’s 61-51 victory over Michigan State in the national semifinals, Odiase didn’t attempt a shot. He had nine rebounds, though, plus a pair of assists.
And the biggest play you might not remember, the one that sums up what Odiase brings to this team.
The Red Raiders led 55-51 with 1:19 to go when Michigan State forward Xavier Tillman got an entry pass about 10 feet from the basket, turned and prepared to make a move on Odiase.
He never got the chance. Odiase simply reached out and grabbed the ball. Jarrett Culver made a 3-pointer at the other end. Game over.
“Don’t wait till the play happens. Make the play,” Odiase said Sunday, repeating a mantra hammered home by assistant coach Mark Adams. “Early in the game, I thought I had like three deflections on him. I thought I had it earlier and I picked up a foul. But the game plan is to pressure some guys.”
“He’s our biggest leader,” Sorrells said of Odiase. “When it comes down to somebody having to make a big play, obviously on the offensive end it’s going to be Jarrett Culver. But on the defensive end and not missing a blockout, you can count on Norense every time to go get those big rebounds that we need. That’s just who he is.”
Odiase said the Feb. 15 deaths of his cousins have changed him forever. Sorrells, a fourth-year walk-on who rooms with Odiase, said he saw his friend go through a period of deep grief for about a week and then re-emerge with a new focus.
“I don’t really care about much except winning with this team and this family, so that’s changed a lot,” Odiase said. “It’s still hard waking up. I think about it every day.”
Odiase is averaging 4.1 points and 5.3 rebounds this season. He can still score some. Witness the 14 points he put up on Buffalo in a second-round NCAA Tournament win.
But he knows his defense is needed now more than ever.
And he’s ready to put it out there against a Virginia team that also sees basketball games as tests of will more than skill.
“I like defense. Whenever you take the pride of stopping the other player from scoring or another team from getting out of their action, that’s the best for me,” Odiase said.
“They say the casual fans don’t like it. … I believe I do. It’s just pride.”