Sometimes the best ability is availability. Donovan Atwell certainly fits that bill for the Texas Tech basketball team this season, but the senior UNC Greensboro transfer has been much more than a consistent presence on the floor.
While the majority of the Red Raiders roster has dealt with one injury or another this season, Atwell and Christian Anderson are the two players who have taken the floor every game. Atwell didn’t have the luxury of knowing McCasland’s system when he arrived on campus, but he was around the team all summer and participated in every practice to this point of the season.
Atwell came to Lubbock as a known 3-point shooting threat, which he’s more than lived up to for Texas Tech. He and Anderson rank sixth and fifth, respectively, in the Big 12 Conference this season in 3-point percentage and are among the leaders in made 3s as well.
“If you could just say who’s the most consistent on our team, it’s Donovan Atwell,” McCasland said. “He is not up and down. He shows up every day. He works extremely hard.”
But McCasland has seen plenty more from Atwell, especially as of late. While his 41.7% shooting from deep and 11.8 points per game average are essential to Texas Tech’s operation, Atwell has played at least 33 minutes each of the last six games and 10 times in Tech’s first 16 contests.
When Atwell first arrived at Texas Tech, McCasland said, he was the kind of ‘yes-sir, no-sir’ player that coaches love. Those players, though, limit a team’s ceiling. That’s where Atwell has taken a leap in the last month.
“Is your conviction as a player equal to what needs to happen with the team? And that’s where Donovan, I think, has honestly separated himself recently,” McCasland said. “He’s not just like a try-hard guy that shows up every day and does his job. Now there’s a conviction in who he is as a person.”
McCasland said he saw Atwell’s mentality and leadership shine through as Texas Tech held on for dear life in a 73-71 win over Colorado last week. The Texas Tech head coach said he’s seen the 6-foot-5 wing start to turn an important corner since the Dec. 13 game against Arkansas.
“His growth in his conviction of what our team needs,” McCasland said, “has been as impressive as anything, and that’s where I’ll tell you his experience has really helped.”
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Grant McCasland calls Donovan Atwell Texas Tech basketball’s ‘most consistent’ player
Reporting by Nathan Giese, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
