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<\/p>\nNew Year\u2019s is supposed to be about reflection, about looking back at the choices that brought you here and deciding what comes next. For Texas Tech senior Jada Malone, that reflection doesn\u2019t take long.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s already done it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI actually reflect on this quite often,\u201d Malone said when asked about her decision to leave the SEC and spend her final year of eligibility at Texas Tech. \u201cI didn\u2019t think so much about the history of the program, I was thinking about the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
That future now includes a 14\u20130 start, a top-25 ranking for the first time since 2012 and a role on one of the most connected and improved teams in the country. All of it required Malone to bet on herself and on a program that has not made the NCAA tournament since 2013.<\/p>\n
But for Malone transferring from Texas A&M wasn\u2019t about chasing comfort or familiarity. She arrived chasing belief and wanting to be surrounded by a staff and players that shared that. Head coach Krista Gerlich sold her on what Texas Tech could be, not what it had been.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe talked to me about the future,\u201d Malone said. \u201cLike, \u2018Hey, we have not had the best history recently, but we\u2019re going to be something next year, and I want you to be a part of it.\u2019 So having a coach that thinks forward like that, why would I not come here?\u201d<\/p>\n
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That belief has paid off on the court. Malone is shooting 68 percent from the field, the fourth-best mark in the conference among players with at least 100 minutes played and the highest efficiency of her career. A number made even more impressive by the fact she arrived in Lubbock already known as one of the country\u2019s most reliable finishers.<\/p>\n
What Malone perhaps didn\u2019t necessarily envision was coming off the bench.<\/p>\n
That adjustment and her willingness to embrace it have become a defining part of her season and a reflection of this team\u2019s identity. But the buy-in didn\u2019t happen overnight.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen kids transfer, they\u2019re not bought in the day they walk on campus,\u201d Gerlich said. \u201cThere were early games she didn\u2019t play much and I know she was probably questioning, \u2018Did I make the right decision?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
That doubt slowly gave way to trust. As the season unfolded, Gerlich said Malone revealed layers of her game the staff itself didn\u2019t even fully anticipate, particularly her defensive versatility, patience on the block and feel for the game in critical moments.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t know to the extent of how smart she was,\u201d Gerlich said. \u201cHer ability to pass the basketball and her patience on the block are unique traits.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Malone, that growth came from being given time. <\/p>\n
\u201cI know what I can do. I know what I can produce,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd she [Gerlich] took the time to be patient with me and let me kind of figure things out. So, I mean, match made in heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even as her confidence has grown, Malone has remained fully bought into her role, starter or not. Gerlich said that acceptance is emblematic of this entire roster.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe understands the rotation. She understands her role,\u201d Gerlich said. \u201cWe probably have seven or eight kids who could start, and they don\u2019t care. They just want to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
That mindset was central to Gerlich\u2019s pitch when Malone visited campus in the spring. Beyond minutes or production, the message was about legacy and helping Texas Tech take the next step.<\/p>\n
\u201cI talked to her about being one of the ones that comes in and helps us take that step,\u201d Gerlich said. \u201cBecause that\u2019s a legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Even as a new member of Red Raider and Lady Raider nation, Malone is already fully bought in on the pride, both now and when her playing days are done. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to come back somewhere that I\u2019m not proud of,\u201d she said. \u201cI think we\u2019re all doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yes they are. They\u2019ve gone from picked to finish near the bottom of the conference, forgotten and perhaps circled on a team\u2019s schedule as a \u2018get right game\u2019\u2026 to a team in the Top 25 and now seen as a resume building chance for their opponents. That rise could cause a group to lose focus, especially coming off Christmas break. That\u2019s not something Malone worries about however because of who this team is as individuals outside of the court. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think we just have amazing individuals,\u201d Malone said. \u201cWe\u2019re amazing basketball players, but we\u2019re even more amazing people. I don\u2019t think any of us get complacent. We\u2019re all very organized, we\u2019re all forward-thinking, but we also know that whatever we\u2019re going to face, even when things get hard, we have each other. And when you have that, it pretty much makes everything easier.\u201d<\/p>\n
That connection isn\u2019t just player to player either. It extends to the entire staff and of course the head coach that brought them all here. When Texas Tech earned its first national ranking since 2012, Gerlich didn\u2019t gather the team together or make a speech. In fact, she couldn\u2019t as many of the players had already left campus for the holiday break. Instead, she texted them as a group and soon there after she started getting individual texts back herself. <\/p>\n
\u201cI got texts from kids saying they were excited for me, not for themselves,\u201d Gerlich said. \u201cThat\u2019ll get me emotional real quick.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Gerlich, it was confirmation of everything she envisioned when she took the job in 2020. A job that was not easy. Fixing a culture that had fallen so far off the cliff and onto the front page of USA Today from what it was when she won a National Championship here as a player. It took time, it took trust and a whole lot of belief. Players along the way have helped pave the path, Gerlich made sure to note, but it\u2019s led to a team that doesn\u2019t just buy into a system but into the people, the place and the program itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love this team so much,\u201d Gerlich said. \u201cBecause I think they love Texas Tech as much as I do.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
What\u2019s Next: #21 Texas Tech vs. UCF 12\/31, 6pm in Lubbock<\/p>\n
Texas Tech returns to action on New Year\u2019s Eve against UCF, a matchup that will demand discipline and physicality from the opening tip. Head coach Krista Gerlich said the Knights present a challenge built around pressure at the rim and second-chance opportunities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re very big, they\u2019re very athletic and they pound it inside,\u201d Gerlich said. \u201cWe have to do a great job of keeping the ball out of the paint, but just as important, we can\u2019t relax when the shot goes up. We\u2019ve got to put a body on somebody and finish possessions by rebounding the basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Jada Malone, the approach stays simple. Physicality matters, preparation matters, but the mindset never changes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important to set the tone,\u201d Malone said. \u201cBut every game is 1-0. It\u2019s not about being 2-0 or anything like that. We need to win the next game and focus on that.\u201d<\/p>\n
First tip is scheduled for 6pm with the game stream on ESPN+. <\/p>\n
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