Texas Tech’s frontcourt picture remains murky, but Grant McCasland offered a meaningful update on JT Toppin’s recovery: the star power forward is moving ahead of schedule, even if the Red Raiders are still nowhere near putting him into live action.
In an interview with CBS’s Jon Rothstein, McCasland said Toppin’s rehab is trending the right way, while also making clear that the program has no interest in rushing him back.
“I'll tell you two things, and I haven't spoken about this publicly, but one is I do think he's [Toppin] ahead of schedule, and maybe if you're just looking at timelines of how people respond, leg strength-wise, diameter, you know, explosiveness, those things that matter. And he does do some individual work with skill development.
So it's not all just him doing some skill stuff. We aren't doing any kind of live, and he's still trying to progress to a point where he can get to where he can practice.”
McCasland was equally firm when asked about the next step. Toppin is not close to practice yet, and Texas Tech is planning a slow build rather than any sort of quick return.
“And we're not going to practice him in a short amount of time and play him,” McCasland said. “We're really going to ramp him up slow in practices, and we're not even close to him practicing right now.”
Even when pressed for a broader timeline, McCasland kept things vague, though he did say the recovery has taken a positive turn.
“I really can't say one, but I can say that he's progressed at a rate that we feel like he can make an impact on this team significantly, and that's kind of where he stands,” McCasland said.
That leaves Texas Tech waiting on a major piece for a roster already considered one of the strongest in the conference. UCF transfer Jamichael Stillwell remains ineligible, so the frontcourt situation is still unsettled for now.
McCasland also addressed the speculation around whether Toppin would have redshirted to preserve eligibility under the NCAA’s 5-for-5 rule. His answer was direct.
“Yes. JT [Toppin] 100% would have redshirted.
And a big part of that, I think, is attributed to the fact that he loves being in college. I mean, he went through the draft in between being at New Mexico and coming to Texas Tech, and he did not enjoy that process.”
“He loves Texas Tech, and that speaks to, I think, the people here, but also to his ability to navigate it. But then when you can play one minute and get a whole season and get a whole year back, I mean, obviously it takes any kind of even discussion out of it. And so I honestly do believe he would have redshirted the whole year if it weren't for five for five.”
For now, the Red Raiders will keep waiting on Toppin’s return, with McCasland saying the big man is still working his way back toward practice. When he does return, Texas Tech expects him to matter in a major way.
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