After the abrupt departure of Tubby Smith last week, Texas Tech Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt seemingly only made one call. That call was to Chris Beard.

Within 48 hours, that phone call turned into a couple of plane rides and an introductory press conference.

Welcome, Coach Beard!

To further welcome Coach Beard, here are five things that you should know about him.

  • 1

    He was an Assistant under the Knights

    Chris Beard was on the Texas Tech Basketball staff from 2001-2010 with both Bob and Pat Knight as head coach.

    He holds Bob Knight as his mentor that taught him the most. When he was at Little Rock, he was quoted as saying:

    "I've been blessed to work for some really good people in college basketball. I was with coach Knight the longest, eight seasons. I am proud to be associated with someone who has the best graduating rates in the history of college basketball, was never involved in an NCAA violation. He won at the highest level and he won with character and he won following the rules. A lot that we do here is based on coach Knight."

    From other stories, I don't think graduation rate is the only thing he's taken from Coach Knight's repertoire.

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  • 2

    He broke his hand trying to fire up a team

    In Little Rock's Sun Belt Championship, Beard was going to get the team fired up for the second half and punched a white board. 

    The punch came from a good place. "We talk a lot about boxing in our program. We’re a good defensive team. We believe in boxing, kind of footwork," Beard said. "But unfortunately, I didn’t get the message with the handwork. A dry erase board took a bad shot.”

    That's why Beard is still wearing a brace on his hand.

  • 3

    He's had 12 jobs in the last 20 years

    Some would say that Chris Beard is only loyal to opportunity. But after taking the Texas Tech job only three weeks after accepting a job at UNLV (after only being at Little Rock for a year), it's more about finally coming home than climbing a ladder.

    Beard's had three head coaching jobs, excluding the brief stint at UNLV, and has had success at each stop.

    One year at McMurry with 19 wins; 47 wins in two years at Angelo State; and a 30-win season Arkansas-Little Rock.

  • 4

    He feels like Lubbock is home

    This video is from December 2015 when Coach Beard came to Lubbock as a competitor. This was his press conference after his team's loss.

    It's funny how things can ring true in different contexts.

  • 5

    He's coached at the professional level

    He led the South Carolina Warriors (ABA) to a 31-2 record in his lone season with the team.

  • BONUS

    Patrick Mahomes' Favorite Lubbock Restaurant

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