The 19-year old leader of Sweet 16-bound Texas Tech has a favorite basketball player and it may surprise you.
JT Toppin, the Big 12 Player of the Year and a big reason the Red Raiders are still dancing in March, is a huge fan of a key member of those title-winning Chicago Bulls teams in the 1990s.
No, it’s not Michael Jordan or Scottie Pippen.
Toppin was born five years after Dennis Rodman’s last season in the NBA in 2000 but the passion for the “Worm” is real. Both played high school basketball in Dallas, both stand at 6-foot-7 and both appreciate the lost art of rebounding. Toppin might be the only person in college basketball who would genuinely pick Rodman as his favorite player.
“JT would rather have 20 rebounds than 20 points any day of the week,” said former NBA player Ramon Sessions, who is Toppin’s agent and the president of On Time Agency. “You’ll see JT on a regular basis with a Dennis Rodman shirt. He wears his hoodies. Their games are very relatable from an energy standpoint.
“He watches film on Dennis Rodman. Like, it’s crazy.”
Toppin’s love of rebounding and his growing offensive prowess has been critical for Texas Tech this season, setting up a Thursday Sweet 16 game against 10-seed Arkansas. Toppin is averaging a double-double through two NCAA Tournament games, playing a critical role in the Red Raiders’ second-round win over 11-seed Drake. Toppin went for 25 points and 12 rebounds, with 19 of those points (on 9 of 10 from the field) coming in the first half.
This is why Texas Tech had to have Toppin, who spent a year at New Mexico and was the Mountain West Freshman of the Year before entering the transfer portal. And perhaps at least partially why Texas is already out of the NCAA Tournament and its coach, Rodney Terry, out of a job.
Toppin was invited to the NBA Draft combine after his standout freshman year, but also entered the transfer portal to keep his options…
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