Brooks "Bubba" Jennings (born 1960s) is an American college basketball coach at Arlington Baptist University. He is best known for his collegiate playing career when he suited up for

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

between 1980 and 1985. During his time as a Red Raider, Jennings recorded 1,727 points, 378 assists and 149 steals. As a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

in 1984–85 he was honored with the

Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award The Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award was an annual college basketball award in the United States intended to honor shorter-than-average players who excelled on the court despite their size. The award, named in honor of James Naismith's daughter-in-la ...

, a national award given to the best college men's basketball player who is 6'0" or shorter. At the end of the 2012–13 season, after having served as an assistant coach at his ''alma mater'', Jennings was fired as part of a wholesale change in direction of the men's basketball department at Texas Tech.

Playing career

High school

Jennings attended Clovis High School in

Clovis, New Mexico Clovis is a city in and the county seat of Curry County, New Mexico, Curry County, New Mexico. The city had a population of 37,775 as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, and a 2019 estimated population of 38,319. Clovis is located in th ...

. He had a highly successful prep career, and in his final season in 1979–80 he set a state record for points in a game (75, December 1979, at

Reese Air Force Base Reese Technology Center is a research and business park located on the grounds of former Reese Air Force Base in western Lubbock at the unincorporated community of Reese Center. History Reese Technology Center began as the Lubbock Army Air Corp ...

) and season. The NHSCAA named him to their All-America and Academic All-America teams; by another voting outlet, he was the New Mexico Player of the Year in 1980. Jennings also led Clovis to a New Mexico AAAA state championship in his junior season of 1978–79 and was named to the Class 4A all-state team. Upon high school graduation, he was inducted into the Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame.

College

Between 1980–81 and 1984–85, Jennings played four seasons at Texas Tech University (he

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

his true

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

season in 1981–82 when he broke his foot in the third game of the season). In each of his four years he was named an All-

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma an ...

(SWC) selection. During the 1982–83 season, the Red Raiders team consisted of only eight players. Jennings was the catalyst for an historic season during his senior year in 1984–85. His 19.5 points paced the Red Raiders to a 23–8 overall record (12–4 SWC) conference championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament, Texas Tech's first appearance in nine years. He was named the SWC Player of the Year as well as the SWC Defensive Player of the Year, honored with the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award, was an honorable mention All-American, and was the SWC Athlete of the Year (regardless of sport). He led the team in scoring in three of his seasons while he also paced them for two seasons in both steals and assists. Jennings started all 117 games he played as a Red Raider.

College statistics

, -1980-81 totals: 28 gm, 28 gs, 953 min, 131-284 fg, 43-54 ft, 40 reb, 80 ast, 18 stl, 2 blk, 305 pts , style="text-align:left;", 1980–81 , style="text-align:left;",

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

, 28, , 28, , 34.0, , .461, , —, , .796, , 1.4, , 2.9, , 0.6, , 0.1, , 10.9 , -1981-82 totals: 3 gm, 3 gs, 75 min, 13-24 fg, 7-7 ft, 1 reb, 14 ast, 7 stl, 0 blk, 33 pts , style="text-align:left;", 1981–82 , style="text-align:left;",

, 3, , 3, , 25.0, , .542, , —, , 1.000, , 0.3, , 4.7, , 2.3, , 0.0, , 11.0 , -1982-83 totals: 26 gm, 26 gs, ? min, 164-361 fg, 88-103 ft, 51 reb, 112 ast, 44 stl, ? blk, 416 pts , style="text-align:left;", 1982–83 , style="text-align:left;",

, 26, , 26, , , , .454, , —, , .854, , 2.0, , 4.3, , 1.7, , , , 16.0 , -1983-84 totals: 29 gm, 29 gs, 912 min, 156-309 fg, 89-105 ft, 49 reb, 91 ast, 45 stl, 6 blk, 401 pts , style="text-align:left;", 1983–84 , style="text-align:left;",

, 29, , 29, , 31.4, , .505, , —, , .848, , 1.7, , 3.1, , 1.6, , 0.2, , 13.8 , -1984-85 totals: 31 gm, 31 gs, 1073 min, 250-456 fg, 105-121 ft, 72 reb, 95 ast, 42 stl, 6 blk, 605 pts , style="text-align:left;", 1984–85 , style="text-align:left;",

, 31, , 31, , 34.6, , .548, , —, , .868, , 2.3, , 3.1, , 1.4, , 0.2, , 19.5 , -Career totals: 117 gm, 117 gs, ? min, 714-1434 fg, 332-390 ft, 213 reb, 392 ast, 156 stl, ? blk, 1750 pts , align="center" colspan=2, Career , 117, , 117, , , , .498, , —, , .851, , 1.8, , 3.4, , 1.3, , , , 15.0

Professional

Following college, the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...

chose him in the fourth round (86th overall) in the 1985 NBA Draft, although he never played in the league. He instead went to Europe to play for the London Docklands Crystal Palace, although his career was short-lived.

Coaching career

Jennings began his basketball coaching career as a graduate assistant at Texas Tech. He then got a head coaching job at Artesia High School in

Artesia, New Mexico Artesia is a city in Eddy County, New Mexico, centered at the intersection of U.S. routes 82 and 285; the two highways serve as the city's Main Street and First Street, respectively. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 11,301. Hist ...

, where in nine seasons the team won two state championships. He also served as the head golf coach at Artesia and led them to one state title in that time. Jennings' next stop was Coronado High School in

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...

. He led the school to back-to-back district and bi-district championships and was named the city coach of the year and District 3–5A. Eventually he returned to Texas Tech, also located in Lubbock, and spent several years as the men's basketball team's video operations manager. He moved his way up the college coaching ranks and in 2008 was named a full-time assistant coach. In March 2013, the entire staff except for interim head coach Chris Walker were fired by Texas Tech officials. In July 2018, after five years working as a loan officer at First Bank and Trust in Lubbock, Texas, Jennings returned to coaching. He became the head boys' basketball coach at Peaster High School, a school where he coached for three seasons and won 85 games before accepting the head coach position at Arlington Baptist University in 2021. In his very first season, Jennings led the Arlington Baptist Patriots to the

Association of Christian College Athletics The Association of Christian College Athletics (ACCA) is an organization of collegiate athletics. It was incorporated to provide an opportunity for smaller Christian college members to compete on an equal level of competition with schools of like ...

(ACCA) national championship.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, Bubba 1960s births Living people American expatriate basketball people in the United Kingdom American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from New Mexico Basketball players from New Mexico College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Dallas Mavericks draft picks High school basketball coaches in New Mexico High school basketball coaches in Texas London Towers players People from Clovis, New Mexico Point guards Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball coaches Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball players