Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland has officially announced the hiring of Kellen Buffington who will work as the program’s General Manager.
Buffington is one of the most respected grassroots basketball organizers in the country and arrives at Texas Tech after founding and operating TheTB5Reports in Dallas. The organization hosted amateur basketball events for the top players and programs in the nation. TheTB5Reports provided scouting reports to college programs and NBA teams.
“Texas Tech is a special place,” Buffington said. “The support from the fanbase is unmatched in college basketball. Grant is a builder and a winner. The opportunity to work with him, this staff and these players was a situation I really wanted to be a part of.”
“His ability to connect with people is what has allowed him to have so much success in basketball,” McCasland said. “He is a tremendous person who has proven that through his journey in education. His connections across the country in basketball will be a tremendous resource for our program in growing Texas Tech basketball through recruiting and national landscape.”
A Compton, California native, Buffington attended Paul Quin College where he earned a bachelor’s in criminal justice before earning a master’s degree from Concordia University in education administration. He worked as a Texas educator for 14 years within the Dallas Independent School District, Cedar Hill ISD, and Irving ISD.
While operating The TB5Reports, Buffington helped identify and scout highly successful players like Mike Miles, Cade Cunningham, Anthony Black, Cason Wallace, Keyonte George and Jordan Walsh among others many others for NBA front offices and collegiate programs throughout the country. He also founded The Blueprint5 in 2013 which is a basketball program for young men in inner-city neighborhoods and was a juvenile detention officer for three years within the Dallas Juvenile Justice department.
McCasland’s staff announcements now includes Achoki Moikobu (assistant coach), Matt Braeuer (assistant coach), Luke Barnwell (assistant coach), Dave Smart (assistant coach), Andrew Wright (head strength and conditioning coach), Mike Neal (athletic trainer), Clay Wilson (director of player development), Jardon Powell (director of administration and operations), Cooper Anderson (assistant coordinator of operations), Chris Nottingham (video coordinator), Christian Hosley (assistant strength and conditioning coach) and Jamaal Scott (academic advisor).
