BY JEFF WALKER
A-J SPORTS EDITOR

OKLAHOMA CITY — Andre Emmett, Ronald Ross, Jay Jackson, Martin Zeno.

Texas Tech has had one go-to scorer in each season under the current coaching staff.

Next in line appears to be senior guard Alan Voskuil.

“I feel I’m ready for it,” Voskuil said Thursday during the Big 12 Conference media day. “Being here for four years, I kind of understand what needs to be done and how to get it done.”

That Voskuil will be looked upon to score isn’t a surprise. His emergence began last season. After playing in every game as a freshman and sophomore, Voskuil came to the forefront as a junior.

The 6-foot-3 guard tripled most of his offensive numbers last season. He averaged 13.1 points per game, which was second on the team behind Zeno (16.1) and tied for 15th in the Big 12.

One of the biggest outside threats in the conference, Voskuil led the Big 12 in 3-point field-goal percentage, connecting on 50 percent (67 of 134) from beyond the arc.

In year’s past, coaches have encouraged their scoring leader to also be the vocal leader of the team.

First-year head coach Pat Knight said, however, that this year’s team might have a vocal leader other than Voskuil.

“It’s just like Jay Jackson and how he did it,” Knight said. “It’s more from a follow my lead by what I do and not what I say. It’s just not in Alan’s personality, but (the team) definitely has to follow him. He’s one of our best players and the best shooter on the team, so I think he’ll lead more by example.

“I will be on him more to be more vocal just because he is the kid who has been featured in magazines, he is going to be the focal point for us from an offensive standpoint. I don’t hold him up to task to be that vocal. I won’t hold that against him. What I’ll hold against him is his play on the court.”

Prior to last season, Voskuil spent the summer playing with the Danish National Team. He said he was asked to play again this summer, but instead chose to remain in Lubbock.

Perhaps he was beginning to show his leadership with that move.

“I need to be more vocal, and I think just being more of a role model on and off the court will be a factor in how we play,” Voskuil said. “This summer I just stayed here and focused on my grades. It’s my senior year and I had to take care of that. They offered for me to come back, but I told them I was going to stay here and focus on my senior year. It’s my last year. I needed to stay. I’m taking the team under my wing and I figured I needed to be here as much as possible.”

Voskuil said he might go back to Europe after this season, but right now he’s focused on the Red Raiders.

“It’s always possible, but we’ll just see where basketball takes me,” he said.

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