Texas Tech men’s basketball has it’s third verbal commitment in this fall’s recruiting class, and this time he’s a post. A true post.

Paul Cooper is a 6-foot-8, 255-pound forward who is in his sophomore season at Gulf Coast Community College, former juco home of Red Raider Brad Reese. Cooper was recruited by schools in the Big 12, ACC and Conference USA, but took just two official visits: one to Lubbock a few weeks ago and another to Central Florida just yesterday. Upon his return to Gulf Coast, he committed to the Raiders.

Cooper spent his freshman season at Gulf Coast as a backup to Marquis Gilstrap, now a senior at Iowa State who was recently named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. Although he subbed for the versatile Gilstrap, Cooper said their styles are nothing alike.

“Marquis was like a guard,” Cooper said. ”I’m a post player. I can’t compare to Marquis.

“I like to bang, that’s my thing. I like to get in there and bang some bodies around, score. That’s how I like to play.”

I’ll have more on Cooper’s commitment in Tuesday’s Avalanche-Journal and on RedRaiders.com.