KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Grant McCasland made sure to let the folks in attendance know he brought JT Toppin to the T-Mobile Center for a reason.
Toppin's recovery from his season-ending torn ACL in February is one of the biggest storylines surrounding the Texas Tech basketball team. Knowing Toppin was going to be at the center of the conversation, McCasland thought it was best for Toppin to answer for himself at Big 12 Conference media days.
The 6-foot-9 forward, who was an unanimous preseason all-Big 12 selection despite his current injury status, credited Texas Tech trainer Mike Neal with his rehab, saying he feels "great right now" and looks forward to returning to the court.
"I really just been taking it slow," Toppin said. "And Coach Mac and the
program and the coaching staff just been supporting me through this whole process."
When Toppin returns to the floor, he'll have some plenty of new faces around him, but he'll also have some familiar ones by his side.
That includes Darrion Williams, who formed a dynamic one-two punch with Toppin during the 2024-25 season that saw Texas Tech get to the Elite Eight and just a few minutes shy of a trip to the Final Four. Williams transferred to NC State last year and is now among the players fighting the NCAA for a fifth year of eligibility — Williams is currently eligible through a temporary injunction.
Williams said he wanted a chance to play with Toppin again and had high praise for his new-old teammate.
"We talked a lot during the year," Williams said of Toppin, "and I'll tell him all the time, like there's nothing like playing with you, man. He's really one-of-one. He's the best player in the country."
There's still no official timeline for when Toppin will return to the floor. McCasland said during the team's first week of practice he won't ask Neal when Toppin will be available. Rather, he'll let the rehab process play out and go from there.
"And I feel like," Toppin said, "I'll be coming back very, very soon."
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: When could JT Toppin return to action for Texas Tech basketball? 'Very, very soon'
