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Billy Gillispie: the king of turning over a roster

Billy Gillispie

Texas Tech head coach Billy Gillispie reacts against Oklahoma State during their NCAA college basketball game in Lubbock, Texas, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012. (AP Photo/The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Zach Long)

AP

It’s only natural to think that, after an 8-23 season that saw his Texas Tech team go 1-17 in the Big 12, Billy Gillispie would want to start over with a new roster.

Based on the way that players are defecting from his program, it seems like Gillispie is doing just that.

For the sixth time this offseason, a Texas Tech player has left the program. This time it is Kevin Wagner, who started six games this season, averaging 2.5 points, but missed the second half of the season with a knee injury. Wagner -- who follows Jaron Nash (North Dakota), Terran Petteway (Nebraska), DeShon Minnis (Rhode Island), Javarez Willis (Ohio) and Cameron Forte (Northern Arizona) out the door -- will enroll at a Junior College in Waco.

With Robert Lewandowski graduating, that frees up seven scholarships for next season. Believe it or not, that may not be enough. Tech has nine players signed for the Class of 2012, and while one (who has remained unnamed) has agreed to walk-on, that still means that Gillispie has one player more than he has scholarships available.

What makes this turnover even crazier is that Gillispie’s nine-man recruiting class isn’t even the biggest in his tenure at Tech. The Red Raiders brought in ten newcomers prior to last season. Five of them left in the past month and a half.

Now THAT’S roster turnover.

Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @robdauster.