-Matt Cox
Key Returners: Kyler Edwards, Terrence Shannon Jr., Kevin McCullar
Key Losses: Jahmi'us Ramsey, Davide Moretti, Chris Clarke, TJ Holyfield, DeShawn Corprew
Key Newcomers: Joel Ntambwe (UNLV), Marcus Santos-Silva (VCU), Nimari Burnett, Micah Peavy, Esahia Nyiwe (JUCO), Chibuzo Agbo Jr., Vladislav Goldin, Mac McClung*** (Georgetown)
***needs waiver
Lineup:
Outlook: The Red Raiders’ offseason news wire deserves its own section in the Associated Press. From polarizing transfers to generational prospects, Chris Beard was in the crossfire of fierce recruiting battles this summer. He didn’t win ‘em all but seeing Texas Tech in the hunt for so many marquee players speaks volumes about how high Beard has elevated this program in only five years’ time.
The dust hasn’t fully settled – Mac McClung’s eligibility still hangs in the balance – but most of the roster nuts and bolts are now intact. Reinforcing the backcourt became priority number 1 after Jahmi'us Ramsey and Davide Moretti both announced their professional pursuits. Beard put a lot on Ramsey’s plate last year. He asked his prized rookie recruit to quarterback the offense from day 1 and seamlessly fill the Shaq-sized shoes left behind by Jarret Culver. I may have been jaded by Culver’s success in 2019, as well as his predecessor’s Keenan Evans precision in 2018, but I foolishly assumed Ramsey would pan out to be a Culver 2.0.
It sure looked like Ramsey was headed for rock star status to start the year – he was superb in the Red Raiders’ first five non-conference tilts – but a bad hamstring injury against Iowa put him on the shelf for three weeks. Upon his return, Ramsey regained form quickly and went scorched-earth on a brutal Big-12 schedule in February. Still, he ultimately fell prey to the typical freshman ebbs and flows, hitting a wall late in the year. By all accounts, Ramsey ‘met expectations’ last season. It served as a reality check for what reasonable expectations should be for first-year lead guards, particularly those carrying the torch for a nationally elite program (who would’ve thought ‘nationally elite’ and ‘Texas Tech’ would ever be juxtaposed in the same sentence). We learned how invaluable that extra year of seasoning Culver and Evans had entering their final season in Lubbock – imagine what a sophomore year Ramsey could’ve looked like…
In a Ramsey and Moretti-less world, 5-star prospect Nimari Burnett will become the de-facto lead ball handler and offensive initiator. In many ways, Burnett’s scouting report tagline is eerily similar to that of Ramsey and Culver: Long, fluid, tough shot-maker. He’s perfect for late shot clock burn situations, where Beard can send him a ball screen or space the floor and let him go make a play.
A cynic might cite Burnett’s disjointed fit on this roster. They’d say his style more closely aligns with the combo / shooting guard mold, disqualifying him as a proper match for the current void at ‘point guard’ created by Ramsey and Moretti’s departures. But that argument doesn’t hold merit in the modern era of basketball. The outdated positional stereotypes lead us astray in ignoring not just Burnett’s versatility, but also the playmaking ability of his elder comrades, Kyler Edwards, Terrence Shannon and Kevin McCullar.
Beard places a premium on experience, which is where the battle-tested Edwards needs to deliver. Along with hustle hero Avery Benson, Edwards will be the most experienced incumbent on the roster. A returning full-time starter, Edwards is no stranger to big games after clocking major minutes on the 2019 National Champion Runner Up squad. ‘Agent 0’ was the backcourt glue last season, a chameleon type guard capable of adapting his game as needed. Without Davide Moretti co-piloting the offense, Edwards will be the Red Raiders’ veteran rock in the backcourt, responsible for shepherding along the young Burnett.
Shannon and McCullar will flank Edwards and Burnett on the wing, two budding stars ready for takeoff. Shannon, a devastating lefty slasher, turned in one of the most efficient freshman seasons in the entire Big-12 last year. If his jumpshot continues to progress, an All-Conference team is undoubtedly in his future. McCullar’s offensive toolkit isn’t as robust as Shannon, but he does plenty of damage as a defensive robber on the other end (McCullar’s 4.1 steal rate was tops in the Big-12 last season, per KenPom).
It’s no secret that Beard swoons over length and versatility. These traits are becoming institutionalized in the Red Raider program, found in both members of the freshmen class: top-50 recruit Micah Peavy and fringe top-100 / 4-star prospect Chibuzo Agbo Jr. The diversity in their skillsets should help restore balance to the Red Raider offense, which was severely lacking last year.
In hindsight, Beard’s Chris Clarke point forward experiment was partly at fault for the constrictive offensive spacing. Clarke’s defender was able to sag off in the lane, which eroded cutting and driving real estate in the middle of the floor. Now, with traditional guard and wing creators initiating from the perimeter, there should be fewer logjams in the lane. But, that’s contingent on the Raiders cashing in on catch-and-shoot opportunities from deep, which was a chore last year for players not named Ramsey and Moretti last season.
The frontcourt was also in dire need of a reboot this summer, a project that hit a few roadblocks early on. Tech was in the mix for shot-blocking menace Kevin Marfo, but he ultimately landed at in-state rival Texas A&M. Russel Tchewa, a deep sleeper lurking in the rotation, also defected. Coupled with Clarke and TJ Holyfield’s graduation, the Red Raider frontline looked fragile by mid-April.
Beard promptly quieted the angst with a major free agent pick up, VCU’s Marcos Santos-Silva. The only real nitpick on Santos-Silva, despite his per minute shot-blocking stats saying otherwise, is the lack of verticality. Standing only 6’7, he’s far from the pogo-stick leaper that Tariq Owens was in 2019, a key cog in Tech’s historically elite defense. For the record, last year’s defensive unit was no slouch – per KenPom, Texas Tech’s adjusted defensive efficiency (0.91 points per possession) ranked 9th nationally – but the defense softened against more formidable Big-12 opponents. Tech’s 0.95 PPP in conference play (4th best in the league) is nothing to scoff at, but it’s evidence that some minor cracks emerged over the course of the year. Holyfield, last year’s primary rim protector, posted gaudy shot-blocking numbers but lagged in the glass cleaning department, a microcosm of the Red Raiders’ rebounding woes – would you believe me if I told you this was the worst defensive rebounding team in the Big-12 last season?
Santos-Silva and his bruising shoulders should patch up those holes in a hurry. He’s the reigning enforcer of VCU’s stifling defense and should flourish as a defensive anchor with Beard’s tutelage. Two more mega-men, top-30 JUCO import Esahia Nyiwe and 7’0 beanstalk Vladislav Goldin, will spell the shorter Santos-Silva at the 5. That leaves Joel Ntambwe, a 6’9 position less swiss-army knife. The former UNLV transfer is essentially a three-level scoring wing stretched out into a forward’s frame. Beard’s had a laundry list of long, bouncy forwards in recent years, but none could shoot or slash like Ntambwe:
Bottom Line: In today’s college basketball landscape, freshmen phenoms and a burgeoning youth movement are putting age and experience on the hot seat. But for Chris Beard and his rigid defensive system, those two traits still hold their weight in gold. During the Raiders’ magical 2019 run, Beard talked openly about the importance of having older, multi-year guys in the program, which was not the case with last year’s freshman-laden team – heck, even the upperclassmen were predominantly first year players.
The Red Raiders still skew young, but the wing triumvirate of Edwards, Shannon, and McCullar are all entrenched in Beard’s principles and general habits. Combined with another talented crop of newcomers who will fill in the blanks, notably Burnett and Ntambwe, a Big-12 title is well within grasp.