After a bit of a quiet start to the offseason amid the transfer portal frenzy, the Texas Tech basketball team's 2024-25 roster is starting to take shape. In fact, the Red Raiders added a very useful item to the mix from the end of last season.
So far, Tech has only filled three of the eight available scholarships the program needed to distribute. However, each of these three should be key players next season.
Kevin Overton, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Drake, was the first to commit the crime. On 247Sports.com he is listed as a four-star transfer and he is his 26th shooting guard in the portal.
Grant McCasland then secured a commitment from 6-foot-10 forward Federico Federico from Pitt. He is a three-star transfer and is rated as the No. 60 power forward in the portal.
Most recently, Tech acquired Elijah Hawkins, a four-star point guard from Minnesota. Rated as the No. 19 point guard by the portal, he will be the man to carry the Red Raider offense next season.
Each of these three players should be able to contribute right away next year, and it's not unreasonable to imagine all three starting. But there is still much work to be done and scholarships still need to be provided. So let's take a look at what the Red Raiders still need to add to their roster.
If we didn't learn anything last year, we learned that it's not wise to go into the season with only one true post player on the roster. This decision nearly crippled the Red Raiders late in the season when Warren Washington suffered a foot injury.
During Washington's loss to Kansas on Feb. 12, the Red Raiders were short-staffed in the post, as the 7-foot Washington was the only member of last season's team taller than 6 feet 8 inches. The 6-foot-7 Robert Jennings was asked to start in the final month of the season in his place, and true freshman Emeli Yaraho was given a larger role after spending most of the season essentially as a spectator. did not become.
Tech survived, going 5-4 in games between Washington's initial fall and its return to face North Carolina State in the NCAA Tournament. But life would have been much better with more size on the roster.
Tech also learned from the loss to the Wolfpack that even with Washington, they're not a good enough team. NC State has three legitimate big men on the roster, and they combined for 54 points and 17 rebounds when they hit the post against Tech.
The Red Raiders would be wise to use scholarships on other players as close to 7 feet tall as possible. It would also be great to see Federico play an offensive game, considering he averaged just 4.7 points per game last season.
Life in the Big 12 requires teams to have plenty of size in the paint, which Tech still doesn't have. If the season were to start today, it wouldn't be good enough for the Red Raiders as Jennings transferred to Oklahoma State and Yarajo isn't ready to play a significant role on a contending team yet. So, see if the Red Raiders can add more height via the portal. The only problem is that almost every team in the country is looking for elite players in the post.
