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Texas Tech Basketball Lands Italian Point Guard

By Matthew Conner

Jan 21, 2017; Lubbock, TX, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders head coach Chris Beard is greeted by Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts before the game with the Oklahoma State Cowboys at United Supermarkets Arena. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 21, 2017; Lubbock, TX, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders head coach Chris Beard is greeted by Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts before the game with the Oklahoma State Cowboys at United Supermarkets Arena. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Texas Tech basketball head coach Chris Beard has been a relentless recruiter since the day he took the job in Lubbock.  Yesterday, he landed another excellent player for the upcoming season in point guard Davide Moretti.

After falling short of postseason play in 2017, Texas Tech basketball head coach Chris Beard knew that his team had to have an infusion of talent.  So this offseason, Beard has put together the the program’s best recruiting class in recent memory.  The class got a boost yesterday when Italian point guard Davide Moretti committed to the Red Raiders.

Moretti was a highly-coveted recruit and to land him, Beard had to beat out some impressive programs.  During a recent whirlwind trip to the United States, the international star visited Indiana, Utah and Connecticut in addition to Texas Tech.

One of the most exciting traits Moretti will bring to the court is experience.  Though he will be classified as a true freshman this season, he is far from green.

While playing for the Italian under-18 European Championships team he averaged almost 15 points per game.  He also competed on the Italian under 20 team and played with a team in the second division of the Italian professional league.

Another benefit for Texas Tech is Moretti’s height. At 6-foot-3 he will bring much-needed size to  a Red Raider backcourt that struggled to defend opposing point guards last season.

Because of his international professional experience, Moretti has a very high basketball IQ.  He also has a nice touch from deep which is something Tech desperately needs.

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The Red Raiders made only 212 3-pointers last year, third fewest in the Big 12.  Tech also ranked just 6th in the league in scoring at 73.3 points per game.

It will be interesting to see how Beard and his staff shuffles the roster with Moretti on board.  He is the seventh addition to the team this offseason but only six players have left the program since last year.  The most recent departure was guard Shadell Millinghaus who was granted his release from the program last week.

The JUCO transfer played just one year at Texas Tech.  He averaged 3.9 points per game last season and was not a significant contributor in Big 12 play.

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Tech’s roster is shaping up to be unusual.  It will have seven newcomers, including five freshmen and it could have as many as six seniors as well. But what seems certain is that the 2017-17 Red Raiders will have more talent on the roster than any Texas Tech team in almost a decade.

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