Texas Tech basketball: These six newcomers will be critical in 2018-19

Khavon Moore: Forward 6-foot-7, 215-pounds

There has never been a more highly-ranked recruit to sign with the Texas Tech basketball program than Khavon Moore.  The native of Macon, Georgia was a 4-star prospect ranked No. 39 in the nation last year.  He picked Texas Tech over Texas A&M, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, Providence, UCLA and USC among others.

Moore averaged 22 points per game as a junior and put up over 2,000 points in his high school career.  But a broken leg forced him to miss most of his senior season and will likely cause him to be somewhat limited as the Texas Tech basketball season begins.

But once he is healthy, the versatile forward will be a dream fit in Beard’s motion offense.  Able to handle the ball, shoot with accuracy and pass like a point guard, Moore is exactly the type of player that the motion offense was built for.

After seeing how Zhaire Smith was utilized last year, Red Raider fans can imagine what Moore’s role could eventually be.  He is not nearly as explosive of an athlete as Smith but he is far more polished as a player.  Many are comparing him to Kasib Powell, another 6-foot-7 forward who averaged 11.9 points per game at Texas Tech in 2001-02 and 2002-03.

But Moore is a much more highly ranked prospect than the former JUCO transfer Powell was.  In fact, Moore was considered a possible one-and-done player prior to his leg injury.

Eventually Khavon Moore is going to be healthy again.  When that happens, he could become the face of the Red Raider basketball program.  But this year, look for him to come off the bench to provide an offensive spark in a system perfectly suited for his skill set.