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Texas Tech basketball program recruiting two top-150 guards

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TX - FEBRUARY 24: The Texas Tech Red Raiders mascot 'Raider Red' poses next to the stage during ESPN's College Game Day prior to the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Kansas Jayhawks on February 24, 2018 at United Supermarket Arena in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TX - FEBRUARY 24: The Texas Tech Red Raiders mascot 'Raider Red' poses next to the stage during ESPN's College Game Day prior to the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Kansas Jayhawks on February 24, 2018 at United Supermarket Arena in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /
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The Texas Tech basketball program has recently been in contact with two prospects ranked in the top-150 of their respective classes.

It appears that the Texas Tech basketball program is looking to make certain that the 2018-19 team’s biggest flaw, below average guard play, does not carry over into future seasons.  In the past week, the Red Raiders have been in contact with two talented guards in Damion Baugh from Memphis, Tennessee and Will McClendon from Las Vegas, Nevada.

Baugh is a 6-foot-4, 185-pound 4-star combo guard.  According to 247Sports.com, he is the No. 4 player in Tennessee and the No. 23 combo guard in the nation along with being the No. 141 overall prospect in the class of 2019.  In addition to Tech, he holds offers from a number of schools including Memphis, Georgetown, TCU, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, Auburn, Boston College, Illinois, Florida, Texas, Georgia, Miami and LSU.

As one of the top remaining uncommitted players in the 2019 class, he has seen his stock rise significantly in recent months.  On Monday, Texas Tech assistant Glenn Cyprien was in Tallahassee, FL to see Baugh in person.

According to a recent article by Evan Daniels of 247Sports, Bough sounds like he would be a perfect fit for Chris Beard’s program.

"“A long, lean guard, Baugh is a two-way player that impacts the game with his ability to create and facilitate for others, but also with his defense, where he projects to be a lockdown defender at the next level.” Daniels writes."

The part of that scouting report that is most intriguing for Texas Tech fans right now is that Baugh creates and facilities offense for others.  That is something sorely lacking from the current team (outside of Jarrett Culver) so it is no surprise to see Tech trying to add pieces that will prevent future teams from having the same offensive woes that we are seeing right now during the Red Raiders’ 3-game losing streak.

The class of 2019 is already the best in Texas Tech basketball history and will include two highly rated guards.  4-star Duncanville prospect Jahmius Ramsey is the No. 34 player in the nation and Kevin McCullar from San Antonio (who is already on campus and working out with the team) is the No. 40 shooting guard in the country.

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Back in August, Baugh released his top 10 schools and Texas Tech was not in the mix.  But things likely have changed since then, especially given that he chose not to sign in the early window last fall.  He has taken official visits to Georgetown, Auburn and TCU but did not commit to any of those schools so he appears to still be weighing his options.

Meanwhile, Tech is getting in early on one of the top high school sophomores in the nation.  2021 Las Vegas, NV guard Will McClendon is reporting that he has received an offer from the Red Raiders.

247Sports is yet to release ratings for the class of ’21 but does show that McClendon already holds offers from UNLV and Washington as well as Tech.  Meanwhile, MaxPreps.com ranks McClendon as the top 2021 player in Nevada and the No. 12 overall player nationally in his class.

He is already 6-foot-4, 185-pounds and is a force for one of the top high school teams in the nation.  Earlier this year, he scored 28 points against the No. 2 team in Nevada and was one of the stars of the prestigious Tarkanian Classic earlier this season.  You can see some highlights of his work in that tournament here.

Overall, Tech would have to be considered a bit of a long shot right now for Baugh given that he has an offer from his hometown school, which is killing it on the recruiting trail under new head coach Penny Hardaway.  And it is far too early to even begin to speculate what McClendon will do in two years.

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But what we can glean from these developments is that Texas Tech is looking to upgrade its talent at the guard position as the game of basketball continues to evolve and transition more towards a position-less game.  What’s more, it is still refreshing for Red Raider fans to see our school going after some of the top players in the nation and knowing that there is a real possibility that Chris Beard and his staff can bring them to Lubbock.

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