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Texas Tech basketball: Forward Josh Mballa to transfer

By Matthew Conner

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 05: The Texas Tech Red Raiders run the court with linked arms during practice prior to the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 5, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 05: The Texas Tech Red Raiders run the court with linked arms during practice prior to the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 5, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Wednesday, news broke that forward Josh Mballa is set to leave the Texas Tech basketball program after one season in Lubbock.

The most fascinating offseason in recent Texas Tech basketball history took another turn Wednesday as it is being reported that a third scholarship player is leaving the program.  According to Evan Daniels of 247Sports and FoxSports1, forward Josh Mballa will be leaving the Red Raiders after appearing in just 17 games during his true freshman season.

Mballa joins fellow 2018 signee Khavon Moore and sophomore forward Malik Ondigo as players who have decided to seek other opportunities after seeing limited action during Tech’s wildly successful 2018-19 season.

In the case of Moore, his recovery from a broken leg kept him out for over half the season until he appeared in the January 16th game against Iowa State for just two minutes. But Beard and his staff did not feel he was physically ready to contribute and held him out of action for the remainder of the season which did not sit well with Moore and his camp leading to the departure of the highest-ranked player to ever suit up at Tech.

As for Ondiago and Mballa, both appear to be so far away from developing into contributors that it seemed best for both the players and the program that they move on.  Mballa averaged just 3.4 minutes per game in his appearances this season mustering a mere 0.8 points and 0.3 rebounds per game.

A native of France, the 6-foot-8, 205-pounder was considered a project with great physical tools but a limited set of basketball skills when he signed with the Red Raiders in the class of 2018.  And that proved to be true as he often looked incredibly lost on the court, even against lower-level competition.  It was hard to imagine that his skills would develop enough to make him a potential contributor in the Big 12 given the talent on the current roster and the limited playing time that was likely coming his way.

A product of Putnam Science Academy in Connecticut, he held offers from only Texas Tech and UMASS.  Interestingly, he is one of three Putnam products to have signed with the Red Raiders in the Chris Beard era joining Ondigo and 2019 signee Russell Tchewa, a 7-foot-1, 3-star center.

And though Mballa and Ondigo were by all accounts excellent young men, their departures are actually positives for the Red Raiders because it opens up two scholarships for Chris Beard to potentially fill with players ready to contribute immediately.  Tech has now moved away from being a program that has to rely on players considered to be projects who may eventually add value on the court.

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Rather, Beard is swimming in the deepest of recruiting waters these days and he could possibly fill these open spots with big-time players.  The Red Raiders are one of four schools still in the running for 5-star guard R.J. Hampton, a consensus top-10 player in the nation, and Tech recently hosted 4-star forward Tyreek Smith. 

Some wonder if Beard needs to add another grad transfer big man to pair with 6-foot-8 forward T.J. Holyfield, who announced his decision to join the Red Raider program last week after playing his first three seasons at Stephen F. Austin.  As it stands, the only player over 6-foot-9 on next year’s roster is Tchewa meaning that the true freshman (who some scouts say is a bit raw in his own right) may have to log critical minutes against some of the dominant big men in the Big 12 such as Kansas’ 7-footer Udoka Azubuike.

Another consideration for Beard when putting together his roster is whether he will be willing to enter next season with possibly just one scholarship to recruit to in the class of 2020.  If he fills his two open spots with freshmen or JUCO players, the only senior on next year’s roster will be Holyfield meaning that unless there is some player attrition among the rest of the roster, Beard would have limited availability to address his team’s shortcomings after next year.

Of course, as we have seen this year, player movement in college basketball is at an all-time high so it would be naive to think that every player on the 2019-20 team would return.  For instance, Davide Moretti could have left this summer to play professionally in his native Italy so that option will likely be on the table for him a year from now.  And once some of the younger players see how the minutes break down during the season, they may seek other opportunities.  And we can’t rule out the possibility of Tech putting a player in next summer’s NBA Draft after seeing Zhaire Smith and Jarrett Culver make that leap in the past two years.

Next. Top 5 Tech basketball games of 2018-19. dark

Coming off a Final Four run, Texas Tech fans are obsessing over any development coming out of the basketball program and there appears to be plenty of cards left to fall before next year’s roster is set.  With several irons in the fire, Chris Beard has plenty of work to do before his yearly trip to float the Frio River.

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