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Texas Tech basketball adds 4-star forward Tyreek Smith

By Matthew Conner

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: A view of the Texas Tech Red Raiders warmup shirt prior to the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four National Championship game against the Virginia Cavaliers at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: A view of the Texas Tech Red Raiders warmup shirt prior to the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four National Championship game against the Virginia Cavaliers at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Saturday, the Texas Tech basketball team picked up a commitment from 4-star 2019 forward Tyreek Smith, the third player to join the program in the past week.

Fans attending the first few Texas Tech basketball games of the 2019-20 season will certainly need to buy a program to keep up with all the new faces on the roster.  And we can now add 4-star forward Tyreek Smith to the list of newcomers after the Cedar Hill, Texas native verbally committed to the Red Raiders on Saturday.

A 6-foot-8 prospect, Smith is the No. 140 player in the nation for the class of 2019 and the No. 15 player in Texas according to 247Sports.com.  Originally committed to Texas A&M, Smith re-opened his recruitment when the Aggies fired head coach Billy Kennedy in March.

In addition to Texas Tech and A&M, Smith held offers from Oklahoma, Florida, Georgia Tech, Houston, Kansas State, LSU, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, TCU and Virginia Tech, among others.    Smith was in Lubbock last weekend for an official visit and now he is the latest big-time addition to the Red Raider basketball team.

https://twitter.com/Cutup_reek/status/1129871900757434370

In the past seven days, Chris Beard has landed two impact graduate transfers in guard/forward Chris Clarke from Virginia Tech and forward T.J. Holyfield from Stephen F. Austin.  But in that same time frame, freshman forward Josh Mballa and 2019 signee Khalid Thomas have left the program, the latter being released from the letter of intent he signed last fall.

As for Smith, his addition will be key for a Texas Tech program looking to replace senior forwards Norense Odiase and Tariq Owens in the post.  And according to one scouting report, the newest Red Raider should be able to contribute right away, especially defensively.

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"Jerry Meyer of 247Sports has the following analysis of Smith: “High-level athlete with solid size for position. Quick off floor as rebounder and shot blocker. Plays with a competitive motor. Not a ball handler, but is a finisher. Energy, defender and rebounder type. Does need to build up body and get stronger. Limited range at this point.”"

Given his frame and the above scouting report, Smith seems like he could be similar to another Smith who recently concluded his Red Raider career.  Coming out of high school in 2014, former Red Raider Zach Smith was 6-foot-7, 205-pounds making him almost the same size as Tyreek Smith.  And both players were considered elite athletes capable of rebounding a blocking shots but lacking ideal ball-handling and shooting range.

The biggest difference though is that Zach Smith was ranked the No. 402 player in the nation, 262 spots lower than Tyreek Smith is ranked in his respective class.  As a freshman, Zach Smith averaged 6.2 points and 4.9 rebounds while blocking 1.5 shots per game.  If Tyreek can give next year’s Red Raiders similar production, Beard will be ecstatic.

The addition of Smith gives Tech 12 scholarship players currently on the roster.  NCAA rules allow a team to carry 13 scholarships per year meaning Beard still has one slot left to fill.  Fortunately, with a balanced roster already in place, there are a number of ways he could go.

Red Raider fans are still dreaming of adding 5-star guard R.J. Hampton, a consensus top-10 player in the nation and the top player in Texas.  The Little Elm native has Tech in his top-4 with Kansas, Memphis and Kentucky and could make a decision soon.

Should Hampton land elsewhere as most experts predict, Beard may turn to the grad transfer market being as next year’s team is currently set to have just two seniors.  Some have linked Tech to USC grad transfer Derryck Thornton, a point guard who averaged 7.7 points and 4.3 assists last year.

Next. Texas Tech lands Virginia Tech grad transfer Chris Clarke. dark

Smith’s addition means that Tech has added five players to the program since the end of the season and there looks to be at least one more on the way.  When the season tips off in November, Tech will have likely have nine new faces on the court (including redshirt freshmen Kevin McCullar Jr. and Andrei Savrasov.  Game program sales at United Supermarkets Arena may set some all-time records.

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