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Texas Tech basketball: Ramifications of Deshawn Corprew’s departure

By Matthew Conner

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 27: Deshawn Corprew #3 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders shoots the ball during a practice session ahead of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional at Honda Center on March 27, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 27: Deshawn Corprew #3 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders shoots the ball during a practice session ahead of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional at Honda Center on March 27, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

Tech will have one fewer capable 3-point shooter

An underrated aspect of Corprew’s game was his touch from outside.  Overall, he was a 40% shooter from 3-point range, which ranked third on the team behind Moretti and Edwards.

He attempted only 50 shots from behind the arc, which was sixth-most on the team, but he nailed 20 of them.  His season-high in a single game was three, which came against Northwestern State and on four other occasions, he hit two long-range shots in a game.

Those numbers likely would have risen this season as Corprew figured to be in line for a substantial bump in playing time.  And it would have been nice to have such a capable spot-up shooter on the floor because the 2018-19 roster appears to be heavy on slashers and light on spot-up shooters.

When Tech was on its recent 3-game exhibition tour of the Bahamas, the 3-point shot was a struggle.  Overall, the team hit just 16 of 71 (22.5%) shots from deep.  Some of that was attributed to the fact that Davide Moretti played in only one game (he played a few minutes of the second game before leaving with a minor injury) and Edwards’s shot betrayed him all week.

Tech has restocked its roster with a ton of athletic players who can get to the rim but who do not have the reputation of being reliable 3-point weapons.  For instance, Chris Clarke has shot just 33% from 3-point land in his career while T.J. Holyfield has never made more than 28 threes in a season (which isn’t too bad for a power forward).

What’s more, freshmen like 5-star signee Jahmi’us Ramsey and 4-star Terrence Shannon Jr. have a ton of work to do on their jumpers before that part of their game is up to speed with their athleticism and slashing ability.  Until a third spot-up shooter emerges for the Red Raiders, teams will be able to pack the lane to slow down the dribble penetration, especially if either Moretti or Edwards is on the bench.  That is an area where it would be nice to have Corprew’s touch from outside this year.

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