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Texas Tech basketball: Wildcards on the 2019-20 Red Raider roster

By Matthew Conner

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: The Texas Tech Red Raiders stand for the national anthem 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 Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: The Texas Tech Red Raiders stand for the national anthem 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 Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

Transfer forward Joel Ntambwe waiting on a waiver to play

One of the most important victories Beard could pick up this season may come off the court.  That’s because if the Red Raiders get the good news that transfer forward Joel Ntambwe will be eligible this season, it could change the course of the Big 12 race.  He’s that good.

As a true freshman last year at UNLV, the 6-foot-8 forward averaged 11.8 points and 5.5 rebounds as he started all 31 games for the Rebels.  But what’s so valuable is his versatility.

He originally began the year at small forward but moved to power forward when a teammate was lost for the year.  You likely don’t have to be reminded just how much Beard craves versatility so it is easy to see why Ntambwe would be his type of player.

Though the native of The Congo is more than capable of big offensive showings, it would be on the defensive end of the court that his presence would most benefit this team.  Bringing with him an ability to guard all five spots on the floor, he would allow Beard to strategically deploy a lineup that could feature five players between 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-8, (Edwards, Ramsey, Shannon, Holyfield, Ntambwe), that could all score, shoot, defend, and rebound while being more athletic than any lineup we’ve ever seen at Tech.

What’s more, Ntambwe would either come off the bench, where he would be the team’s unquestioned sixth-man, or he could start and allow another scorer, likely Edwards, to be Beard’s go-to as the second unit’s leader.

The problem with Ntambwe is that he won’t be eligible this year unless he’s granted a waiver by the NCAA.  Because his head coach was fired last year, many believe he has a strong case to be granted immediate eligibility given how similar cases have been ruled in recent months.

But there are more waiver claims than ever for the NCAA to sort through and we know that nothing the NCAA does moves swiftly.  Thus, it appears that we won’t know whether or not Ntambwe will be part of this year’s team until after the season has begun.  Until that point, he will remain this team’s greatest wildcard.

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