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Texas Tech basketball: The significance of Micah Peavy’s commitment

By Matthew Conner

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: The Texas Tech Red Raiders take the court 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: The Texas Tech Red Raiders take the court 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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Tech is guarded against unexpected departures

We spend quite a bit of time talking about the importance of depth in a football program but for some reason, we don’t dedicate as much thought to that issue in regards to basketball.  That’s probably because basketball sees fewer players go down with injuries and because the rosters are so much smaller.

But for a team to be a yearly contender the way Beard and the fan base envision, there has to be elite talent coming into the program every year.  That way, the program is protected from unexpected departures as we’ve seen in recent years.

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When they signed with the Red Raiders in 2017, neither Zhaire Smith nor Jarrett Culver was expected to be an early entrant into the NBA Draft.  Smith, the No. 194 player in the class, became a one-and-done despite not even being discussed as a draft prospect when Big 12 play began.  However, he parlayed an impressive NCAA Tournament into a lottery selection much to the surprise of just about anyone who followed the sport.

Meanwhile, Culver was the No. 312 player in this class and had the look of a college player that would be the perfect four-year program guy.  But he blossomed under Beard’s guidance as well and was gone after two years on campus.

Then there was last year’s top high school signee, Khavon Moore.  The highest-rated player to ever sign with the Red Raiders at the time he arrived, he was thought to be the centerpiece of the program’s future.

However, he and Beard did not see eye-to-eye with how his playing time was handled as he worked his way back from a severely broken leg he sustained in January of 2018.  He eventually transferred to Clemson where he’s averaged 1.3 points per game in his first three outings of the season.

The point is that in the world of college basketball, unexpected departures are the norm.  After this year, it would shock no one to see Davide Moretti head back to his native Italy to play professionally, especially given that his father is a coach in the top Italian league.  That was an option for the junior after last season and it might be what he decides to do following this season.

Meanwhile, no one would be surprised to see Ramsey or even Terrence Shannon Jr. leave school early for the NBA.  After all, both were much more highly-rated high school players than Smith or Culver.

So expect some type of unplanned departure after this season.  But because Peavy is on the way, this program is now set to withstand any unscheduled roster attrition and remain talented enough to compete with any team in the nation.

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