Texas Tech basketball: Red Raider fans with plenty to be thankful for

This program is swimming in talent like we’ve never seen and the pool is only getting deeper

When I was at Tech during the Knight days, we wouldn’t know much at all about the incoming basketball recruits until they stepped on the court in their first days.  Part of that was due to the newness of recruiting coverage but part of it was because most of these players were rather anonymous.

Consider that some stalwarts of the Knight era were foreign additions like Robert Tomaszek or Pawel Storozynski, JUCO transfers like Kasib Powell or Devonne Giles, or even walk-ons like Ronald Ross and you can see the level at which this program was recruiting at that time.  Not anymore.

I still can’t be the only one to be blown away by the fact that Tech is not only in the mix for but landing top 100 players in the nation with regularity.  There was a time this program would have been lucky to land a top 100 player in Texas.

Now, the current roster features Jahmi’us Ramsey, who will hold the title of the highest-rated player to ever suit up for the Red Raiders for only one year until the arrival of 5-star signee Nimari Burnett next season.  Additionally, Tech has a top 100 2019 signee in Terrence Shannon Jr. already in the starting lineup and will bring in top 100 2020 recruit Micah Peavy next year.

The reality is that coaches and programs are only as good as the players on the floor.  That’s an area that Tech in which has been deficient for most of its Big 12 existence.

But now, we don’t have to hope that Beard can continue to uncover 3-star gems like Jarrett Culver or Zhaire Smith.  Rather, we are seeing the Red Raiders bring in some of the top players in the country and that will give Tech a chance to compete with any team in the nation.  Certainly, we have to be thankful that our days of not measuring up to the likes of Kansas or Kentucky in terms of talent appear to be behind us.