Texas Tech basketball: 3 players who are seeing their stock rise
Avery Benson
After his 10-point, 4-rebound, 2-block showing against Louisville, Beard referred to walk-on sophomore Avery Benson as “Arkansas tough” when speaking to ESPN’s Holly Rowe after the game. Certainly, the native of The Natural State needed to be tough just to withstand the exuberant open-handed punch to the chest Beard delivered as he handed the attention over to Benson when speaking to Rowe and he’s also had to be the toughest player on the roster to earn meaningful playing time.
We have seen Benson collect more floor burns than any other stat in his time in Lubbock so when he went flying into the scorer’s table Tuesday night after deflecting a pass near midcourt, Tech fans hardly blinked. It’s what Benson does. It’s as much a part of his DNA as trucker hats and boots.
But what has been a surprise is how essential he’s been for this year’s team. This offseason, we discussed how there was a role he could fill for this team, but no one envisioned just how integral the guard would become.
While we thought he would be most influential by setting a tone in practice and showing his new teammates how to play and prepare the Beard way, we never imagined that on a roster of highly-regarded transfers, nationally-ranked recruits, and returners from last year’s Final Four team, that Benson would become a key scorer off the bench.
Averaging 3.8 points per game, he’s provided 6.6 points a night in the last three contests. Perhaps even more importantly, he’s become a viable option from 3-point range, something this year’s Red Raider bench is in desperate need of.
Thus far, he’s shooting 55.6% from deep and has nailed 5 of the 9 shots he’s attempted. What’s more, in each of the last two games he’s been on the floor in crunch time showing just how much of Beard’s trust he has earned. It’s a testament to how much he’s improved that in just one offseason he’s gone from a player who only saw action in blowouts to being a core member of the roster and an invaluable asset.