Texas Tech basketball: Chris Clarke must give Red Raiders more offense

If the Texas Tech basketball team is going to compete in the Big 12, senior Chris Clarke has to give his team more than he has lately on the offensive end of the floor.

There’s no question that Big 12 basketball is built around defense. Just about every team in the conference plays a rugged brand of ball on that end of the court and it can be tough for newcomers to adjust.

One such player who might be learning that the hard way is grad transfer, Chris Clarke. Though he’s never been known as a score-first player, he has to start giving his team more than he has in recent Big 12 games.

After being held scoreless against TCU on Tuesday night, the 6-foot-6 guard has seen his scoring average in Big 12 play drop to just 4.8 points per game. That’s down from the 7.1 points he scored on average prior to conference play.

While Tech could survive without Clarke putting the ball in the basket against the long line of cupcakes on the pre-Big 12 schedule, if one of the only two seniors on the roster isn’t at least contributing something on offense against conference foes, the Red Raiders are going to continue to struggle.

In all three of the Red Raiders’ conference losses, they have failed to score more than 54 points. That’s why the offensive game of Clarke has to be more impactful.

Despite the fact that his team was struggling against TCU, Clarke took just one shot. What’s more, in his last three games, he attempted only nine total shots. Furthermore, he’s not been to the free-throw line in the last two games.

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Keep in mind that Clarke has started the last four games with Terrence Shannon missing two games and coming off the bench in two more because of a back injury. But even in a more prominent role, he’s attempted just 4.75 shots.

Remember back in November and December when Jahmi’us Ramsey was hurt and missed three games and the second half of a fourth? Clarke also started then and averaged 9.7 points per game, all of which were against major conference opponents. That’s the type of impact we need to see from him in Big 12 play as well.

There seems to be a belief that Clarke isn’t capable of being a consistent scorer and any points he gives the team are just a bonus. That’s not true.

In all three of his seasons at Virginia Tech, he averaged at least 8.2 points per game. That’s two more than he’s averaging this season.

In fact, in 2016-17 he put up 11.4 p.p.g. That season, he had 21 points against No. 20 Notre Dame, 22 against No. 12 Florida State, and 17 against Syracuse.

It’s fair to wonder if the Red Raiders are playing at a more deliberate offensive pace than Clarke is accustomed to. Many of his baskets at Va. Tech were in the open floor and given the way he handles the ball and sees the court, it’s safe to assume that an up-tempo style of play suits him best.

But track meets almost never break out in Big 12 play. Rather, games in this league feel more like hand-to-hand combat. Thus, he needs to adjust his style of play as well.

It’s also fair to consider that Clarke is playing out of position as he is often the tallest player on the court for his team. Despite the fact that Tech’s motion offense doesn’t have defined positions, the fact that he’s being guarded by the opposition’s biggest player when Tech goes to a five-guard lineup means that he can’t overpower his defender. Given that he does not have elite quickness and has to often rely on strength and craftiness to score, larger players seem to be frustrating him.

Of course, we shouldn’t overlook the other way he’s helping the offense, assists. Clarke is averaging five of those per game in Big 12 play. That included a nice 7-assist game against West Virginia. What’s more, he would likely have quite a few more assists if almost all of his teammates hadn’t gone cold at the same time against Baylor and TCU.

Regardless, Chris Clarke has to give this team more than he has been. He’s looked frustrated, confused, and timid at times in recent games and that’s not what he was brought here to be.

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Rather, as a senior, he’s played more big-time college basketball than any player on this roster and that experience needs to start paying off. Now, this veteran of ACC wars has to step up his game in the Big 12 or his team is going to continue to find it difficult to score enough points to win.

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