Texas Tech football: 3 Kentucky stars Red Raider fans need to know

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Tyrese Maxey #3 of the Kentucky Wildcats Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

Guard Tyrese Maxey is a high-scoring true freshman

The No. 10 player in the 2019 signing class, Tyrese Maxey from Garland, Texas is a dangerous weapon for the Wildcats. A 6-foot-3 guard, he’s one of four Wildcats averaging at least 13 points per game (13.3 to be exact) and he’s dishing out 2.9 assists while grabbing 4.2 rebounds.

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With only seven points in his last outing, he snapped a string of double-digit scoring efforts. Still, he’s had at least 10 points twelve times this year.

In his first-ever college game, Maxey put on a show against No. 1 Michigan State with 26 points and five rebounds. He surpassed that with 27 points and 7 rebounds against No. 3 Louisville in late December. In other words, he seems to enjoy high-profile games…oh joy.

He’s just a 29.4% shooter from deep but that hasn’t stopped him from launching 4.6 attempts per game. Thus far, he’s making only 1.1 of those per game.

Maxey also isn’t a great defender. He’s just 8th on his team in adjusted deficiency rating as he allows an average of 95.7 points per 100 possessions according to SportsReference.com.

In this game, he will be facing off with another prominent Dallas-area product in the class of 2019, Tech’s Jahmi’us Ramsey. Jay Strader of the Daily Toreador notes that the two met in November of 2018 with Maxey’s team getting the win but Ramsey having a career game with 33 points on 13-22 shooting along with nine rebounds and two steals.

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Here’s hoping that Tech’s star freshman can break out of his recent struggles in time to shine against a familiar opponent. He’s averaged just 10 points per game over his last four outings with two of those being two of only three times he’s failed to get to double digits in points. If he can have a better showing against an old rival that he has in recent games, it will do wonders for his team’s hopes of winning this critical non-conference showdown.

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