Texas Tech basketball: Why no one wants to play the Red Raiders right now
Freshman Jahmi’us Ramsey has broken out of his January slump in a huge way
Every team needs an alpha dog to strike fear in the heart of the opponent and in recent weeks, that’s what Jahmi’us Ramsey has become. Since he scored just six points against Kentucky, he’s put up an average of 19 per game including two 20-point efforts.
In the five games from January 11th’s loss at West Virginia to the January 25th loss to Kentucky, he averaged just 9.2 points per game. It was during that stretch that many fans began to wonder if Tech’s star freshman was not quite the level of player that he looked to be prior to Big 12 play when he dominated non-major conference opponents to the tune of over 17 points per game.
Keep in mind that prior to the start of Big 12 play, Ramsey had never played an entire game against a team from a major conference. The hamstring injury that caused him to miss the second half of the Iowa game on Thanksgiving night also kept him out against Creighton, DePaul, and Louisville meaning that his first taste of elite NCAA competition came against Big 12 opponents Oklahoma State and Baylor.
He averaged 19 points in those first two conference games but then, it felt like teams started to take away his strengths by applying extreme defensive pressure on him the moment he touched the ball to limit his 3-point opportunities and force him to create off the dribble.
What’s more, he began to draw the assignments of the opposition’s top defenders, most of whom have size advantages on him. As a result, Ramsey began to press and take questionable shots.
Over the course of his five-game struggles in January, he managed to shoot just 3-21 (14.2%) from 3-point range. Surprisingly, his outside shot has been by far his greatest weapon this year (despite the fact that his high school scouting reports suggested that would be his greatest weakness at the college level) and when he began to struggle to hit from deep the way he had all year, he looked lost in all aspects of the game.
That hasn’t been a problem in the last five games. He’s made 16-25 (64%) since the Kentucky game and he’s now shooting 45.2% on the season to lead the Big 12. What’s more, in conference play, he’s upped his 3-point shooting to 45.9%, which is also the best of any player in the league.
When Chris Beard speaks, he often talks about wanting several players to score in double digits. That’s certainly important but so too is having an offensive weapon that can make the opponents quake in their boots because of his ability to hit even the toughest of shots.
Ramsey is proving to be that type of player and his recent surge in confidence and productivity gives Tech a player that will draw the focus of defensive game plans thus opening the court up for his teammates. He’s playing at an All-Big 12 level once again and by being the tip of Tech’s spear, he’s made the Red Raiders an even more dangerous team than they were all along.