Texas Tech basketball: Red Raiders fight off pesky Kansas State in Lubbock
Kevin McCullar replaces Terrence Shannon Jr. in the starting lineup
For the first time this year, redshirt freshman Kevin McCullar Jr. started a game and he didn’t disappoint. Meanwhile, the player he replaced, Terrence Shannon Jr., continued to struggle.
Coming off a career-high 15 points against Oklahoma State, McCullar was solid with nine points, six rebounds, four steals and, one assist while playing 32 minutes. Meanwhile, Shannon continued to spend time in Beard’s dog house seeing only 8 minutes and contributing no stats other than two fouls.
McCullar scored the first three Red Raider points of the game on an old-fashioned three-point play and he opened the second-half scoring with a nice layup leading one to believe that his presence in the lineup might be important at the start of each half, which are times in games that Tech has struggled on more than a few occasions this year.
Though it is tough to quantify statistically, one of McCullar’s greatest attributes is that he almost always seems to be in the right place at the right time. He seems to be in position to grab every loose ball, fight for every rebound, and come up with key defensive stops, which is a credit to his understanding of the game.
Meanwhile, Shannon seems to be struggling with his intangibles. He appears to be less willing to fight for rebounding position while also being a step slow both physically and mentally with his defensive assignments.
Some are justified to wonder if the concussion he suffered last week against TCU in Lubbock is still playing a role even though he’s been medically cleared to play. But whatever the reason, this is the worst stretch of Shannon’s freshman campaign and for Tech to become what we all hope will be a championship-caliber team in March, he is going to have to return to form sooner than later. But even if he does, he might not be able to wrestle a starting spot away from McCullar who is quickly becoming one of Tech’s most invaluable players.