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Texas Tech basketball: Red Raiders reportedly pursuing NCAA’s top rebounder

By Matthew Conner

PHILADELPHIA, PA - NOVEMBER 10: Kevin Marfo #45 of the Quinnipiac Bobcats in action against Jermaine Samuels #23 of the Villanova Wildcats during a game at Wells Fargo Center on November 10, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - NOVEMBER 10: Kevin Marfo #45 of the Quinnipiac Bobcats in action against Jermaine Samuels #23 of the Villanova Wildcats during a game at Wells Fargo Center on November 10, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
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Tech will need some serious rebounding help in 2020-21

Until we know whether or not the NCAA is going to give this season’s seniors an extra year of eligibility (as is reportedly being discussed), the roster makeup of each team is going to be in flux.  But we can’t assume that the NCAA will take such unprecedented action until it happens, and it will seem a bit of a long shot until the unexpected transpires.

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Thus, we have to go into this offseason assuming that the Red Raiders will lose both Chris Clarke and T.J. Holyfield.  That grad transfer tandem was No. 1 and No. 2 respectively on this year’s team in terms of rebounding and as a pair, they averaged 11.1 rebounds per game.

Despite being just 6-foot-6, Clarke was Tech’s top producer on the glass.  He pulled down 6.6 boards per game to finish 8th individually in the Big 12.

Meanwhile, Holyfield was able to grab 4.5 rebounds per contest.  But interestingly, that was his lowest rebounding average since he grabbed 4.2 as a true freshman at Stephen F. Austin.

What’s more, Tech could see freshman guard Jahmi’us Ramsey head to the NBA this summer.  Should he become the second one-and-done in Tech history (after Zhaire Smith in 2017-18), he would take his 4.0 rebounds per game with him.  That total was good for fourth on the Red Raiders this year, just behind Shannon’s 4.1 per game.

Thus, Tech could be facing the loss of over 15 rebounds per game.  That’s not good for a team that was routinely beaten on the glass this season, especially against elite teams.

In 23 games against teams from one of the six major conferences, Tech was outrebounded by 61 total rebounds.  That averages out to 2.65 per game.

What’s more, in four of those games (vs. Baylor, at West Virginia, at OU, and vs. Kansas) Tech was beaten by ten or more rebounds.  Thus, it’s easy to see how the Red Raiders went just 10-13 in those contests against major opponents.

That’s why Marfo makes sense for next year’s team, even though he isn’t a positionless player the likes of which Beard covets.  There will be plenty of those on next year’s roster though.  What is tougher to find is the next Norense Odiase and perhaps that could be Kevin Marfo.  But regardless if it’s by bringing Marfo into the mix or by landing some other beast on the boards that we are yet to hear about, Tech is going to have to find a way to be more competitive when it comes to rebounding next year, a task that only grows more difficult if Clarke, Holyfield, and Ramsey have all played their final games as Red Raiders.

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