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Texas Tech basketball: Red Raiders in the mix for several top 2020 transfers

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 24: Head coach Chris Beard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders exits the hallway before the college basketball game against the LIU Sharks on November 24, 2019 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 24: Head coach Chris Beard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders exits the hallway before the college basketball game against the LIU Sharks on November 24, 2019 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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Texas Tech Red Raiders cheerleaders and students  (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
Texas Tech Red Raiders cheerleaders and students  (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /

Texas Tech offers 6-foot-10 JUCO forward Esahia Nyiwe

Clarendon College isn’t exactly a hotbed for basketball but 6-foot-10 Esahia Nyiwe has turned some heads for the Bulldogs this year and now he’s got a scholarship offer from Texas Tech.  At 6-foot-10, 210-pounds, he has the build of former Red Raider forward Tariq Owens.  What’s more, his game looks somewhat similar as well.

I wasn’t able to find any 2019-20 season stats for the Native of Sudan who played his high school basketball in Omaha, Nebraska.  What’s more, he’s had a rather wondering basketball journey as he’s also played a year of high school basketball in Atlanta while playing his first year of JUCO ball at Iowa Western.  According to the Iowa Western website, he averaged  15 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks per contest as a high school senior and 2.7 points and 3.7 rebounds in 2018-19.

But he appears to have exploded onto the scene this season and now, he could continue his basketball career on the South Plains.  And what should have Tech fans rather intrigued by this player, is the highlight video below, put out by Brandon Goble.

In the video, Nyiwe looks like a JUCO Tariq Owens.  With a ridiculous leaping ability and an amazingly quick burst off the floor to go along with his long reach, he emphatically blocks a number of shots in a way that is reminiscent of how Owens protected the rim a year ago when he set a program record in blocks with 92.

Additionally, Nyiwe is a player who can score off of the lob, a strength that Owens displayed in his lone season as a Red Raider and something that was missing from the Red Raider attack this past season.  He even hits a few three-pointers the way Owens did but Nyiwe’s shoot doesn’t look nearly as fluid and polished as Owens’.

With the graduation of forward T.J. Holyfield, Tech currently has only two players on the roster 6-foot-8 or taller, redshirt sophomore Joel Ntambwe and true sophomore Russell Tchewa, the latter of which appears to be still developing as a player and who didn’t appear to have his coaching staff’s full trust this season.  Thus, we can assume that Beard will want to add some more size to his team and Nyiwe could be a nice option.  Though no one expects him to be as good as Owens was for Beard, he could bring some of the same skills to Texas Tech, many of which were noticeably absent from the program in the first year since Owens helped lead Tech to the National Title game.

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