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Texas Tech basketball: Big men in transfer portal that could help Red Raiders

By Matthew Conner

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 08: Matt Haarms #32 of the Purdue Boilermakers reacts to a play in the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on February 08, 2020 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 08: Matt Haarms #32 of the Purdue Boilermakers reacts to a play in the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on February 08, 2020 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /
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Forward TJ Holyfield #22, head coach Chris Beard, forward Chris Clarke #44 and student manager Cooper Anderson  (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
Forward TJ Holyfield #22, head coach Chris Beard, forward Chris Clarke #44 and student manager Cooper Anderson  (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /

The Texas Tech basketball team needs more size so let’s look at what is available in the transfer portal and discuss whether they might be a good fit for the Red Raiders.

Once pioneers of the grad transfer movement, the Texas Tech basketball team continues to fish in the same pond that brought Matt Mooney, Tariq Owens, T.J. Holyfield, Chris Clarke, and Anthony Livingston to Lubbock.  But after seeing the success Chris Beard had by mining that new resource for talent acquisition, just about every other program in the nation is now fishing in the same pond and that has made the transfer market more competitive than ever this offseason.

Interestingly, in just the last few days, several of the players Tech has offered scholarships to have decided to play elsewhere in 2020-21.  Most notably is the No. 1 player in the portal according to most experts, Carlik Jones.  The 6-foot guard averaged over 20 points per game for Radford last year and holds a Texas Tech offer but he’s decided to play for Louisville next season.

Meanwhile, the nation’s top rebounder, Kevin Marfo, has committed to Texas A&M.  Averaging 10.2 points and 13.3 rebounds per game this past season, the 6-foot-9 forward from Quinnipiac also held an offer from Beard.

Bowling Green’s Justin Turner was also a Red Raider target but he’s cut his list to six teams according to Jeff Goodman and Tech wasn’t included.  The 6-foot-4 guard averaged 18.8 points per game this season.

Terrell Brown, a 6-foot-1 guard who played for Seattle last year was only on the market for a short time before committing to Arizona this week.  He had been contacted by the Red Raiders after he put up 20.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.8 assists in 2019-20.

While some fans might see these misses as discouraging, it is important to keep in mind that Tech is in a position to be extremely selective when looking for players to add via the portal.  That’s because the roster Beard already has in place is good enough to compete for a Big 12 and national title next season without any further additions.

Thus, don’t expect the Red Raiders to add players simply for the sake of making moves.  Rather, Beard and Co. will only make moves that fit their culture and are certain to be immediate upgrades.

While much of the Red Raiders’ focus seems to be on ball-dominate and play-making guards, fans are well aware that Tech could also use some help inside.  Fortunately, there are a number of players currently in the portal that may help in that regard.

As we look at some, keep in mind that not all have offers from Tech and that there will be more entering the portal almost every day.  Also, we won’t waste our time with players that are already committed elsewhere or those who just don’t seem to be of the quality Tech is looking for.  So with that said, let’s dive into what is available right now in the portal and see if any would be natural fits for the Red Raiders.

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