Texas Tech basketball: Why Jahmi’us Ramsey should wait to go pro

His game needs work

Despite the fact that Ramsey led Tech in scoring this year at 15 points per game, fifth-best in the conference, there’s no question that his game still needs work.  In fact, you could say that often, he was just a one-trick pony…though that trick is a dang good one.

Surprising almost everyone, Ramsey proved to be one of the nation’s best 3-point shooters this season.  Shooting 42.6% from behind the arc, he was tied for No. 68 out of all players in the nation.  That was despite the fact that his outside shot was supposed to be his biggest liability when he came out of high school.

It turned out that other aspects of his game were what held him back at times.  In fact, he was often too reliant on the 3-ball for his offense.

For the year, 60 of his 148 (40.4%) made baskets were 3-pointers.  What’s more, over 42% of his field-goal attempts were long-range bombs.

But when teams forced Ramsey to put the ball on the hardwood and score off the dribble, he struggled as he averaged two turnovers per game, tied for second-most on the team.  Known for his highlight-reel dunks in high school, the 6-foot-4 Ramsey struggled to finish around the rim against bigger college players.

The most he scored in any game in which he didn’t hit a 3-pointer was just 13.  What’s more, in games when he hit only one, he scored no more than 15.  On the other hand, in his seven 20-point games, he made an average of 4.1 shots from deep.

Though the NBA has come to increasingly value 3-point shooting, teams are going to want their first-round picks to be more than just spot-up shooters and Ramsey might need to prove capable of doing more with the ball than that before jumping to the next level.

He also needs to continue to develop as a defensive player because at times, he was rather lackadaisical on that end of the court.  Also, another year in the strength and conditioning program of John Reilly (who is considered by many to be one of the best at his craft in the nation) would do him wonders by adding some serious muscle to his 195-pound frame.

Ramsey was the best freshman we’ve seen in the last two decades of the program, especially on offense.  However, his game still has some noticeable holes to fill and should he return in 2020-21, he could then head to the NBA next summer are a more complete prospect.