As we wait to find out if Jahmi’us Ramsey will head to the NBA, let’s look at some of the reasons making the jump might make sense for him.
Before winning a share of the 2018-19 Big 12 regular-season title and taking his team to the National Title Game just weeks later, Chris Beard had already accomplished one of the most important tasks he had on his agenda when rebuilding the Texas Tech basketball program. He began to put Red Raiders in the NBA. Now, we wait to find out if Jahmi’us Ramsey will be his third-straight pupil to be taken in the draft. After averaging 15 points per game to lead the Red Raiders in scoring as a freshman, the 6-foot-5 guard is weighing his options and a decision could come any day.
When Zhaire Smith made the improbable jump from 3-star prospect to first-round NBA pick in the course of a few months in the 2017-18 season, it was a temporary loss for the Red Raiders but a long-term gain. Though we all wanted the Garland native to come back for another year, the fact that Tech had finally produced a one-and-done player served to open the eyes of recruits around the nation to the fact that they could realize their dreams by playing in Lubbock.
Prior to Smith, It had been 21 years since Tech had produced a first-round pick. Back in 1997, center Tony Battie was the No. 5 pick in the draft and to this day, that’s the highest any Red Raider has even been selected. Playing for six different teams in his career, he retired from the NBA until 2012.
The only other first-round pick Tech has produced came last summer when Jarrett Culver was taken at No. 6 by Minnesota. Prior to the NBA’s suspension of play last month, he had averaged 9.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per game as a rookie.
What’s more, Smith was the first Red Raider to be taken in either round of the draft since 2004 when Andre Emmett was picked wit the No. 6 selection of the second round by Seattle. Ultimately, the Red Raiders’ all-time leading scorer would have a lengthy and lucrative professional basketball career on the international circuit spending most of his playing days in the Chinese professional league.
Prior to Beard’s arrival, Tech was unable to consistently produce NBA talent. That was a major hangup on the recruiting trail and one of the most limiting factors that prevented the program from reaching the upper echelon of the Big 12.
For whatever reason, basketball recruits seem to be more concerned with getting to the NBA as soon as possible whereas football recruits typically want to play for winning programs. Fortunately, Beard has been able to prove capable of doing both in just four years on the job and now it looks more and more likely that Jahmi’us Ramsey will head to the NBA this summer.
Recently, we looked at the other side of Ramsey’s decision by analyzing why he should return for another year. So today, let’s take a look at the reasons that he might be tempted to make the jump after just one season, a season in which he set the Texas Tech scoring record for a freshman. As we do, we will start with a factor that might make this the perfect time for any prospect to make the move to the NBA.