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Texas Tech basketball: Potential starting lineups without Davide Moretti

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TX - FEBRUARY 4: General view of United Supermarkets Arena during player introductions before the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Oklahoma Sooners on February 4, 2017 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech defeated Oklahoma 77-69. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
LUBBOCK, TX - FEBRUARY 4: General view of United Supermarkets Arena during player introductions before the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Oklahoma Sooners on February 4, 2017 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. Texas Tech defeated Oklahoma 77-69. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /
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Mac McClung #2 of the Georgetown Hoyas dribbles (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
Mac McClung #2 of the Georgetown Hoyas dribbles (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

Kyler, Nimari, McClung, Ntambwe, Santos-Silva

Let’s begin with the assumption that nothing has changed with the starting big men from the last time we did this exercise.  There’s no question that Tech’s starting forwards will be Joel Ntambwe, the former UNLV transfer who sat out last season after being denied a waiver for eligibility by the NCAA and Virginia Commonwealth transfer Marcus Santos-Silva.

Thus, the lineup options Beard will vary with regard to the guards and small forwards.  That’s because he has plenty to pick from.

The most likely starting lineup seems to be Kyler Edwards, Nimari Burnett, and Mac McClung joining Ntambwe and Santos-Silva.  That’s a lineup that would have almost everything we could hope for.

The true freshman Burnett and the Georgetown transfer McClung are both playmakers off the dribble.  But they do so in different ways.

McClung, who led Georgetown in scoring at 15.7 points per game this season, is a score-first player who attacks the basket.  That’s something Tech was lacking in 2019-20 and that’s one reason he was such a high priority for Tech.

Meanwhile, Burnett is more of a facilitator.  On his high school team, he had several D-I prospects including Jalen Green, the No. 2 player in the class of 2020.  That meant that his role was not always to be the sun around which the offense rotated.  Thus, he might be a perfect fit playing next to McClung.

But what neither Burnett nor McClung does as well as Moretti did is shoot the 3-pointer.  That’s why Edwards makes a natural fifth member of this lineup.  Of course, his 3-point percentage has to be better than the 32.2% from this season.  It doesn’t have to be as good as his 44.9% that hs shot as a freshman but it has to be better than his sophomore year.

This lineup would give Beard plenty of experience with a senior, two juniors, and a redshirt sophomore to surround the McDonald’s All-American, Burnett.  That’s why this would be the lineup I would put my money on at this point.

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