Texas Tech basketball: Why the Red Raiders will be much better in 2020-21
Last year’s young stars should be improved
Two players that many are expecting to take steps forward as sophomores are Kevin McCullar and Terrence Shannon. If they do indeed take their game to new levels, Tech is going to be vastly improved.
After all, both were excellent as freshmen this season. Shannon put up 9.8 points, grabbed 4.1 rebounds, and led the Red Raiders with 3.6 free-throw attempts per game. Meanwhile, McCullar overcame a slow start to average 6 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game.
But both still have holes in their game and should they make strides in those areas, Tech will be all the better for it. For starters, each has to become a better 3-point shooter.
Shannon shot just 25.7% from behind the arc in his first year while McCullar was only slightly better at 28.7%. Both were liabilities in that regard and opposing teams were able to simply sag off of them because they knew that neither was going to make them pay.
If they become just 30% shooters this year, it will help to take their games to a new level and prevent teams from cheating defensively. And given that Tech now has only one proven 3-point threat, Kyler Edwards, the rest of the roster needs to be better from deep to help make up for what has been lost with the departures of Moretti and Ramsey.
Shannon also needs to be more focused on the defensive end, especially when it comes to his ability to rebound the ball. There is no reason that a player of his size and vertical jumping ability shouldn’t be a monster on the glass and if he can become that next season, it will do wonders for his team on defense.
Meanwhile, McCullar also needs to become stronger with the basketball. He was fourth on the team in turnovers per 40 minutes with 2.8 and he’s the only member set to return from last year’s 8-man rotation who was in the top seven in that statistical category.
During the Chris Beard era, we’ve seen players like Davide Moretti and Jarrett Culver make massive strides as sophomores and the hope is that McCullar and Shannon will do the same. If that happens, the next Texas Tech basketball team will be better than it was this year.