Texas Tech basketball: Players we are happy to see leave the Big 12

Texas: Jericho Sims

Texas forward Jericho Sims never really maxed out his potential in his three years in Austin but we should be glad he’s off to the NBA before he did.  That’s because Texas is already loaded for next season and keeping one more versatile and lengthy forwards in the Big 12 on the roster would have only made Shaka Smart’s team all that much more difficult to handle in 2020-21.

The 6-foot-9 Minnesota native was slowed this season by a back injury, one that impacted him when Tech went to Austin in January.  In that 62-57 Red Raider win, he had just two points in 19 minutes of action.  In fact, he would play just one more game before shutting it down for the rest of the year.

In 24 games this year, he hit double-digits 13 times.  And his length and athleticism made him a versatile defender and top-flight rebounder (he averaged 8.2 boards per game to go along with 9.7 points per game).

In 2019-20, the Longhorns bring back every other significant contributor from this season.  That includes the two dynamic guards that tortured the Red Raiders, Matt Coleman and Andrew Jones.  They also welcome the top high school player in Texas, 5-star forward Greg Brown.  Sims’ presence would have made them a more well-rounded team as it would have given them some much-needed rebounding and athleticism inside.  Thankfully, his development is going to continue at the professional level and not in Austin where he never had the type of impact that his skills and athleticism suggested he should have.