Texas Tech basketball: Chris Beard offers elite 4-star center Enoch Boakye
The Texas Tech basketball program has offered a scholarship to 4-star center Enoch Boakye, one of the nation’s best big men in the class of 2022.
Though most Texas Tech basketball fans only have interest in one recruiting battle, Jonathan Kuminga, Chris Beard is not letting the grass grow beneath his feet as he waits to find out the best high school player in the nation is going to do this coming season. In fact, he’s already looking towards the class of 2022 almost half of a year before the class of 2021 is able to sign their letters of intent.
On Monday, Enoch Boakye, one of the top centers in the nation for the class of 2022, reported on Twitter an offer from the Red Raiders.
https://twitter.com/EnochBoakye11/status/1275193986479685640?s=20
The 6-foot-10, 240-pounder also holds offers from Michigan State, Arizona, BYU, Oklahoma State, and A&M among others. Rated a 4-star player by 247sports.com, he’s the No. 21 player overall and the No. 3 center in his class.
The native of Canada plays the game like an old school big man. Though he’s comfortable putting the ball on the court, in his highlight videos, he’s almost always doing work around the basket.
He uses his superior size and strength to simply overpower opposing players, which he can get away with at the high school level. However, he is going to have to develop a more all-around game, including a more consistent mid-range jumper, if he is going to be an all-conference or All-American caliber player at the NCAA level.
"“The way I describe my games is a big man who can play like a guard,” he told StockRisers.com. “My biggest strength is my post game. It doesn’t matter how you play me; I’m either facing up or backing you down, always getting to the rim.”“There are quite a few players who I watch to model my game after, but I like to take away from guys like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shaquille O’Neal, Joel Embiid and Hakeem Olajuwon.”"
Obviously not lacking confidence, this sophomore is going to be one of the biggest prizes in his class given how he’s likely to add quite a bit more weight to his frame over the next couple of years as he matures. Thus, we could be looking at a player the size of Kansas’ Udoka Azubuike but who has a much more refined skillset than simply bulling his way to the basket.
Texas Tech basketball fans would love to see such a presence in the post in Lubbock. After all, we just finished a season in which the tallest player in Chris Beard’s regular eight-man rotation was 6-foot-9 T.J. Holyfield.
As a result, the Red Raiders were often punished by opposing big men. For instance, 6-foot-11, 245-pound Kentucky center Nick Richards went off for 25 points and 14 rebounds in the Wildcats’ OT win in the Hub City. Likewise, Iowa’s 6-foot-11, 260-pound monster Luka Garza had 17 points and 12 rebounds when the Hawkeyes took down Texas Tech in Las Vegas on Thanksgiving night.
Related Story. The all-decade centers. light
In the end, Tech has been able to combat bigger players fairly well and this year, Beard’s team was able to finish the season with the exact same number of rebounds as its opponents grabbed. But it would certainly be nice for a change to see the Red Raiders have a weapon like Boakye because it’s always fun to see your team have the ability to assert its will close to the basket.