Texas Tech basketball: Strengths and weaknesses of the 2020-21 roster
Now that the official 2020-21 Texas Tech basketball roster is set, let’s analyze the perceived strengths and weaknesses of Chris Beard’s team.
In recent offseasons, Texas Tech basketball fans have become so obsessed with how the upcoming season’s roster is going to be constructed that one of the Lubbock TV stations could build a game show around it. So it’s no surprise that Tuesday’s official release of the 2020-21 roster was met with great interest.
One of the interesting aspects of a roster release is it gives us some insight into how players have changed their bodies after a year in the strength and conditioning program.
For instance, junior guard Kyler Edwards has dropped five pounds from 200 to 195. Perhaps that will allow him to be a bit more explosive and will help him withstand the rigors of what is expected to be a heavy load this season as he is Tech’s most experienced player in regard to playing under Chris Beard.
On the opposite side of the weight fluctuation equation, redshirt freshman Tyreek Smith has put on five pounds of muscle and now weighs 220. The 6-foot-7 forward will likely need that extra strength to help him compete in the post this year after missing all of last season with a broken foot.
Another player who appears to be stronger is sophomore Kevin McCullar Jr. After putting on ten pounds over the offseason, the 6-foot-6 guard might be an even tougher defender than he was last year when he emerged as Tech’s leading on-ball stopper. Remember that in each of the previous two offseasons, the San Antonio native was injured meaning that he was unable to truly develop his body.
However, one name that fans won’t see on this roster is 2020 JUCO signee Esahia Nyiwe. The 6-foot-10 forward from Clarendon College was the odd man out when Tech had to trim one player from the roster to get down to the NCAA mandated limit of 13 scholarships.
Meanwhile, some noticeable changes that won’t have much impact on the season but which fans may find interesting are number switches. For instance, Edwards had changed his number from 0 to 11. That has allowed Georgetown transfer, Mac McClung, to take over the possession of the No. 0.
Sophomore guard Clarence Nadolny is now No. 3 after wearing No. 2 last year. Of course, last season it was Jahmi’us Ramsey who donned No. 3 for Tech and that was fitting given that he led the Red Raiders by shooting 45.4% from behind the arc.
Of course, seeing this roster without Davide Moretti is sad for the Red Raiders after the fan-favorite decided to forego his senior season to play professionally in his native Italy. But the No. 25 that he wore for the last three years will not go unused. Rather, Nimari Burnett, an incoming 5-star true freshman now takes over that number and hopefully, he can continue to make it one of the most popular numbers in Lubbock.
Meanwhile, two of Burnett’s classmates are also sporting iconic numbers. Chibuzo Agbo Jr. is wearing the most famous number in basketball, No. 23, while Micah Peavy is wearing No. 5, which is famous around Lubbock for being the number worn by two of the greatest Texas Tech football players of all time, Patrick Mahomes and Michael Crabtree.
But now, let’s break down what will really matter about this roster by looking at the strengths and weaknesses of this team as it stands today.